CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2012 Cincinnati

10–⁠3 (5–⁠2 Big East), coached by Butch Jones, then Steve Stripling (interim, bowl game).

Schedule and results

Cincinnati in 2012, game by game: won vs. Pittsburgh 34–10; won vs. Delaware State 23–7; won vs. Virginia Tech 27–24; won vs. Miami (OH) 52–14; won vs. Fordham 49–17; lost at Toledo 23–29; lost at No. 16 Louisville 31–34; won vs. Syracuse 35–24; won at Temple 34–10; lost vs. No. 22 Rutgers 3–10; won vs. South Florida 27–10; won at UConn 34–17; won vs. Duke 48–34+38−7Won 34–10 vs. Pittsburgh+24PittsburghWon 23–7 vs. Delaware State+16Delaware StateWon 27–24 vs. Virginia Tech+3Virginia TechWon 52–14 vs. Miami (OH)+38Miami (OH)Won 49–17 vs. Fordham+32FordhamLost 23–29 at Toledo-6ToledoLost 31–34 at No. 16 Louisville-3No. 16 LouisvilleWon 35–24 vs. Syracuse+11SyracuseWon 34–10 at Temple+24TempleLost 3–10 vs. No. 22 Rutgers-7No. 22 RutgersWon 27–10 vs. South Florida+17South FloridaWon 34–17 at UConn+17UConnWon 48–34 vs. Duke+14Duke
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vsPittsburghW 34–⁠1071%
Sep 15vsDelaware StateW 23–⁠793%
Sep 29vsVirginia TechW 27–⁠2448%
Oct 6vsMiami (OH)W 52–⁠1477%
Oct 13vsFordhamW 49–⁠1791%
Oct 20atToledoL 23–⁠2943%
Oct 26at16LouisvilleL 31–⁠3440%
Nov 3vsSyracuseW 35–⁠2474%
Nov 10atTempleW 34–⁠1062%
Nov 17vs22RutgersL 3–⁠1059%
Nov 23vsSouth FloridaW 27–⁠1079%
Dec 1atUConnW 34–⁠1764%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsDukeBelk BowlW 48–⁠3477%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Duke 48–⁠34 in the Belk Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Big East champions.

In program history: The 8th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 114 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 7: 21
  2. Wk 8: 21

Big East champions5–⁠2 in the conference, shared with Louisville, Rutgers and Syracuse

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
5–⁠2 shared first in Big East
AP final
Unranked peak No. 21
Points
420–⁠240
Coach
Butch Jones, then Steve Stripling (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1658 +81 this season
SP+ rating
11.1 No. 36 of 124; offense No. 34, defense No. 45, special teams No. 28
SRS
6.0 No. 41 of 124 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 51
Offensive coordinator
Mike Bajakian
Defensive coordinator
John Jancek
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense44th of 124
  • Defense68th of 124
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted50th of 124
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted86th of 124
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0840%1.0844th of 124
Defense0.0742%0.9468th of 124
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.07 def		40% off
43% def		—50th off
86th 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
Offense-0.1own 333% allowed
Defense-0.2own 262% caused

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. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsMunchie Legaux QB1,716 yds
Passing touchdownsMunchie Legaux QB13 TD
Rushing yardsGeorge Winn RB1,334 yds
Rushing touchdownsGeorge Winn RB13 TD
Receiving yardsTravis Kelce TE722 yds
Receiving touchdownsTravis Kelce TE8 TD
InterceptionsArryn Chenault S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2012 class

Bennie Coney PRO★★★No. 398
Marcus Foster S★★★No. 512
Deionte Buckley RB★★★No. 574
Trenton Norvell PRO★★★No. 682
Caleb Stacey OT★★★No. 728

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

The 2012 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.877
Running backs23.00.846
Receivers43.00.841
Offensive line33.00.842
Defensive line43.00.850
Linebackers52.80.798
Defensive backs52.80.828
Athletes and specialists23.00.837
Whole class272.90.835

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 2013

The 2013 draft
Rd 3Travis Kelce TEKansas City Chiefs

Roster 113

The 2012 roster

113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2012 line; 32 have a stat line. See the roster

2012 Big East standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Louisville5–⁠211–⁠213
Cincinnati5–⁠210–⁠3
Rutgers5–⁠29–⁠4
Syracuse5–⁠28–⁠5
Pittsburgh3–⁠46–⁠7
UConn2–⁠55–⁠7
Temple2–⁠54–⁠7
South Florida1–⁠63–⁠9

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