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2016 Ball State

4–⁠8 (1–⁠7 Mid-American Conference), coached by Mike Neu.

Schedule and results

Ball State in 2016, game by game: won at Georgia State 31–21; lost at Indiana 20–30; won vs. Eastern Kentucky 41–14; won at Florida Atlantic 31–27; lost vs. Northern Illinois 24–31; lost at Central Michigan 21–24; won at Buffalo 31–21; lost vs. Akron 25–35; lost vs. No. 17 Western Michigan 20–52; lost vs. Eastern Michigan 41–48; lost at Toledo 19–37; lost at Miami (OH) 20–21+27−32Won 31–21 at Georgia State+10Georgia StateLost 20–30 at Indiana-10IndianaWon 41–14 vs. Eastern Kentucky+27Eastern KentuckyWon 31–27 at Florida Atlantic+4Florida AtlanticLost 24–31 vs. Northern Illinois-7Northern Illino…Lost 21–24 at Central Michigan-3Central MichiganWon 31–21 at Buffalo+10BuffaloLost 25–35 vs. Akron-10AkronLost 20–52 vs. No. 17 Western Michigan-32No. 17 Western MichiganLost 41–48 vs. Eastern Michigan-7Eastern MichiganLost 19–37 at Toledo-18ToledoLost 20–21 at Miami (OH)-1Miami (OH)
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2atGeorgia StateW 31–⁠2137%
Sep 10atIndianaL 20–⁠3031%
Sep 17vsEastern KentuckyW 41–⁠1469%
Sep 24atFlorida AtlanticW 31–⁠2750%
Oct 1vsNorthern IllinoisL 24–⁠3160%
Oct 8atCentral MichiganL 21–⁠2434%
Oct 15atBuffaloW 31–⁠2155%
Oct 22vsAkronL 25–⁠3549%
Nov 1vs17Western MichiganL 20–⁠5222%
Nov 8vsEastern MichiganL 41–⁠4864%
Nov 16atToledoL 19–⁠3711%
Nov 22atMiami (OH)L 20–⁠2132%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Miami (OH) 21–⁠20; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 11th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 39th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
1–⁠7 tied for 11th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
324–⁠361
Coach
Mike Neu
Elo
1362 −36 this season
SP+ rating
-7.0 No. 96 of 128; offense No. 73, defense No. 101, special teams No. 69
SRS
−10.7 No. 105 of 128 in FBS
Returning
95% of last season’s EPA, No. 9 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 113 roster talent No. 109 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Joey Lynch
Defensive coordinator
Tim Daoust
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense65th of 128
  • Defense91st of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted83rd of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted100th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1049%1.0265th of 128
Defense0.1746%1.2791st of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.16 def		46% off
47% def		—83rd off
100th 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
Offense3.5own 3114% allowed
Defense3.3own 2917% caused

CORE rating -6.1, 93rd of 128 (offense -1.8, defense 4.3).

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 yardsRiley Neal QB2,541 yds
Passing touchdownsRiley Neal QB13 TD
Rushing yardsJames Gilbert RB1,332 yds
Rushing touchdownsJames Gilbert RB12 TD
Receiving yardsKeVonn Mabon WR972 yds
Receiving touchdownsDamon Hazelton WR4 TD
TacklesSean Wiggins LB109 tkl
SacksAnthony Winbush DE8.5 sacks
InterceptionsMarc Walton CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Lamar Anderson ATH★★★No. 1703
James Jennette II WDE★★★No. 1717
Drew Plitt PRO★★★No. 1851
Nolan Givan WR★★★No. 1884
Chris Crumb DT★★★No. 1928

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.811
Receivers52.20.789
Offensive line52.20.780
Defensive line52.40.784
Linebackers22.00.788
Defensive backs12.00.768
Athletes and specialists13.00.817
Whole class202.30.787

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.

Roster 102

The 2016 roster

102 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 51 have a stat line. See the roster

2016 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Western Michigan8–⁠013–⁠115
Toledo6–⁠29–⁠4
Ohio6–⁠28–⁠6
Miami (OH)6–⁠26–⁠7
Northern Illinois5–⁠35–⁠7
Eastern Michigan4–⁠47–⁠6
Central Michigan3–⁠56–⁠7
Akron3–⁠55–⁠7
Bowling Green3–⁠54–⁠8
Kent State2–⁠63–⁠9
Ball State1–⁠74–⁠8
Buffalo1–⁠72–⁠10

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