CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2016 Colorado

10–⁠4 (8–⁠1 Pac-12), coached by Mike MacIntyre, finished No. 17 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Colorado in 2016, game by game: won vs. Colorado State 44–7; won vs. Idaho State 56–7; lost at No. 4 Michigan 28–45; won at Oregon 41–38; won vs. Oregon State 47–6; lost at USC 17–21; won vs. Arizona State 40–16; won at Stanford 10–5; won vs. UCLA 20–10; won at Arizona 49–24; won vs. No. 20 Washington State 38–24; won vs. No. 21 Utah 27–22; lost vs. No. 4 Washington 10–41; lost vs. No. 13 Oklahoma State 8–38+49−31Won 44–7 vs. Colorado State+37Colorado StateWon 56–7 vs. Idaho State+49Idaho StateLost 28–45 at No. 4 Michigan-17No. 4 MichiganWon 41–38 at Oregon+3OregonWon 47–6 vs. Oregon State+41Oregon StateLost 17–21 at USC-4USCWon 40–16 vs. Arizona State+24Arizona StateWon 10–5 at Stanford+5StanfordWon 20–10 vs. UCLA+10UCLAWon 49–24 at Arizona+25ArizonaWon 38–24 vs. No. 20 Washington State+14No. 20 Washington StateWon 27–22 vs. No. 21 Utah+5No. 21 UtahLost 10–41 vs. No. 4 Washington-31No. 4 WashingtonLost 8–38 vs. No. 13 Oklahoma State-30No. 13 Oklahoma State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsColorado StateW 44–⁠737%
Sep 10vsIdaho StateW 56–⁠786%
Sep 17at4MichiganL 28–⁠4521%
Sep 24atOregonW 41–⁠3821%
Oct 1vsOregon StateW 47–⁠672%
Oct 8atUSCL 17–⁠2129%
Oct 15vsArizona StateW 40–⁠1644%
Oct 22atStanfordW 10–⁠525%
Nov 3vsUCLAW 20–⁠1060%
Nov 12atArizonaW 49–⁠2463%
Nov 19vs20Washington StateW 38–⁠2447%
Nov 26vs21UtahW 27–⁠2254%
Dec 2vs4WashingtonPac-12 Championship GameL 10–⁠4134%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvs13Oklahoma StateAlamo BowlL 8–⁠3842%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oklahoma State 38–⁠8 in the Alamo Bowl; No. 17 in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 41st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 6: 21
  2. Wk 9: 23
  3. Wk 10: 21
  4. Wk 11: 16
  5. Wk 12: 12
  6. Wk 13: 9
  7. Wk 14: 9
  8. Wk 15: 11
  9. Final: 17

Pac-12 South champions8–⁠1 in the conference

Eddie Robinson Coach of the YearMike MacIntyre, coach; also the Walter Camp Coach and Bobby Dodd Award

Record
10–⁠4
Conference
8–⁠1 shared first in Pac-12
AP final
No. 17 peak No. 9
Points
435–⁠304
Coach
Mike MacIntyre
Elo
1600 +183 this season
SP+ rating
6.3 No. 53 of 128; offense No. 65, defense No. 27, special teams No. 103
SRS
12.8 No. 16 of 128 in FBS
Returning
76% of last season’s EPA, No. 42 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 69 roster talent No. 62 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Brian Lindgren and Darrin Chiaverini
Defensive coordinator
Jim Leavitt
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense75th of 128
  • Defense14th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted63rd of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted11th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0843%1.1175th of 128
Defense-0.0140%1.1414th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.11 off
-0.02 def		45% off
38% def		—63rd off
11th 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 2914% allowed
Defense2.7own 3318% caused

CORE rating 10.6, 22nd of 128 (offense -1.5, defense -12.1).

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 yardsSefo Liufau QB2,366 yds
Passing touchdownsSefo Liufau QB11 TD
Rushing yardsPhillip Lindsay 1,252 yds
Rushing touchdownsPhillip Lindsay 16 TD
Receiving yardsShay Fields WR883 yds
Receiving touchdownsShay Fields WR9 TD
TacklesKenneth Olugbode ILB115 tkl
SacksJimmie Gilbert OLB10.5 sacks
InterceptionsTedric Thompson DB7 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Beau Bisharat RB★★★★No. 328
Johnny Huntley WR★★★No. 640
Sam Noyer DUAL★★★No. 740
Pookie Maka WDE★★★No. 790
Caron Baham ATH★★★No. 820

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.856
Running backs23.50.867
Receivers23.00.844
Offensive line43.00.818
Defensive line13.00.854
Linebackers13.00.829
Athletes and specialists33.00.849
Whole class143.10.842

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 2Chidobe Awuzie CBDallas Cowboys
Rd 3Ahkello Witherspoon CBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 4Tedric Thompson SSeattle Seahawks
Rd 7Jordan Carrell DTDallas Cowboys

Roster 120

The 2016 roster

120 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 65 have a stat line. See the roster

2016 Pac-12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Washington8–⁠112–⁠24
Colorado8–⁠110–⁠417
USC7–⁠210–⁠33
Washington State7–⁠28–⁠5
Stanford6–⁠310–⁠312
Utah5–⁠49–⁠423
California3–⁠65–⁠7
Oregon State3–⁠64–⁠8
Arizona State2–⁠75–⁠7
Oregon2–⁠74–⁠8
UCLA2–⁠74–⁠8
Arizona1–⁠83–⁠9

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