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2016 Alabama

14–⁠1 (8–⁠0 Southeastern Conference), coached by Nick Saban, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 2016, game by game: won vs. No. 20 USC 52–6; won vs. Western Kentucky 38–10; won at No. 19 Ole Miss 48–43; won vs. Kent State 48–0; won vs. Kentucky 34–6; won at No. 16 Arkansas 49–30; won at No. 9 Tennessee 49–10; won vs. No. 6 Texas A&M 33–14; won at No. 15 LSU 10–0; won vs. Mississippi State 51–3; won vs. Chattanooga 31–3; won vs. No. 16 Auburn 30–12; won vs. No. 15 Florida 54–16; won vs. No. 4 Washington 24–7; lost vs. No. 3 Clemson 31–35+48−4Won 52–6 vs. No. 20 USC+46No. 20 USCWon 38–10 vs. Western Kentucky+28Western KentuckyWon 48–43 at No. 19 Ole Miss+5No. 19 Ole MissWon 48–0 vs. Kent State+48Kent StateWon 34–6 vs. Kentucky+28KentuckyWon 49–30 at No. 16 Arkansas+19No. 16 ArkansasWon 49–10 at No. 9 Tennessee+39No. 9 TennesseeWon 33–14 vs. No. 6 Texas A&M+19No. 6 Texas A&MWon 10–0 at No. 15 LSU+10No. 15 LSUWon 51–3 vs. Mississippi State+48Mississippi Sta…Won 31–3 vs. Chattanooga+28ChattanoogaWon 30–12 vs. No. 16 Auburn+18No. 16 AuburnWon 54–16 vs. No. 15 Florida+38No. 15 FloridaWon 24–7 vs. No. 4 Washington+17No. 4 WashingtonLost 31–35 vs. No. 3 Clemson-4No. 3 Clemson
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vs20USCW 52–⁠673%
Sep 10vsWestern KentuckyW 38–⁠1077%
Sep 17at19Ole MissW 48–⁠4366%
Sep 24vsKent StateW 48–⁠095%
Oct 1vsKentuckyW 34–⁠692%
Oct 8at16ArkansasW 49–⁠3070%
Oct 15at9TennesseeW 49–⁠1065%
Oct 22vs6Texas A&MW 33–⁠1479%
Nov 5at15LSUW 10–⁠070%
Nov 12vsMississippi StateW 51–⁠389%
Nov 19vsChattanoogaW 31–⁠394%
Nov 26vs16AuburnW 30–⁠1284%
Dec 3vs15FloridaSEC Championship GameW 54–⁠1682%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs4WashingtonPeach BowlW 24–⁠769%
Jan 9Bowls & playoffvs3ClemsonCFP National ChampionshipL 31–⁠3562%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Clemson 35–⁠31 in the CFP National Championship; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 1
  2. Wk 2: 1
  3. Wk 3: 1
  4. Wk 4: 1
  5. Wk 5: 1
  6. Wk 6: 1
  7. Wk 7: 1
  8. Wk 8: 1
  9. Wk 9: 1
  10. Wk 10: 1
  11. Wk 11: 1
  12. Wk 12: 1
  13. Wk 13: 1
  14. Wk 14: 1
  15. Wk 15: 1
  16. Final: 2

Southeastern Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference, won the SEC Championship Game

Outland TrophyCam Robinson, OT

Lombardi AwardJonathan Allen, DT; also the Hendricks, Nagurski and Bednarik

Butkus AwardReuben Foster, ILB

4 consensus All-AmericansCam Robinson, OT; Jonathan Allen, DT; Reuben Foster, ILB; Minkah Fitzpatrick, DB

Record
14–⁠1
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 1
Points
582–⁠195
Coach
Nick Saban
Elo
1920 +146 this season
SP+ rating
31.7 No. 1 of 128; offense No. 13, defense No. 1, special teams No. 45
SRS
28.5 No. 1 of 128 in FBS
Returning
34% of last season’s EPA, No. 114 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 1 roster talent No. 1 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Lane Kiffin and Steve Sarkisian
Defensive coordinator
Jeremy Pruitt
Captains
Jonathan Allen, Reuben Foster, Eddie Jackson and Cam Robinson
Offense
Multiple spread
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense16th of 128
  • Defense1st of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted12th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted1st of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2148%1.2216th of 128
Defense-0.1732%1.201st of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.22 off
-0.18 def		50% off
29% def		—12th off
1st def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.8own 3317% allowed
Defense1.8own 3022% caused

CORE rating 35.4, 1st of 128 (offense 7.8, defense -27.6).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJalen Hurts QB2,780 yds
Passing touchdownsJalen Hurts QB23 TD
Rushing yardsDamien Harris RB1,040 yds
Rushing touchdownsJalen Hurts QB13 TD
Receiving yardsArDarius Stewart WR864 yds
Receiving touchdownsArDarius Stewart WR8 TD
TacklesReuben Foster LB115 tkl
SacksJonathan Allen DL10.5 sacks
InterceptionsMinkah Fitzpatrick DB6 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Ben Davis ILB★★★★★No. 10
Mack Wilson OLB★★★★★No. 16
Jonah Williams OT★★★★★No. 17
B.J. Emmons RB★★★★No. 35
Nigel Knott CB★★★★No. 66
Terrell Lewis WDE★★★★No. 67
Shyheim Carter CB★★★★No. 71
Raekwon Davis DT★★★★No. 82

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.926
Running backs23.50.928
Receivers33.30.882
Offensive line44.30.940
Defensive line44.00.953
Linebackers43.80.901
Defensive backs43.80.932
Athletes and specialists23.50.905
Whole class243.80.923

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2017

The 2017 draft
Rd 1Marlon Humphrey CBBaltimore Ravens
Rd 1Jonathan Allen DTWashington Redskins
Rd 1O.J. Howard TETampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 1Reuben Foster ILBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 2Cam Robinson OTJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 2Ryan Anderson OLBWashington Redskins
Rd 2Dalvin Tomlinson DTNew York Giants
Rd 3Tim Williams OLBBaltimore Ravens
Rd 3ArDarius Stewart WRNew York Jets
Rd 4Eddie Jackson SChicago Bears

Roster 127

The 2016 roster

127 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

8 first team, 6 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2016 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2016 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama8–⁠014–⁠12
Florida6–⁠29–⁠414
LSU5–⁠38–⁠413
Auburn5–⁠38–⁠524
Tennessee4–⁠49–⁠422
Georgia4–⁠48–⁠5
Texas A&M4–⁠48–⁠5
Kentucky4–⁠47–⁠6
Arkansas3–⁠57–⁠6
Vanderbilt3–⁠56–⁠7
Mississippi State3–⁠56–⁠7
South Carolina3–⁠56–⁠7
Ole Miss2–⁠65–⁠7
Missouri2–⁠64–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.