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2016 Boise State

10–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Mountain West Conference), coached by Bryan Harsin.

Schedule and results

Boise State in 2016, game by game: won at Louisiana 45–10; won vs. Washington State 31–28; won at Oregon State 38–24; won vs. Utah State 21–10; won at New Mexico 49–21; won vs. Colorado State 28–23; won vs. BYU 28–27; lost at Wyoming 28–30; won vs. San José State 45–31; won at Hawai’i 52–16; won vs. UNLV 42–25; lost at Air Force 20–27; lost vs. Baylor 12–31+36−19Won 45–10 at Louisiana+35LouisianaWon 31–28 vs. Washington State+3Washington StateWon 38–24 at Oregon State+14Oregon StateWon 21–10 vs. Utah State+11Utah StateWon 49–21 at New Mexico+28New MexicoWon 28–23 vs. Colorado State+5Colorado StateWon 28–27 vs. BYU+1BYULost 28–30 at Wyoming-2WyomingWon 45–31 vs. San José State+14San José StateWon 52–16 at Hawai’i+36Hawai’iWon 42–25 vs. UNLV+17UNLVLost 20–27 at Air Force-7Air ForceLost 12–31 vs. Baylor-19Baylor
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3atLouisianaW 45–⁠1069%
Sep 10vsWashington StateW 31–⁠2871%
Sep 24atOregon StateW 38–⁠2474%
Oct 1vsUtah StateW 21–⁠1076%
Oct 7atNew MexicoW 49–⁠2170%
Oct 15vsColorado StateW 28–⁠2383%
Oct 20vsBYUW 28–⁠2765%
Oct 29atWyomingL 28–⁠3070%
Nov 4vsSan José StateW 45–⁠3188%
Nov 12atHawai’iW 52–⁠1679%
Nov 18vsUNLVW 42–⁠2590%
Nov 25atAir ForceL 20–⁠2761%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsBaylorCactus BowlL 12–⁠3169%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Baylor 31–⁠12 in the Cactus Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 24th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 56 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 24
  2. Wk 6: 19
  3. Wk 7: 15
  4. Wk 8: 14
  5. Wk 9: 13
  6. Wk 10: 24
  7. Wk 11: 24
  8. Wk 12: 22
  9. Wk 13: 20

MW Mountain champions6–⁠2 in the conference, shared with New Mexico and Wyoming

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 shared first in Mountain West Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 13
Points
439–⁠303
Coach
Bryan Harsin
Elo
1620 +19 this season
SP+ rating
11.5 No. 29 of 128; offense No. 28, defense No. 42, special teams No. 73
SRS
6.3 No. 39 of 128 in FBS
Returning
86% of last season’s EPA, No. 28 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 68 roster talent No. 57 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Zak Hill and Scott Huff
Defensive coordinator
Andy Avalos
Offense
Multiple
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense12th of 128
  • Defense48th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted17th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted49th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2448%1.3012th of 128
Defense0.0842%1.1548th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.21 off
0.08 def		47% off
42% def		—17th off
49th 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
Offense4.3own 2614% allowed
Defense2.9own 2815% caused

CORE rating 7.6, 30th of 128 (offense 7.1, defense -0.6).

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 yardsBrett Rypien QB3,646 yds
Passing touchdownsBrett Rypien QB24 TD
Rushing yardsJeremy McNichols RB1,709 yds
Rushing touchdownsJeremy McNichols RB23 TD
Receiving yardsThomas Sperbeck WR1,272 yds
Receiving touchdownsCedrick Wilson WR11 TD
TacklesBen Weaver 108 tkl
SacksDavid Moa DT8.5 sacks
InterceptionsChanceller James S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Alexander Mattison RB★★★No. 658
Julian Carter WR★★★No. 895
Kole Bailey OT★★★No. 971
Jabari Watson DT★★★No. 1020
Curtis Weaver SDE★★★No. 1096

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.823
Running backs13.00.861
Receivers33.00.837
Offensive line33.00.816
Defensive line63.00.828
Linebackers33.00.833
Defensive backs63.00.819
Athletes and specialists22.00.791
Whole class252.90.824

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 5Jeremy McNichols RBTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 6Tanner Vallejo OLBBuffalo Bills

Roster 98

The 2016 roster

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

2016 Mountain West Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
San Diego State6–⁠211–⁠325
Boise State6–⁠210–⁠3
New Mexico6–⁠29–⁠4
Wyoming6–⁠28–⁠6
Air Force5–⁠310–⁠3
Colorado State5–⁠37–⁠6
Hawai’i4–⁠47–⁠7
Nevada3–⁠55–⁠7
UNLV3–⁠54–⁠8
San José State3–⁠54–⁠8
Utah State1–⁠73–⁠9
Fresno State0–⁠81–⁠11

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