2016 The Citadel Bulldogs football team

The 2016 The Citadel Bulldogs football team represented The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bulldogs were led by first-year head coach Brent Thompson and played their home games at Johnson Hagood Stadium. They played as members of the Southern Conference, as they have since 1936.

2016 The Citadel Bulldogs football
SoCon champion
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Ranking
STATSNo. 10
FCS CoachesNo. 9
Record10–2 (8–0 SoCon)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorLou Conte (1st season)
Offensive schemeTriple option
Defensive coordinatorBlake Harrell (1st season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumJohnson Hagood Stadium
Seasons
← 2015
2017 →
2016 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 10 The Citadel $^   8 0     10 2  
No. 9 Wofford ^   6 2     10 4  
No. 13 Chattanooga ^   6 2     9 4  
No. 23 Samford ^   5 3     7 5  
Mercer   4 4     6 5  
Furman   3 5     3 8  
East Tennessee State   2 6     5 6  
Western Carolina   1 7     2 9  
VMI   1 7     3 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

With their win over Samford on November 4, the Bulldogs clinched their second consecutive, and fourth overall, SoCon championship. By virtue of their victory over VMI on November 12, 2016, The Citadel completed their first undefeated SoCon season in program history and claimed the championship outright. The win over VMI also marked the second time in program history that the Bulldogs earned double digit wins in one season, after winning 11 games in 1992.

They finished the season 10–2, 8–0 in SoCon play to win the SoCon title. They received the SoCon's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they lost in the second round to Wofford.

Schedule

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The Bulldogs planned to host North Greenville for their traditional Parents' Day game on October 8.[1] Due to Hurricane Matthew, the game against North Greenville took place at NGU's Younts Stadium in Tigerville, South Carolina on Thursday, October 6.[2]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 17:00 pmat MercerNo. 15FSNW 24–2312,542
September 106:00 pmFurmanNo. 15ESPN3W 19–1412,009
September 176:00 pmat Gardner–Webb*No. 15BSNW 31–246,850
October 13:30 pmat Western CarolinaNo. 9ESPN3W 37–1412,283
October 67:00 pmat North Greenville*No. 9ESPN3W 38–145,435
October 153:00 pmNo. 5 ChattanoogaNo. 8
  • Johnson Hagood Stadium
  • Charleston, SC
FSNW 22–1414,590
October 221:30 pmat WoffordNo. 5ESPN3W 24–21 OT11,102
October 292:00 pmEast Tennessee StateNo. 5
  • Johnson Hagood Stadium
  • Charleston, SC
ESPN3W 45–1012,978
November 52:00 pmNo. 20 Samford No. 5
  • Johnson Hagood Stadium
  • Charleston, SC
ESPN3W 37–34 OT15,015
November 121:30 pmat VMINo. 5ESPN3W 30–208,251
November 193:30 pmat North Carolina*No. 5ACCN+L 7–4141,000
December 36:00 pmNo. 19 Wofford*No. 6
ESPN3L 3–1710,336
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Stadium issues

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In 2016, The Citadel determined that lead paint needed remediation on the east (visitor's) side of Johnson Hagood Stadium. The work resulted in the entire east side being closed for the first game of the season against Furman and some sections being opened for subsequent games. The capacity was thus 10,500 for the first game and about 15,000 for later games.[3][4][5]

Game summaries

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Mercer

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1 234Total
#15 Bulldogs 21 003 24
Bears 10 1030 23
  • Date: September 1, 2016
  • Location: Moye Complex, Macon, GA
  • Game start: 7:00 PM EST
  • Elapsed time: 2:49
  • Game attendance: 12,542
  • Game weather: 86°F • ESE 12 • Mostly cloudy
  • Referee: Larry Saunders
  • TV announcers (FSN): Darren Goldwater, Ray Goff, Lyndsay Rowley

Furman

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1 234Total
Paladins 7 070 14
#15 Bulldogs 7 606 19
  • Date: September 10, 2016
  • Location: Johnson Hagood Stadium, Charleston, SC
  • Game start: 6:00 PM EST
  • Elapsed time: 2:53
  • Game attendance: 12,009
  • Referee: Marshall Lewis
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Kevin Fitzgerald, Saddath Jean-Pierre

Gardner–Webb

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1 234Total
#15 Bulldogs 7 7710 31
Runnin' Bulldogs 7 377 24
  • Date: September 17, 2016
  • Location: Ernest W. Spangler Stadium, Boiling Springs, NC
  • Game start: 6:00 PM EST
  • Elapsed time: 2:34
  • Game attendance: 6,850
  • Game weather: 83°F • SE 4 • 48% humidity
  • Referee: Henry Johns
  • TV announcers (BSN): Fabian Fuentes, Alex Guest

