CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 Houston

7–⁠5 (5–⁠3 American Athletic Conference), coached by Major Applewhite.

Schedule and results

Houston in 2017, game by game: won at Arizona 19–16; won vs. Rice 38–3; lost vs. Texas Tech 24–27; won at Temple 20–13; won vs. SMU 35–22; lost at Tulsa 17–45; lost vs. No. 25 Memphis 38–42; won at No. 17 South Florida 28–24; won vs. East Carolina 52–27; lost at Tulane 17–20; won vs. Navy 24–14; lost vs. Fresno State 27–33+35−28Won 19–16 at Arizona+3ArizonaWon 38–3 vs. Rice+35RiceLost 24–27 vs. Texas Tech-3Texas TechWon 20–13 at Temple+7TempleWon 35–22 vs. SMU+13SMULost 17–45 at Tulsa-28TulsaLost 38–42 vs. No. 25 Memphis-4No. 25 MemphisWon 28–24 at No. 17 South Florida+4No. 17 South FloridaWon 52–27 vs. East Carolina+25East CarolinaLost 17–20 at Tulane-3TulaneWon 24–14 vs. Navy+10NavyLost 27–33 vs. Fresno State-6Fresno State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 9atArizonaW 19–⁠1661%
Sep 16vsRiceW 38–⁠380%
Sep 23vsTexas TechL 24–⁠2769%
Sep 30atTempleW 20–⁠1350%
Oct 7vsSMUW 35–⁠2271%
Oct 14atTulsaL 17–⁠4562%
Oct 19vs25MemphisL 38–⁠4259%
Oct 28at17South FloridaW 28–⁠2426%
Nov 4vsEast CarolinaW 52–⁠2784%
Nov 18atTulaneL 17–⁠2065%
Nov 24vsNavyW 24–⁠1461%
Dec 24Bowls & playoffvsFresno StateHawai’i BowlL 27–⁠3356%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Fresno State 33–⁠27 in the Hawai’i Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 4th in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 31st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 81 on file).

Outland TrophyEd Oliver, DT

Consensus All-AmericanEd Oliver, DT

Record
7–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 4th in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
339–⁠286
Coach
Major Applewhite
Elo
1579 −14 this season
SP+ rating
7.7 No. 43 of 128; offense No. 41, defense No. 56, special teams No. 22
SRS
2.4 No. 58 of 130 in FBS
Returning
40% of last season’s EPA, No. 100 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 69 roster talent No. 57 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Brian Johnson
Defensive coordinators
Mark D’Onofrio and Clay Jennings
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense52nd of 130
  • Defense42nd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted73rd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted38th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1144%1.2652nd of 130
Defense0.0444%1.0642nd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.08 off
0.03 def		42% off
43% def		—73rd off
38th 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
Offense3.6own 3116% allowed
Defense2.8own 2916% caused

CORE rating 1.1, 59th of 130 (offense -3.0, defense -4.1).

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 yardsD’Eriq King QB1,260 yds
Passing touchdownsD’Eriq King QB7 TD
Rushing yardsDuke Catalon RB637 yds
Rushing touchdownsD’Eriq King QB8 TD
Receiving yardsSteven Dunbar WR1,070 yds
Receiving touchdownsLinell Bonner WR5 TD
TacklesD’Juan Hines LB110 tkl
SacksEd Oliver DT5.5 sacks
InterceptionsGarrett Davis DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Bryan Jones SDE★★★No. 380
Jeremy Singleton WR★★★No. 774
Amaud Willis-Dalton OLB★★★No. 780
Noah Jones SDE★★★No. 865
Parker Eichenberger TE★★★No. 1019

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.50.804
Running backs12.00.771
Receivers33.00.842
Offensive line13.00.845
Defensive line52.80.840
Linebackers23.00.848
Defensive backs22.00.775
Athletes and specialists23.00.815
Whole class182.70.824

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 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 7Matthew Adams ILBIndianapolis Colts

Roster 116

The 2017 roster

116 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 57 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 American Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UCF8–⁠013–⁠06
Memphis7–⁠110–⁠325
South Florida6–⁠210–⁠221
Houston5–⁠37–⁠5
SMU4–⁠47–⁠6
Navy4–⁠47–⁠6
Temple4–⁠47–⁠6
Tulane3–⁠55–⁠7
Cincinnati2–⁠64–⁠8
East Carolina2–⁠63–⁠9
UConn2–⁠63–⁠9
Tulsa1–⁠72–⁠10

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