Behind a record-setting running attack and a stalwart defense, the Case Western Reserve University football team put together its winningest season since 2011, and claimed a share of the University Athletic Association Championship in 2016.

The Spartans finished the 2016 season with a 9-1 overall record, marking just the sixth time in the program's history that the team has won nine or more games in a campaign.  Case Western Reserve went 7-1 in Presidents' Athletic Conference games to finish second in the league, the team's best finish since rejoining the conference as an affiliate member in 2014.  In addition, the Spartans finished 2-1 in UAA contests to tie Carnegie Mellon and Washington University (Mo.) for the conference title, the sixth in the history of the Case Western Reserve football program.  The team received votes in both the final D3football.com and AFCA Top-25 polls.

Case Western Reserve's strength on offense was its running game, which emerged as one of the top rushing attacks in Division III during the year, behind junior quarterback Rob Cuda, junior running back Jacob Burke and a veteran offensive line with junior tackle Ryan Merlau, junior guard Ryan DeMarinis, junior center Gage Blair, senior guard Dante Capicchioni and sophomore tackle Steven Bachie.  The Spartans rushed for 2,579 yards as a team, blowing past the previous rushing record of 2,195 yards, set during the 1984 campaign.  The team's 257.9 rushing yards per game ranked as the 14^th-best in Division III in 2016, with Burke (1,065 yards) recording the fourth-most yards on the ground in a single season by a Spartan , and Cuda (908 yards) accounting for the eighth-most rushing yards by a Spartan in a campaign, and the most ever in a season by a CWRU quarterback.

Adding to the Spartans' offensive prowess was an air attack that accounting for 240.0 yards per game, with senior receiver Brendan Lynch recording the second-most receiving yards in a single season by a Spartan with 1,049.  The end result was an offense that averaged 39.2 points per game, the 26^th-best mark among Division III teams and the second-highest ever by a Spartans' team.

Following the season, Cuda was selected as the UAA Offensive Player of the Year, becoming just fourth player in the program's history to claim the honor, joining Brandon McDowell (2002), Dave Kallevig (2004) and Dan Whalen (2007, 2008 and 2009).  In addition, the Spartans' coaching staff, led by Head Coach Greg Debeljak, was named the UAA Coaching Staff of the Year, marking the sixth time in the program's history the coaching staff has received the award.

Meanwhile, the Spartans battled through a number of injuries on the defensive side of the ball to remain one of the top units in the PAC, allowing just 18.7 points per game, the second-lowest mark in the conference and 37^th-best in all of Division III.  Senior cornerback and co-captain Nick Kwon proved to be a rock in the secondary, earning D3football.com All-South Region Second Team honors and All-PAC and All-UAA First Team recognition.  Junior insider linebacker Justin McMahon started all 10 games and led the team with 76 tackles during the year, while junior outside linebacker Chanan Demery led the team with three forced fumbles and four interceptions, as the Spartans ended the year ranked 37^th in Division III and third in the PAC with 15 interceptions as a team.  On the defensive line, Case Western Reserve was bolstered by the emergence of sophomore Cameron Brown, who earned All-PAC and All-UAA honors during his first year of playing collegiate football, after leading all Spartan players with 4.5 sacks and 13.5 total tackles for a loss.

Case Western Reserve won its first nine games of the 2016 season, the team's longest winning streak since the 2009 campaign.  After opening the season at home with a 45-17 win over UAA-rival Chicago, the Spartans went on the road to defeat Grove City 55-0, the second-largest margin of victory in a game in program history, as Lynch matched a program record with 222 receiving yards in the game.  Another program single-game record was matched the following week, when Burke rushed for four touchdowns during a 35-7 win at Waynesburg, capping off a 3-0 month of September for the Spartans.

Case Western Reserve carried their September momentum into October, topping Saint Vincent at home 53-28, Bethany on the road 37-14, and Thiel 48-21 for the team's Homecoming game.  After a hard-fought home win over Geneva, 16-14, the Spartans offense broke out for one of the best performances in the program's history in St. Louis against Washington University (Mo.).  En route to a 56-38 win that clinched the UAA title for CWRU, the Spartans collected 707 yards of total offense, including 435 rushing yards, the second-highest total in a game in program history.  Cuda led the team in the game with a career-best 191 rushing yards, while completing 20-of-33 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns.  Burke added 164 yards on the ground and four touchdowns during the game.

The following week proved to be the most exciting game of the season for the Spartans, as the team overcame a 19-point deficit late in the third quarter to defeat Westminster College 26-22 on the road, keeping their hopes for a PAC Championship and a berth to the NCAA playoff field alive.  Touchdown passes from Cuda to sophomore wide receiver Justin Phan and Lynch helped to spur the comeback, pulling the Spartans back within a field goal with 9:44 to play, and Burke scored the go-ahead touchdown on a one-yard run on fourth down to give CWRU the lead with 4:25 left in the game.  Westminster threatened one final time, driving to the Spartans' three yard line, but McMahon recovered a fumble off an exchange on a handoff, clinching the win for Case Western Reserve.  However, the Spartans' winning streak and its season would come to an end the following week with a 26-21 loss to Carnegie Mellon in the 31^st-Annual Academic Bowl, dashing the team's hopes for an at-large bid to the NCAA playoffs.

The Spartans were ranked as high as 21^st in the D3football.com Top-25 poll during the year, and were featured in the organization's top-25 for three-straight weeks.  In addition, Case Western Reserve made its first appearance in the AFCA Top-25 since the 2010 season, and was ranked as high as 20^th during the campaign.  

Following the season, both Kwon (second team) and Blair (third team) received D3football.com All-South Region honors, while both were also joined on the All-PAC and All-UAA First Teams by Lynch.  Twelve CWRU players received All-PAC honors in 2016, while 21 Spartans were named to the All-UAA teams.

In addition to the team's success on the field, a number of players were recognized for their academic achievements as well during the 2016 campaign.  Lynch and Kwon were each selected as CoSIDA Academic All-Americans, with the former earning first team honors, and the latter claiming a spot on the second team.  Joining the duo on the Academic All-District team was Capicchioni, while Kwon was also named the PAC SAAC Scholar Athlete of the Month for November.  Earning UAA All-Academic honors during the year were junior linebacker Andrew Banathy, sophomore offensive lineman Jack Blanton, senior linebacker Tim Briercheck, sophomore defensive lineman Tyler Bushman, junior safety Cody Calhoun, Capicchioni, Demery, senior defensive lineman Tyler Doty, sophomore linebacker Matt Gallagher, senior quarterback Stephen Guenther, Kwon, Lynch, senior linebacker Zach Lyon, sophomore defensive lineman Brian McNamara, senior center Robbie Sabatelle, junior kicker Weston Salerno and sophomore linebacker David Traganza, and senior cornerback Owen Williams.

The Spartans earned the following honors during the 2016 football season:

The following were the Spartans leaders during the 2016 season: