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2016 Central Arkansas

10–⁠3 (8–⁠1 Southland Conference).

Schedule and results

Central Arkansas in 2016, game by game: won vs. Houston Christian 56–13; lost vs. Samford 29–35; won vs. Northwestern State 24–10; won at Arkansas State 28–23; won at Abilene Christian 58–27; won at McNeese 35–0; won vs. Lamar 22–12; won at SE Louisiana 45–10; won at Stephen F. Austin 34–14; won vs. Nicholls 31–24; lost at Sam Houston 23–59; won vs. Illinois State 31–24; lost at Eastern Washington 14–31+43−36Won 56–13 vs. Houston Christian+43Houston Christi…Lost 29–35 vs. Samford-6SamfordWon 24–10 vs. Northwestern State+14Northwestern St…Won 28–23 at Arkansas State+5Arkansas StateWon 58–27 at Abilene Christian+31Abilene Christi…Won 35–0 at McNeese+35McNeeseWon 22–12 vs. Lamar+10LamarWon 45–10 at SE Louisiana+35SE LouisianaWon 34–14 at Stephen F. Austin+20Stephen F. Aust…Won 31–24 vs. Nicholls+7NichollsLost 23–59 at Sam Houston-36Sam HoustonWon 31–24 vs. Illinois State+7Illinois StateLost 14–31 at Eastern Washington-17Eastern Washing…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsHouston ChristianW 56–⁠1384%
Sep 10vsSamfordL 29–⁠3557%
Sep 17vsNorthwestern StateW 24–⁠1065%
Sep 24atArkansas StateW 28–⁠2328%
Oct 1atAbilene ChristianW 58–⁠2766%
Oct 15atMcNeeseW 35–⁠045%
Oct 22vsLamarW 22–⁠1274%
Oct 29atSE LouisianaW 45–⁠1059%
Nov 5atStephen F. AustinW 34–⁠1471%
Nov 12vsNichollsW 31–⁠2483%
Nov 19atSam HoustonL 23–⁠5937%
Nov 26vsIllinois StateW 31–⁠2463%
Dec 3atEastern WashingtonL 14–⁠3139%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Eastern Washington 31–⁠14; unranked in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Southland Conference.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 25 on file).

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
8–⁠1 2nd in Southland Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
430–⁠282
Coach
—
Elo
1475 +128 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
−11.8 No. 14 of 125 in FCS
Recruiting class
No. 148
Offensive coordinator
Nathan Brown
Defensive coordinator
Greg Stewart
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

Leaders

Passing yardsHayden Hildebrand QB270 yds
Passing touchdownsHayden Hildebrand QB1 TD
Rushing yardsAntwon Wells RB47 yds
Rushing touchdownsAntwon Wells RB1 TD
Receiving yardsJatavious Wilson WR130 yds
Receiving touchdownsBrandon Cox WR1 TD
TacklesJames Graves LB12 tkl
SacksDalvin Simmons LB1 sacks
InterceptionsTremon Smith CB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Kierre Crossley RB★★★No. 1737
Austin Norris SDE★★★No. 2098
Brandon Northcross ATH★★No. 2312
Joe Hampton WR★★No. 2568
Adrian Harris OG★★No. 2585

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.778
Running backs13.00.816
Receivers12.00.783
Offensive line12.00.783
Defensive line13.00.800
Athletes and specialists12.00.790
Whole class62.30.792

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.

2016 Southland Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Sam Houston9–⁠012–⁠1
Central Arkansas8–⁠110–⁠3
SE Louisiana7–⁠27–⁠4
McNeese5–⁠46–⁠5
Nicholls5–⁠45–⁠6
Stephen F. Austin4–⁠55–⁠6
Houston Christian3–⁠54–⁠7
Lamar3–⁠63–⁠8
Incarnate Word3–⁠63–⁠8
Abilene Christian2–⁠72–⁠9
Northwestern State0–⁠91–⁠10

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