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2011 Houston

13–⁠1 (8–⁠0 Conference USA), coached by Kevin Sumlin, then Tony Levine (interim, bowl game), finished No. 18 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Houston in 2011, game by game: won vs. UCLA 38–34; won at North Texas 48–23; won at Louisiana Tech 35–34; won vs. Georgia State 56–0; won at UTEP 49–42; won vs. East Carolina 56–3; won vs. Marshall 63–28; won vs. Rice 73–34; won at UAB 56–13; won at Tulane 73–17; won vs. SMU 37–7; won at Tulsa 48–16; lost vs. No. 24 Southern Miss 28–49; won vs. No. 24 Penn State 30–14+56−21Won 38–34 vs. UCLA+4UCLAWon 48–23 at North Texas+25North TexasWon 35–34 at Louisiana Tech+1Louisiana TechWon 56–0 vs. Georgia State+56Georgia StateWon 49–42 at UTEP+7UTEPWon 56–3 vs. East Carolina+53East CarolinaWon 63–28 vs. Marshall+35MarshallWon 73–34 vs. Rice+39RiceWon 56–13 at UAB+43UABWon 73–17 at Tulane+56TulaneWon 37–7 vs. SMU+30SMUWon 48–16 at Tulsa+32TulsaLost 28–49 vs. No. 24 Southern Miss-21No. 24 Southern MissWon 30–14 vs. No. 24 Penn State+16No. 24 Penn State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsUCLAW 38–⁠3462%
Sep 10atNorth TexasW 48–⁠2362%
Sep 17atLouisiana TechW 35–⁠3449%
Sep 24vsGeorgia StateW 56–⁠084%
Sep 29atUTEPW 49–⁠4258%
Oct 8vsEast CarolinaW 56–⁠375%
Oct 22vsMarshallW 63–⁠2873%
Oct 27vsRiceW 73–⁠3483%
Nov 5atUABW 56–⁠1379%
Nov 10atTulaneW 73–⁠1785%
Nov 19vsSMUW 37–⁠772%
Nov 25atTulsaW 48–⁠1640%
Dec 3vs24Southern MissConference USA Championship GameL 28–⁠4955%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs24Penn StateTicketCity BowlW 30–⁠1453%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Penn State 30–⁠14 in the TicketCity Bowl; No. 18 in the final AP poll; first in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 81 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 7: 25
  2. Wk 8: 21
  3. Wk 9: 18
  4. Wk 10: 14
  5. Wk 11: 11
  6. Wk 12: 11
  7. Wk 13: 8
  8. Wk 14: 7
  9. Wk 15: 20
  10. Final: 18

C-USA West champions8–⁠0 in the conference

Led the nationCase Keenum: passing yards (5,631 yds), passing touchdowns (48 TD), total offense (5,666 yds), total offense per game (404.7); Patrick Edwards: receiving touchdowns (20 TD)

Record
13–⁠1
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Conference USA
AP final
No. 18 peak No. 7
Points
690–⁠314
Coach
Kevin Sumlin, then Tony Levine (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1680 +195 this season
SP+ rating
14.2 No. 26 of 120; offense No. 9, defense No. 59, special teams No. 40
SRS
13.1 No. 14 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 73
Offensive coordinators
Jason Phillips and Kliff Kingsbury
Defensive coordinator
Brian Stewart
Offense
Air raid
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense5th of 120
  • Defense50th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted3rd of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted58th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1647%1.015th of 120
Defense0.0340%1.0350th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.15 off
0.04 def		46% off
40% def		—3rd off
58th 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-0.2own 302% allowed
Defense-0.4own 282% 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 yardsCase Keenum QB5,631 yds
Passing touchdownsCase Keenum QB48 TD
Rushing yardsCharles Sims RB821 yds
Rushing touchdownsMichael Hayes RB11 TD
Receiving yardsPatrick Edwards WR1,752 yds
Receiving touchdownsPatrick Edwards WR20 TD
InterceptionsPhillip Steward LB6 INT

Top recruits in the 2011 class

Bram Kohlhausen PRO★★★No. 1271
Daniel Spencer CB★★★No. 1388
Earl Foster S★★★No. 1411
Kourtland Akins OT★★★No. 1411
Keithen English OG★★★No. 1427

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

The 2011 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.819
Receivers13.00.805
Offensive line52.60.781
Linebackers12.00.772
Defensive backs32.70.784
Athletes and specialists12.00.752
Whole class122.60.784

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 115

The 2011 roster

115 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2011 line; 35 have a stat line. See the roster

2011 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Houston8–⁠013–⁠118
Tulsa7–⁠18–⁠5
Southern Miss6–⁠212–⁠220
SMU5–⁠38–⁠5
Marshall5–⁠37–⁠6
East Carolina4–⁠45–⁠7
UCF3–⁠55–⁠7
Rice3–⁠54–⁠8
UAB3–⁠53–⁠9
UTEP2–⁠65–⁠7
Memphis1–⁠72–⁠10
Tulane1–⁠72–⁠11

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