CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2006 Houston

10–⁠4 (7–⁠1 Conference USA), coached by Art Briles.

Schedule and results

Houston in 2006, game by game: won at Rice 31–30; won vs. Tulane 45–7; won vs. Grambling 42–22; won vs. Oklahoma State 34–25; lost at Miami 13–14; lost vs. Louisiana 28–31; lost at Southern Miss 27–31; won vs. UTEP 34–17; won vs. UCF 51–31; won vs. Tulsa 27–10; won at SMU 37–27; won at Memphis 23–20; won vs. Southern Miss 34–20; lost vs. South Carolina 36–44+38−8Won 31–30 at Rice+1RiceWon 45–7 vs. Tulane+38TulaneWon 42–22 vs. Grambling+20GramblingWon 34–25 vs. Oklahoma State+9Oklahoma StateLost 13–14 at Miami-1MiamiLost 28–31 vs. Louisiana-3LouisianaLost 27–31 at Southern Miss-4Southern MissWon 34–17 vs. UTEP+17UTEPWon 51–31 vs. UCF+20UCFWon 27–10 vs. Tulsa+17TulsaWon 37–27 at SMU+10SMUWon 23–20 at Memphis+3MemphisWon 34–20 vs. Southern Miss+14Southern MissLost 36–44 vs. South Carolina-8South Carolina
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2atRiceW 31–⁠3058%
Sep 9vsTulaneW 45–⁠769%
Sep 16vsGramblingW 42–⁠2281%
Sep 23vsOklahoma StateW 34–⁠2554%
Sep 30atMiamiL 13–⁠1431%
Oct 7vsLouisianaL 28–⁠3167%
Oct 14atSouthern MissL 27–⁠3137%
Oct 21vsUTEPW 34–⁠1754%
Oct 28vsUCFW 51–⁠3175%
Nov 4vsTulsaW 27–⁠1042%
Nov 11atSMUW 37–⁠2756%
Nov 18atMemphisW 23–⁠2074%
Dec 1vsSouthern MissConference USA Championship GameW 34–⁠2058%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsSouth CarolinaLiberty BowlL 36–⁠4453%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to South Carolina 44–⁠36 in the Liberty Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Conference USA champions.

In program history: The 30th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 81 on file).

Conference USA champions7–⁠1 in the conference, won the Conference USA Championship Game

Led the nationAnthony Alridge: yards per carry (10.1)

Record
10–⁠4
Conference
7–⁠1 first in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
462–⁠329
Coach
Art Briles
Elo
1584 +125 this season
SP+ rating
7.6 No. 45 of 119; offense No. 19, defense No. 71, special teams No. 90
SRS
3.6 No. 49 of 119 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 83
Defensive coordinator
Alan Weddell
Offense
Veer and shoot
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense10th of 119
  • Defense91st of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1444%0.9910th of 119
Defense0.0938%1.0691st of 119
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.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 322% allowed
Defense0.1own 302% 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.

Top recruits in the 2006 class

L.J. Castile ATH★★★No. 782
J.T. Rudd OLB★★★No. 966
Britton Maxwell ATH★★★No. 1011
Marquis Lowe APB★★★No. 1045
Cameron Hackney TE★★★No. 1045

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

The 2006 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.00.748
Running backs32.30.759
Receivers42.30.745
Offensive line22.00.745
Defensive line52.00.756
Linebackers22.50.762
Defensive backs42.00.758
Athletes and specialists23.00.826
Whole class242.20.759

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 2007

The 2007 draft
Rd 2Kevin Kolb QBPhiladelphia Eagles

2006 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Houston7–⁠110–⁠4
Southern Miss6–⁠29–⁠5
Rice6–⁠27–⁠6
Tulsa5–⁠38–⁠5
East Carolina5–⁠37–⁠6
SMU4–⁠46–⁠6
Marshall4–⁠45–⁠7
UTEP3–⁠55–⁠7
UCF3–⁠54–⁠8
Tulane2–⁠64–⁠8
UAB2–⁠63–⁠9
Memphis1–⁠72–⁠10

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