CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 Florida Atlantic

11–⁠3 (8–⁠0 Conference USA), coached by Lane Kiffin.

Schedule and results

Florida Atlantic in 2017, game by game: lost vs. Navy 19–42; lost at No. 9 Wisconsin 14–31; won vs. Bethune-Cookman 45–0; lost at Buffalo 31–34; won vs. Middle Tennessee 38–20; won at Old Dominion 58–28; won vs. North Texas 69–31; won at Western Kentucky 42–28; won vs. Marshall 30–25; won at Louisiana Tech 48–23; won vs. Florida International 52–24; won at Charlotte 31–12; won vs. North Texas 41–17; won vs. Akron 50–3+47−23Lost 19–42 vs. Navy-23NavyLost 14–31 at No. 9 Wisconsin-17No. 9 WisconsinWon 45–0 vs. Bethune-Cookman+45Bethune-CookmanLost 31–34 at Buffalo-3BuffaloWon 38–20 vs. Middle Tennessee+18Middle TennesseeWon 58–28 at Old Dominion+30Old DominionWon 69–31 vs. North Texas+38North TexasWon 42–28 at Western Kentucky+14Western KentuckyWon 30–25 vs. Marshall+5MarshallWon 48–23 at Louisiana Tech+25Louisiana TechWon 52–24 vs. Florida International+28Florida Interna…Won 31–12 at Charlotte+19CharlotteWon 41–17 vs. North Texas+24North TexasWon 50–3 vs. Akron+47Akron
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsNavyL 19–⁠4232%
Sep 9at9WisconsinL 14–⁠3110%
Sep 16vsBethune-CookmanW 45–⁠062%
Sep 23atBuffaloL 31–⁠3443%
Sep 30vsMiddle TennesseeW 38–⁠2044%
Oct 7atOld DominionW 58–⁠2831%
Oct 21vsNorth TexasW 69–⁠3158%
Oct 28atWestern KentuckyW 42–⁠2825%
Nov 3vsMarshallW 30–⁠2561%
Nov 11atLouisiana TechW 48–⁠2347%
Nov 18vsFlorida InternationalW 52–⁠2474%
Nov 25atCharlotteW 31–⁠1285%
Dec 2vsNorth TexasConference USA Championship GameW 41–⁠1772%
Dec 19Bowls & playoffvsAkronBoca Raton BowlW 50–⁠379%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Akron 50–⁠3 in the Boca Raton Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Conference USA champions.

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

Conference USA champions8–⁠0 in the conference, won the Conference USA Championship Game

Led the nationDevin Singletary: rushing touchdowns (32 TD), points (198 pts)

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
568–⁠318
Coach
Lane Kiffin
Elo
1632 +254 this season
SP+ rating
5.1 No. 50 of 128; offense No. 30, defense No. 89, special teams No. 11
SRS
9.0 No. 34 of 130 in FBS
Returning
90% of last season’s EPA, No. 7 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 60 roster talent No. 75 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Kendal Briles
Defensive coordinator
Chris Kiffin
Offense
Veer and shoot
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense3rd of 130
  • Defense53rd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted11th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted62nd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2848%1.333rd of 130
Defense0.0642%1.2053rd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.21 off
0.08 def		44% off
43% def		—11th off
62nd 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
Offense4.7own 3313% allowed
Defense3.4own 3115% caused

CORE rating 4.1, 47th of 130 (offense 7.5, defense 3.4).

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 yardsJason Driskel QB2,247 yds
Passing touchdownsJason Driskel QB15 TD
Rushing yardsDevin Singletary RB1,920 yds
Rushing touchdownsDevin Singletary RB32 TD
Receiving yardsWillie Wright WR657 yds
Receiving touchdownsWillie Wright WR6 TD
TacklesAzeez Al-Shaair LB146 tkl
SacksHunter Snyder DE6 sacks
InterceptionsJalen Young S7 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Ahman Ross S★★★No. 616
Romello Martin DT★★★No. 651
Quran Hafiz CB★★★No. 886
Jordan Merrell WR★★★No. 1132
Chase Lasater FB★★★No. 1304

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs22.50.807
Receivers32.70.812
Offensive line23.00.800
Defensive line23.00.835
Linebackers22.50.808
Defensive backs42.80.833
Athletes and specialists13.00.826
Whole class162.80.818

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 127

The 2017 roster

127 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 66 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida Atlantic8–⁠011–⁠3
North Texas7–⁠19–⁠5
Southern Miss6–⁠28–⁠5
UAB6–⁠28–⁠5
Florida International5–⁠38–⁠5
Marshall4–⁠48–⁠5
Middle Tennessee4–⁠47–⁠6
Louisiana Tech4–⁠47–⁠6
Western Kentucky4–⁠46–⁠7
UTSA3–⁠56–⁠5
Old Dominion3–⁠55–⁠7
Rice1–⁠71–⁠11
Charlotte1–⁠71–⁠11
UTEP0–⁠80–⁠12

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