2012 East Carolina
8–5 (7–1 Conference USA), coached by Ruffin McNeill. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Memphis 41–7Oct 13
By 34 points, its widest win.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | vs App State | W 35–13 | 66% |
| Sep 8 | at 9South Carolina | L 10–48 | 20% |
| Sep 15 | at Southern Miss | W 24–14 | 24% |
| Sep 22 | at North Carolina | L 6–27 | 39% |
| Sep 29 | vs UTEP | W 28–18 | 66% |
| Oct 4 | at UCF | L 20–40 | 39% |
| Oct 13 | vs Memphis | W 41–7 | 81% |
| Oct 20 | at UAB | W 42–35 | 61% |
| Oct 27 | vs Navy | L 28–56 | 57% |
| Nov 3 | vs Houston | W 48–28 | 48% |
| Nov 17 | at Tulane | W 28–23 | 76% |
| Nov 23 | vs Marshall | W 65–59 | 64% |
| Dec 22Bowls & playoff | vs LouisianaNew Orleans Bowl | L 34–43 | 47% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Louisiana 43–34 in the New Orleans Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Conference USA.
In program history: The 31st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 70 on file).
C-USA East champions7–1 in the conference, shared with UCF
- Record
- 8–5
- Conference
- 7–1 shared first in Conference USA
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 409–411
- Coach
- Ruffin McNeill
- Elo
- 1489 +37 this season
- SP+ rating
- -5.5 No. 82 of 124; offense No. 68, defense No. 84, special teams No. 63
- SRS
- −6.0 No. 84 of 124 in FBS
- Recruiting class
- No. 80
- Offensive coordinator
- Lincoln Riley
- Defensive coordinator
- Brian Mitchell
- Offense
- Air raid
- Defense
- 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.10 | 44% | 0.92 | 39th of 124 |
| Defense | 0.13 | 44% | 1.02 | 110th of 124 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.08 off 0.11 def | 42% off 44% def | — | 42nd off 118th 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.1 | own 30 | 2% allowed |
| Defense | 0.1 | own 30 | 2% 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 yards | Shane Carden QB | 3,116 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Shane Carden QB | 23 TD |
| Rushing yards | Vintavious Cooper RB | 1,049 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Shane Carden QB | 8 TD |
| Receiving yards | Justin Hardy WR | 1,105 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Justin Hardy WR | 11 TD |
| Interceptions | Chip Thompson DB | 3 INT |
Top recruits in the 2012 class
| Lucas Thompson S | ★★★ | No. 406 |
| Jabril Solomon WR | ★★★ | No. 497 |
| Jonathan McLaughlin OT | ★★★ | No. 946 |
| Quataye Smyre CB | ★★★ | No. 1273 |
| Reece Speight WDE | ★★ | No. 1893 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2012 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receivers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.879 |
| Offensive line | 3 | 2.3 | 0.798 |
| Defensive line | 1 | 2.0 | 0.791 |
| Linebackers | 1 | 2.0 | 0.733 |
| Defensive backs | 3 | 2.7 | 0.825 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 2.0 | 0.768 |
| Whole class | 11 | 2.4 | 0.801 |
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 112
The 2012 roster112 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2012 line; 31 have a stat line. See the roster
2012 Conference USA standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 Tulsa | 7–1 | 11–3 | |
| UCF | 7–1 | 10–4 | |
 East Carolina | 7–1 | 8–5 | |
 SMU | 5–3 | 7–6 | |
 Rice | 4–4 | 7–6 | |
| Houston | 4–4 | 5–7 | |
| Marshall | 4–4 | 5–7 | |
| Memphis | 4–4 | 4–8 | |
| UAB | 2–6 | 3–9 | |
| UTEP | 2–6 | 3–9 | |
| Tulane | 2–6 | 2–10 | |
| Southern Miss | 0–8 | 0–12 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.