Western Carolina

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1 234Total
#9 Bulldogs 7 2073 37
Catamounts 0 077 14

North Greenville

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1 234Total
#9 Bulldogs 7 14143 38
Crusaders 7 700 14
  • Date: October 6, 2016
  • Location: Younts Stadium, Tigerville, SC
  • Game start: 7:00 PM EST
  • Elapsed time: 2:48
  • Game attendance: 5,435
  • Game weather: 71°F • NE 8 • Sunny
  • Referee: Thomas Graham
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Kevin Fitzgerald, Sadath Jean-Pierre

Chattanooga

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1 234Total
#5 Mocs 7 700 14
#8 Bulldogs 7 1023 22
  • Date: October 15, 2016
  • Location: Johnson Hagood Stadium, Charleston, SC
  • Game start: 3:00 PM EST
  • Elapsed time: 2:44
  • Game attendance: 14,590
  • Referee: Bob Johnson
  • TV announcers (FSN): Kevin Fitzgerald, Sadath Jean-Pierre

Wofford

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1 234OTTotal
#5 Bulldogs 0 07143 24
Terriers 7 3380 21
  • Date: October 22, 2016
  • Location: Gibbs Stadium, Spartanburg, SC
  • Game start: 1:30 PM EST
  • Elapsed time: 3:12
  • Game attendance: 11,102
  • Referee: Larry Adcock
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Mark Hauser, Thom Henson

East Tennessee State

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1 234Total
Buccaneers 0 730 10
#5 Bulldogs 14 17014 45
  • Date: October 29, 2016
  • Location: Johnson Hagood Stadium, Charleston, SC
  • Game start: 2:00 PM EST
  • Elapsed time: 2:56
  • Game attendance: 12,978
  • Referee: Marshall Lewis
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Kevin Fitzgerald, Sadath Jean-Pierre

Samford

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1 234OTTotal
#20 Bulldogs (SAM) 7 130140 34
#5 Bulldogs (CIT) 7 77133 37
  • Date: November 5, 2016
  • Location: Johnson Hagood Stadium, Charleston, SC
  • Game start: 2:00 PM EST
  • Elapsed time: 3:24
  • Game attendance: 15,015
  • Referee: Edwin Lee
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Kevin Fitzgerald, Sadath Jean-Pierre
1 234Total
#5 Bulldogs 10 767 30
Keydets 0 7130 20
  • Date: November 12, 2016
  • Location: Alumni Memorial Stadium, Lexington, VA
  • Game start: 1:30 PM EST
  • Elapsed time: 3:07
  • Game attendance: 8,251
  • Game weather: Low 50's • 3–5 MPH • Cool, clear, not bad
  • Referee: Larry Saunders
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Wade Branner, Dave Harding

North Carolina

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1 234Total
#5 Bulldogs 0 007 7
Tar Heels 14 17100 41
  • Date: November 19, 2016
  • Location: Kenan Memorial Stadium, Chapel Hill, NC
  • Game start: 3:30 PM EST
  • Elapsed time: 2:55
  • Game attendance: 41,000
  • Game weather: 68°F • Variable • Mostly sunny
  • Referee: Gary Patterson
  • TV announcers (ACCN+): Dan Gutowsky, John Gregory

FCS playoffs

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Second round – Wofford

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1 234Total
#19 Terriers 0 0314 17
#6 Bulldogs 3 000 3

Ranking movements

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112Final
STATS151515109985 (5)5 (3)5 (3)5 (7)5 (6)610
Coaches1516151010996776669
FCS PlayoffsNot released666Not released

References

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  1. ^ "The Citadel Sets 2016 Schedule". The Citadel Bulldogs. August 20, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  2. ^ Jeff Hartsell (October 4, 2016). "Citadel football game moved to Thursday at North Greenville". Charleston, SC: Post and Courier. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
  3. ^ Jeff Hartsell (August 29, 2016). "Citadel considers tearing down visitors' side at Johnson Hagood Stadium". Post and Courier. Charleston, SC. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  4. ^ Jeff Hartsell (September 9, 2016). "Citadel football returns to (half of) Johnson Hagood Stadium". Post and Courier. Charleston, SC. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  5. ^ Jeff Hartsell (October 11, 2016). "Citadel home at last, with nation's best 4 road wins". Post and Courier. Charleston, SC. Retrieved October 12, 2016.