The 2016 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy in the

2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 26, 2016 and ended on Dec ...

. The Midshipmen were led by ninth-year head coach

Ken Niumatalolo Kenneth Va'a Niumatalolo (born May 8, 1965) is an American football coach and former player. He is the former head coach of the Naval Academy from 2007 to 2022, accumulating the most wins in program history. Niumatalolo played college football at ...

and played their home games at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Midshipmen competed as a member of the West Division of the American Athletic Conference, and were second year members of the conference. They finished the season 9–5 overall and 7–1 in American Athletic play to be champions of the West Division. They represented the West Division in The American Athletic Championship Game where they lost to Temple. They were invited to the

Armed Forces Bowl The Armed Forces Bowl, formerly the Fort Worth Bowl from 2003 to 2005, is an annual postseason college football bowl game. First played in 2003, the game is normally held at the 45,000-seat Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of Texas Christian ...

where they lost to Louisiana Tech.

Before the season

Spring practices

Navy held spring practices during March and April 2016.

Schedule

Note: ‡ Game at East Carolina was originally scheduled for Thursday, October 13, but was postponed due to flooding from Hurricane Matthew; it was rescheduled to Saturday, November 19.

Personnel

Coaching staff

Roster

Depth chart

Depth Chart 2016
''True Freshman''
Double Position : *

Rankings

Game summaries

Fordham

UConn

At Tulane

At Air Force

Houston

This game marked Navy Midshipmen's biggest upset victory facing a top-10 ranked opponent in 32 years. (Since 1984 as they won against #2 ranked South Carolina) The game marked Ken Niumatalolo's 4th win over a ranked team.

Memphis

With this victory, Navy has 14th straight home wins, making it the 3rd longest active streak in FBS history. Also their longest at Navy-Marine Stadium since it opened in 1959. Personal player highlights include: wide receiver Jamir Tillman became the 2nd all-time receiver in Naval Academy history with 1,281 career receiving yards, passing

Phil McConkey Philip Joseph McConkey (born February 24, 1957) is a former American football wide receiver who played for the New York Giants (1984–1988), Green Bay Packers (1986), Phoenix Cardinals (1989), and San Diego Chargers (1989) of the National Footba ...

. And quarterback Will Worth had career highs with 201 rushing yards (286 total yards) and 5 touchdowns.

At South Florida

Vs. Notre Dame

With this rare victory, Navy beat Notre Dame for only the 4th time in 52 years (1963) in the nation's longest-running intersectional rivalry since 1926 (the 90th year). The Fighting Irish previously won five in a row against the Midshipmen. Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo got this 3rd win over Notre Dame, tying former Navy coach Wayne Hardin from the 1960s, and handing the Fighting Irish their 14th losing season ever. Navy quarterback Will Worth ran for 175 yards with two touchdowns, making it his 9th consecutive game with a rushing score. Worth finished with his 4th straight 100-yard rushing performance (his 5th of the season).

Tulsa

After this win, Navy has 15 straight home victories, making it the second longest winning streak in the FBS. Navy also has the winningest Senior Class in Naval Academy history with 36–13, tying the all-time program record with the class of 1909 (36–7–5) and the class of 2016 (36–16). And 14 straight Senior Day victories. The Midshipmen stand alone in the Western Division in the American Conference. Personal highlights include Navy wide receiver Jamir Tillman who moved to second place on Navy's career receiving yards leaders list with 1,454 catches, passing Phil McConkey with 1,278 catches.

At East Carolina

With this win, Navy clinched the

AAC AAC may refer to: Aviation * Advanced Aircraft, a company from Carlsbad, California * Alaskan Air Command, a radar network * American Aeronautical Corporation, a company from Port Washington, New York * American Aviation, a company from Cleveland, ...

West division title, and will move on to the AAC championship game in only their second year in the conference. They also set some school record season highs; highest point total (66), most rushing touchdowns (9), and rushing yards (456). Personal highlights include Navy quarterback Will Worth becoming just the 5th player in school history with 1,000+ rushing and passing yards in a season. And six straight 100 yard games, ten with a rushing touchdown, which is the longest active streak in the FBS. Worth is tied with

Jeremy McNichols Jeremy Theron McNichols (born December 26, 1995) is an American football running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Boise State Broncos football, Boise State, and was drafted by t ...

from

Boise State Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a publ ...

with 22 rushing touchdowns.

At SMU

Temple

This game marked the first game, after 136 years of being independent, that Navy was in a conference championship.

Vs. Army

Louisiana Tech (Armed Forces Bowl)

References

{{Navy Midshipmen football navbox Navy Navy Midshipmen football seasons

Navy Midshipmen football The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) college football. The Naval Academy completed its final season as an FBS independent school (not in a conference) i ...