2016 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team

The 2016 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team represented Eastern Michigan University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Chris Creighton. The Eagles played their home games at Rynearson Stadium and are members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference.^[1] Coming off of a 1–11 season in 2015, the Eagles performed a remarkable turnaround and finished 7–6, 4–4 in MAC play to finish in fourth place in the West Division. They were invited to the 2016 Bahamas Bowl, just their second bowl game in school history.^[2] They also improved their home attendance by over 260% compared to 2015.^[3]

2016 Eastern Michigan Eagles football
Bahamas Bowl, L 20–24 vs. Old Dominion
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	7–6 (4–4 MAC)
Head coach	Chris Creighton (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Kalen DeBoer (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Neal Neathery (1st season)
Base defense	4–2–5
Home stadium	Rynearson 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

The Eagles compiled their first winning season since 1995, and their first bowl game since 1987, snapping the second longest bowl drought in the nation.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	6:00 pm	Mississippi Valley State*	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	ESPN3	W 61–14	14,221
September 10	7:30 pm	at Missouri*	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	SECN	L 21–61	51,192
September 17	6:00 pm	at Charlotte*	Jerry Richardson Stadium Charlotte, NC	CUSA.tv	W 37–19	15,080
September 24	7:30 pm	Wyoming*	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	CBSSN	W 27–24	17,012
October 1	3:00 pm	at Bowling Green	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, OH	ESPN3	W 28–25	19,382
October 8	3:00 pm	Toledo	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	BCSN	L 20–35	21,412
October 15	2:00 pm	at Ohio	Peden Stadium Athens, OH	ESPN3	W 27–20	23,566
October 22	3:30 pm	at No. 20 Western Michigan	Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI (Michigan MAC Trophy)	ASN/ESPN3	L 31–45	23,721
October 29	3:30 pm	Miami (OH)	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	ASN/ESPN3	L 15–28	16,481
November 8	7:30 pm	at Ball State	Scheumann Stadium Muncie, IN	CBSSN	W 48–41	4,442
November 16	8:00 pm	Northern Illinois	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI	ESPNU	L 24–31 OT	15,603
November 22	7:00 pm	Central Michigan	Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, MI (Michigan MAC Trophy/rivalry)	ESPN3	W 26–21	19,147
December 23	1:00 pm	vs. Old Dominion*	Thomas Robinson Stadium Nassau, Bahamas (Bahamas Bowl)	ESPN	L 20–24	13,422
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[4]

Game summaries

Mississippi Valley State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Delta Devils	0	0	0	14	14
Eagles	21	7	26	7	61

See also: 2016 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils football team

At Missouri

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	7	14	0	21
Tigers	14	19	14	14	61

See also: 2016 Missouri Tigers football team

At Charlotte

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	10	17	3	37
49ers	0	3	3	13	19

See also: 2016 Charlotte 49ers football team

Wyoming

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	10	7	0	7	24
Eagles	3	14	3	7	27

See also: 2016 Wyoming Cowboys football team

At Bowling Green

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	0	14	7	28
Falcons	7	3	0	15	25

See also: 2016 Bowling Green Falcons football team

Toledo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rockets	0	7	14	14	35
Eagles	0	3	10	7	20

See also: 2016 Toledo Rockets football team

At Ohio

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

See also: 2016 Ohio Bobcats football team

At Western Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	10	7	7	31
#20 Broncos	7	17	14	7	45

See also: 2016 Western Michigan Broncos football team and Michigan MAC Trophy

Miami (OH)

	1	2	3	4	Total
RedHawks	14	0	7	7	28
Eagles	0	3	0	12	15

See also: 2016 Miami RedHawks football team

At Ball State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	3	16	14	15	48
Cardinals	21	7	0	13	41

See also: 2016 Ball State Cardinals football team

Northern Illinois

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Huskies	0	0	17	7	7	31
Eagles	14	7	0	3	0	24

See also: 2016 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

Central Michigan

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

See also: 2016 Central Michigan Chippewas football team and Michigan MAC Trophy

Vs. Old Dominion–Bahamas Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	0	17	3	20
Monarchs	3	7	7	7	24

See also: 2016 Old Dominion Monarchs football team and 2016 Bahamas Bowl

After the season

The following Eagle was selected in the 2017 NFL draft after the season.^[5]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
7	250	Pat O'Connor	Defensive end	Detroit Lions