2016 Shepherd Rams football team

The 2016 Shepherd Rams football team represents the Shepherd University during the 2016 NCAA Division II football season. They are led by head coach Monte Cater, who is in his 30th season at Shepherd. The Rams play their home games at Ram Stadium in Shepherdstown, West Virginia and they are members of the Mountain East Conference.

2016 Shepherd Rams football
MEC champion
ConferenceMountain East Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
2016 record13–1 (10–0 MEC)
Head coach
Home stadiumRam Stadium
(Capacity: 5,000)
2016 Mountain East Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 3 Shepherd $^  10 0     13 1  
No. 23 Fairmont State ^  9 1     10 2  
Notre Dame (OH)  8 2     9 2  
Virginia–Wise  5 5     6 5  
Glenville State  5 5     5 6  
West Liberty  4 6     4 7  
West Virginia Wesleyan  4 6     4 7  
Charleston (WV)  3 7     3 8  
West Virginia State  3 7     3 8  
Urbana  2 8     3 8  
Concord  2 8     2 9  
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AFCA Poll

Preseason

After finishing the 2015 season with a record of 13–1, with the only loss coming in the national championship game to Northwest Missouri State, the Rams were ranked #4 in the preseason poll.[1]

Regular season

The 2016 regular season for the Rams consisted of 10 games against Mountain East Conference foes. The Rams went undefeated in the regular season and were given the third seed in Super Region I in the 2016 NCAA Division II football playoffs.[2]

Playoffs

Despite going undefeated and being ranked #3 in the nation, the Rams had to play in an opening round game of the playoffs. The Rams defeated #25 Assumption College in the game, 48–31, to advance to the Round of 16.[3]

The Rams then went on the road and were able to defeat LIU Post, 40–21, to improve to 12–0 and continue their playoff run.[4]

In the national quarterfinals the following week, the Rams again went on the road. This time, the Rams were able to defeat California (Pa.), 41–30.[5]

The Rams hosted a national semifinal game for the second consecutive year, facing North Alabama.[6]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 312:00 p.mWest Virginia WesleyanNo. 4W 27–124,987
September 87:30 p.m.at CharlestonNo. 4W 38–221,111
September 1712:00 p.m.Virginia-WiseNo. 4
  • Ram Stadium
  • Shepherdstown, WV
W 64–134,472
September 2412:00 p.m.at Notre Dame CollegeNo. 4
W 38–171,080
October 812:00 p.m.Glenville StateNo. 3
  • Ram Stadium
  • Shepherdstown, WV
ESPN3W 38–74,189
October 151:00 p.m.at West Virginia StateNo. 3
W 70–24311
October 2212:00 p.m.ConcordNo. 3
  • Ram Stadium
  • Shepherdstown, WV
W 21–75,211
October 2912:00 p.m.at West LibertyNo. 3
W 38–27498
November 512:00 p.m.No. 17 Fairmont StateNo. 3
  • Ram Stadium
  • Shepherdstown, WV
W 27–176,751
November 121:00 p.m.at UrbanaNo. 3
W 38–141,058
November 1912:00 p.m.No. 25 Assumption College*No. 3
W 48–314,571
November 2612:00 p.m.at No. 10 LIU Post*No. 3W 40–213,684
December 31:00 p.m.at No. 6 California (Pa.)*No. 3W 41–305,113
December 1012:00 p.m.No. 7 North Alabama*No. 3
ESPN3L 13–237,017

References

  1. "Shepherd ranked fourth in AFCA poll". The Journal. August 16, 2016. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  2. Kozlowski, Rick (November 14, 2016). "Shepherd given third seed in region". The Journal. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  3. Kozlowski, Rick (November 20, 2016). "Quick Start: Rams defeat Assumption in NCAA DII playoff". The Journal. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  4. Kozlowski, Rick (November 27, 2016). "Brown helps lead Shepherd past LIU-Post". The Journal. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  5. Kozlowski, Rick (December 5, 2016). "Shepherd offense figures out Vulcans". The Journal. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  6. Kozlowski, Rick (December 10, 2016). "Shepherd set to host national semifinal game". The Journal. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
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