2016 Central Michigan Chippewas football team

The 2016 Central Michigan Chippewas football team represented Central Michigan University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by second-year head coach John Bonamego and played their home games at Kelly/Shorts Stadium as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 6–7, 3–5 to finish in fifth place in the MAC West. They received an invitation to the Miami Beach Bowl where they were blown out by Tulsa 55–10.

2016 Central Michigan Chippewas football
Miami Beach Bowl, L 10–55 vs. Tulsa
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	6–7 (3–5 MAC)
Head coach	John Bonamego (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Morris Watts (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Greg Colby (2nd season)
Home stadium	Kelly/Shorts Stadium
Seasons ← 2015 2017 →

2016 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
Ohio xy		6	–	2					8	–	6
Miami (OH) x		6	–	2					6	–	7
Akron		3	–	5					5	–	7
Bowling Green		3	–	5					4	–	8
Kent State		2	–	6					3	–	9
Buffalo		1	–	7					2	–	10
West Division
No. 15 Western Michigan xy$		8	–	0					13	–	1
Toledo		6	–	2					9	–	4
Northern Illinois		5	–	3					5	–	7
Eastern Michigan		4	–	4					7	–	6
Central Michigan		3	–	5					6	–	7
Ball State		1	–	7					4	–	8
Championship: Western Michigan 29, Ohio 23
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	7:00 pm	Presbyterian*	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	ESPN3	W 49–3	16,215
September 10	12:00 pm	at No. 22 Oklahoma State*	Boone Pickens Stadium Stillwater, OK	FS1	W 30–27	52,523
September 17	3:00 pm	UNLV*	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	ESPN3	W 44–21	19,922
September 24	12:30 pm	at Virginia*	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	ACCRSN	L 35–49	35,211
October 1	7:00 pm	Western Michigan	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI (rivalry)	CBSSN	L 10–49	30,411
October 8	3:00 pm	Ball State	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	ASN	W 24–21	20,044
October 15	3:30 pm	at Northern Illinois	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPN3	W 34–28 3OT	8,495
October 22	12:00 pm	at Toledo	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	BCSN	L 17–31	17,821
October 29	12:00 pm	Kent State	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	CBSSN	L 24–27	9,236
November 4	6:00 pm	at Miami (OH)	Yager Stadium Oxford, OH	CBSSN	L 17–37	14,270
November 15	6:00 pm	Ohio	Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	ESPN2	W 27–20	8,619
November 22	7:00 pm	at Eastern Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI (rivalry)	ESPN3	L 21–26	19,147
December 19	2:30 pm	vs. Tulsa*	Marlins Park Miami, FL (Miami Beach Bowl)	ESPN	L 10–55	15,262
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Schedule Source:^[1]

Game summaries

Presbyterian

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Hose	0	3	0	0	3
Chippewas	7	7	14	21	49

See also: 2016 Presbyterian Blue Hose football team

At Oklahoma State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chippewas	0	10	7	13	30
#22 Cowboys	14	3	3	7	27

See also: 2016 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team

This game sparked controversy after the officials missed a call that would eventually give Central Michigan the win. Oklahoma State threw the ball away to end the game and received a penalty for intentional grounding. Under college football rules, the game would have ended and Oklahoma State would have won the game. However, the officials gave Central Michigan an untimed down, and the Chippewas threw a 51-yard hail mary and scored after completing the pass and a lateral.

UNLV

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rebels	7	14	0	0	21
Chippewas	14	14	9	7	44

See also: 2016 UNLV Rebels football team

At Virginia

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chippewas	0	14	7	14	35
Cavaliers	15	13	0	21	49

See also: 2016 Virginia Cavaliers football team

Western Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Broncos	7	14	14	14	49
Chippewas	3	0	7	0	10

See also: 2016 Western Michigan Broncos football team, Michigan MAC Trophy, and CMU–WMU Rivalry Trophy

Ball State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	7	0	7	7	21
Chippewas	3	14	0	7	24

See also: 2016 Ball State Cardinals football team

At Northern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	3OT	Total
Chippewas	0	14	0	7	0	7	6	34
Huskies	0	7	7	7	0	7	0	28

See also: 2016 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

At Toledo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chippewas	0	0	10	7	17
Rockets	3	0	14	14	31

See also: 2016 Toledo Rockets football team

Kent State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Flashes	3	7	7	10	27
Chippewas	0	10	14	0	24

See also: 2016 Kent State Golden Flashes football team

At Miami (OH)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chippewas	7	10	0	0	17
RedHawks	13	7	10	7	37

See also: 2016 Miami RedHawks football team

Ohio

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bobcats	0	3	10	7	20
Chippewas	3	14	3	7	27

See also: 2016 Ohio Bobcats football team

At Eastern Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chippewas	0	7	0	14	21
Eagles	7	7	6	6	26

See also: 2016 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team and Michigan MAC Trophy

Tulsa–Miami Beach Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
Chippewas	3	0	0	7	10
Golden Hurricane	10	21	17	7	55

See also: 2016 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team and 2016 Miami Beach Bowl