CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2016 Houston

9–⁠4 (5–⁠3 American Athletic Conference), coached by Tom Herman, then Major Applewhite (bowl game).

Schedule and results

Houston in 2016, game by game: won vs. No. 3 Oklahoma 33–23; won vs. Lamar 42–0; won at Cincinnati 40–16; won at Texas State 64–3; won vs. UConn 42–14; lost at Navy 40–46; won vs. Tulsa 38–31; lost at SMU 16–38; won vs. UCF 31–24; won vs. Tulane 30–18; won vs. No. 3 Louisville 36–10; lost at Memphis 44–48; lost vs. San Diego State 10–34+61−24Won 33–23 vs. No. 3 Oklahoma+10No. 3 OklahomaWon 42–0 vs. Lamar+42LamarWon 40–16 at Cincinnati+24CincinnatiWon 64–3 at Texas State+61Texas StateWon 42–14 vs. UConn+28UConnLost 40–46 at Navy-6NavyWon 38–31 vs. Tulsa+7TulsaLost 16–38 at SMU-22SMUWon 31–24 vs. UCF+7UCFWon 30–18 vs. Tulane+12TulaneWon 36–10 vs. No. 3 Louisville+26No. 3 LouisvilleLost 44–48 at Memphis-4MemphisLost 10–34 vs. San Diego State-24San Diego State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vs3OklahomaW 33–⁠2347%
Sep 10vsLamarW 42–⁠093%
Sep 15atCincinnatiW 40–⁠1661%
Sep 24atTexas StateW 64–⁠383%
Sep 29vsUConnW 42–⁠1488%
Oct 8atNavyL 40–⁠4658%
Oct 15vsTulsaW 38–⁠3180%
Oct 22atSMUL 16–⁠3883%
Oct 29vsUCFW 31–⁠2479%
Nov 12vsTulaneW 30–⁠1889%
Nov 17vs3LouisvilleW 36–⁠1047%
Nov 25atMemphisL 44–⁠4860%
Dec 17Bowls & playoffvsSan Diego StateLas Vegas BowlL 10–⁠3458%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to San Diego State 34–⁠10 in the Las Vegas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 15th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 81 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 15
  2. Wk 2: 6
  3. Wk 3: 6
  4. Wk 4: 6
  5. Wk 5: 6
  6. Wk 6: 6
  7. Wk 7: 13
  8. Wk 8: 11
  9. Wk 13: 18
Record
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 5th in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 6
Points
466–⁠305
Coach
Tom Herman, then Major Applewhite (bowl game)
Elo
1640 −12 this season
SP+ rating
10.1 No. 39 of 128; offense No. 56, defense No. 27, special teams No. 28
SRS
5.8 No. 42 of 128 in FBS
Returning
71% of last season’s EPA, No. 52 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 36 roster talent No. 52 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Major Applewhite
Defensive coordinators
Todd Orlando and Craig Naivar
Captains
Cameron Malveaux, Tyler McCloskey, Greg Ward Jr. and Brandon Wilson
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense64th of 128
  • Defense18th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted59th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted19th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1044%1.2164th of 128
Defense0.0037%1.2518th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.11 off
0.02 def		44% off
38% def		—59th off
19th 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
Offense3.8own 3516% allowed
Defense3.6own 3421% caused

CORE rating 9.0, 28th of 128 (offense -0.0, defense -9.1).

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 yardsGreg Ward Jr. QB3,557 yds
Passing touchdownsGreg Ward Jr. QB22 TD
Rushing yardsDuke Catalon RB528 yds
Rushing touchdownsGreg Ward Jr. QB10 TD
Receiving yardsLinell Bonner WR1,118 yds
Receiving touchdownsChance Allen WR6 TD
TacklesMatthew Adams LB82 tkl
SacksSteven Taylor OLB8.5 sacks
InterceptionsHoward Wilson CB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Ed Oliver DT★★★★★No. 6
Tren’Davian Dickson WR★★★★No. 103
Courtney Lark WR★★★★No. 276
D’Eriq King ATH★★★No. 409
Collin Wilder S★★★No. 623

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.860
Running backs13.00.858
Receivers53.20.867
Offensive line23.00.841
Defensive line43.50.864
Defensive backs42.80.821
Athletes and specialists13.00.881
Whole class183.10.853

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 2Tyus Bowser OLBBaltimore Ravens
Rd 4Howard Wilson CBCleveland Browns
Rd 6Brandon Wilson CBCincinnati Bengals

Roster 116

The 2016 roster

116 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster

2016 American Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
South Florida7–⁠111–⁠219
Temple7–⁠110–⁠4
Navy7–⁠19–⁠5
Tulsa6–⁠210–⁠3
Houston5–⁠39–⁠4
Memphis5–⁠38–⁠5
UCF4–⁠46–⁠7
SMU3–⁠55–⁠7
Cincinnati1–⁠74–⁠8
Tulane1–⁠74–⁠8
East Carolina1–⁠73–⁠9
UConn1–⁠73–⁠9

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