CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2016 Central Michigan

6–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Mid-American Conference), coached by John Bonamego.

Schedule and results

Central Michigan in 2016, game by game: won vs. Presbyterian 49–3; won at No. 22 Oklahoma State 30–27; won vs. UNLV 44–21; lost at Virginia 35–49; lost vs. Western Michigan 10–49; won vs. Ball State 24–21; won at Northern Illinois 34–28; lost at Toledo 17–31; lost vs. Kent State 24–27; lost at Miami (OH) 17–37; won vs. Ohio 27–20; lost at Eastern Michigan 21–26; lost vs. Tulsa 10–55+46−45Won 49–3 vs. Presbyterian+46PresbyterianWon 30–27 at No. 22 Oklahoma State+3No. 22 Oklahoma StateWon 44–21 vs. UNLV+23UNLVLost 35–49 at Virginia-14VirginiaLost 10–49 vs. Western Michigan-39Western MichiganWon 24–21 vs. Ball State+3Ball StateWon 34–28 at Northern Illinois+6Northern Illino…Lost 17–31 at Toledo-14ToledoLost 24–27 vs. Kent State-3Kent StateLost 17–37 at Miami (OH)-20Miami (OH)Won 27–20 vs. Ohio+7OhioLost 21–26 at Eastern Michigan-5Eastern MichiganLost 10–55 vs. Tulsa-45Tulsa
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsPresbyterianW 49–⁠387%
Sep 10at22Oklahoma StateW 30–⁠2732%
Sep 17vsUNLVW 44–⁠2176%
Sep 24atVirginiaL 35–⁠4962%
Oct 1vsWestern MichiganL 10–⁠4944%
Oct 8vsBall StateW 24–⁠2166%
Oct 15atNorthern IllinoisW 34–⁠2848%
Oct 22atToledoL 17–⁠3124%
Oct 29vsKent StateL 24–⁠2775%
Nov 4atMiami (OH)L 17–⁠3755%
Nov 15vsOhioW 27–⁠2044%
Nov 22atEastern MichiganL 21–⁠2657%
Dec 19Bowls & playoffvsTulsaMiami Beach BowlL 10–⁠5528%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Tulsa 55–⁠10 in the Miami Beach Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 38th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 68 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 7th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
342–⁠394
Coach
John Bonamego
Elo
1427 −80 this season
SP+ rating
-6.1 No. 91 of 128; offense No. 78, defense No. 86, special teams No. 124
SRS
−6.8 No. 90 of 128 in FBS
Returning
93% of last season’s EPA, No. 10 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 107 roster talent No. 99 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Morris Watts
Defensive coordinator
Greg Colby

How good, play by play

  • Offense84th of 128
  • Defense81st of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted95th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted71st of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0641%1.2884th of 128
Defense0.1444%1.2281st of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.05 off
0.11 def		40% off
44% def		—95th off
71st 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
Offense3.2own 3019% allowed
Defense3.9own 3216% caused

CORE rating -3.0, 81st of 128 (offense -2.6, defense 0.5).

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 yardsCooper Rush QB3,540 yds
Passing touchdownsCooper Rush QB23 TD
Rushing yardsDevon Spalding RB758 yds
Rushing touchdownsJahray Hayes RB9 TD
Receiving yardsCorey Willis WR1,087 yds
Receiving touchdownsCorey Willis WR9 TD
TacklesMalik Fountain LB90 tkl
SacksJoe Ostman DL8 sacks
InterceptionsAmari Coleman DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Tony Poljan DUAL★★★No. 707
Bailey Edwards WR★★★No. 1359
Kumehnnu Gwilly RB★★★No. 1703
Alonzo McCoy CB★★★No. 1757
Austin Hergott PRO★★★No. 2046

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.830
Running backs22.50.806
Receivers32.30.792
Defensive line22.50.789
Linebackers22.00.777
Defensive backs42.30.778
Athletes and specialists12.00.767
Whole class162.40.791

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 106

The 2016 roster

106 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 67 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.