2016 North Carolina Central Eagles football team

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Ranking
STATS	No. 22
FCS Coaches	No. 20

2016 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 22 North Carolina Central $		8	–	0					9	–	3
No. 20 North Carolina A&T ^		7	–	1					9	–	3
Hampton		5	–	3					5	–	6
South Carolina State		5	–	3					5	–	6
Bethune–Cookman		4	–	4					4	–	6
Florida A&M *		4	–	4					4	–	7
Norfolk State		3	–	5					4	–	7
Savannah State *		3	–	5					3	–	7
Morgan State *		3	–	5					3	–	8
Howard *		2	–	6					2	–	9
Delaware State		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant * Florida A&M, Howard, Morgan State, and Savannah State ineligible for postseason due to APR violations Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2016 North Carolina Central Eagles football team represented North Carolina Central University in the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Jerry Mack. The Eagles played their home games at O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium. They were a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). They finished the season 9–3, 8–0 in MEAC play to win the MEAC title to play in the Celebration Bowl, where they were defeated by SWAC champions Grambling State.

Schedule

September 36:00 PMat Duke*

• Wallace Wade Stadium
• Durham, NC (Bull City Gridiron Classic)

ESPN3L 6–49 35,049 September 107:00 PMat Western Michigan*

• Waldo Stadium
• Kalamazoo, MI

ESPN3L 21–70 23,727 September 176:00 PMSaint Augustine's*

• O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium
• Durham, NC

NSNW 65–7 4,016 September 242:00 PMat Norfolk State

• William "Dick" Price Stadium
• Norfolk, VA

SSCW 34–31 8,296 October 14:00 PMat Bethune-Cookman

• Municipal Stadium
• Daytona Beach, FL

CENW 31–14 4,216 October 84:00 PMFlorida A&M

• O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium
• Durham, NC

NSNW 17–13 617 October 152:00 PMSavannah State

• O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium
• Durham, NC

NSNW 33–3 12,966 October 221:00 PMat Morgan State

• Hughes Stadium
• Baltimore, MD

W 21–17 8,534 November 52:00 PMat Delaware State

• Alumni Stadium
• Dover, DE

WDSU-TVW 38–19 1,597 November 122:00 PMHoward

• O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium
• Durham, NC

NSNW 30–21 6,897 November 192:00 PMNo. 9 North Carolina A&TNo. 24

• O'Kelly–Riddick Stadium
• Durham, NC (Rivalry)

ESPN3, ESPNU (Tape Delay)W 42–21 15,715 December 173:00 PMvs. No. 16 Grambling State*No. 20

• Georgia Dome
• Atlanta, GA (Celebration Bowl)

ABCL 9–10 31,096

• Source: Schedule

Game summaries

at Duke

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	0	3	3	6
Blue Devils	21	28	0	0	49

See also: 2016 Duke Blue Devils football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–4	2015	DUKE, 55–0

at Western Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	7	14	0	0	21
Broncos	28	14	14	14	70

See also: 2016 Western Michigan Broncos football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

Saint Augustine's

	1	2	3	4	Total
Falcons	0	7	0	0	7
Eagles	21	20	7	17	65

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
28–2–1	2015	NCCU, 72–0

at Norfolk State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	10	7	10	7	34
Spartans	0	10	0	21	31

See also: 2016 Norfolk State Spartans football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
8–5	2015	NCCU, 24–16

at Bethune-Cookman

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	0	7	10	14	31
Wildcats	7	0	0	7	14

See also: 2016 Bethune-Cookman Wildcats football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1–6	2015	BCU, 28–26

Florida A&M

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rattlers	5	0	0	8	13
Eagles	0	3	0	14	17

See also: 2016 Florida A&M Rattlers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
2–7–1	2015	NCCU, 27–24

Savannah State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	0	0	0	3	3
Eagles	3	16	7	7	33

See also: 2016 Savannah State Tigers football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
8–2–1	2015	NCCU, 39–22

at Morgan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	14	0	0	7	21
Bears	7	10	0	0	17

See also: 2016 Morgan State Bears football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
14–24–2	2015	NCCU, 20–17

at Delaware State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Eagles	9	22	7	0	38
Hornets	0	7	0	12	19

See also: 2016 Delaware State Hornets football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
16–6	2015	NCCU, 43–10

Howard

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bison	7	0	0	14	21
Eagles	6	3	7	14	30

See also: 2016 Howard Bison football team

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
10–9–1	2015	NCCU, 41–6

North Carolina A&T

	1	2	3	4	Total
#9 Aggies	0	0	7	14	21
#24 Eagles	0	14	14	14	42

See also: 2016 North Carolina A&T Aggies football team and North Carolina A&T–North Carolina Central rivalry

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
33–49–5	2015	NCCU, 21–16

Celebration Bowl–Grambling State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#16 Tigers	0	0	10	0	10
#20 Eagles	3	0	0	6	9

See also: 2016 Grambling State Tigers football team and 2016 Celebration Bowl

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
0–3	1986	GRAM, 32–24

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	RV	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	20	22
Coaches	RV	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	20	18	20