2016 Illinois
3–9 (2–7 Big Ten), coached by Lovie Smith. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Murray State 52–3Sep 3
By 49 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to Purdue 31–34Oct 8
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | vs Murray State | W 52–3 | 84% |
| Sep 10 | vs North Carolina | L 23–48 | 41% |
| Sep 17 | vs Western Michigan | L 10–34 | 40% |
| Oct 1 | at 15Nebraska | L 16–31 | 18% |
| Oct 8 | vs Purdue | L 31–34 | 62% |
| Oct 15 | at Rutgers | W 24–7 | 37% |
| Oct 22 | at 3Michigan | L 8–41 | 12% |
| Oct 29 | vs Minnesota | L 17–40 | 39% |
| Nov 5 | vs Michigan State | W 31–27 | 40% |
| Nov 12 | at 7Wisconsin | L 3–48 | 11% |
| Nov 19 | vs Iowa | L 0–28 | 32% |
| Nov 26 | at Northwestern | L 21–42 | 21% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Northwestern 42–21; unranked in the final AP poll; 11th in the Big Ten.
In program history: The 116th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).
- Record
- 3–9
- Conference
- 2–7 11th in Big Ten
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 236–383
- Coach
- Lovie Smith
- Elo
- 1378 −80 this season
- SP+ rating
- -6.7 No. 94 of 128; offense No. 105, defense No. 77, special teams No. 56
- SRS
- −8.4 No. 97 of 128 in FBS
- Returning
- 69% of last season’s EPA, No. 60 of 128
- Recruiting class
- No. 73 roster talent No. 64 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Garrick McGee
- Defensive coordinator
- Hardy Nickerson
- Offense
- Multiple
- Defense
- 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.07 | 37% | 1.28 | 123rd of 128 |
| Defense | 0.12 | 47% | 1.07 | 65th of 128 |
| Opponent-adjusted | -0.02 off 0.11 def | 39% off 45% def | — | 123rd off 70th 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 2.9 | own 30 | 19% allowed |
| Defense | 3.4 | own 34 | 17% caused |
CORE rating -8.3, 98th of 128 (offense -6.5, defense 1.7).
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 yards | Wes Lunt QB | 1,376 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Wes Lunt QB | 8 TD |
| Rushing yards | Kendrick Foster RB | 720 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Kendrick Foster RB | 7 TD |
| Receiving yards | Malik Turner WR | 712 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Malik Turner WR | 6 TD |
| Tackles | Hardy Nickerson LB | 107 tkl |
| Sacks | Carroll Phillips DL | 9 sacks |
| Interceptions | Darius Mosely DB | 2 INT |
Top recruits in the 2016 class
| Zarrian Holcombe TE | ★★★ | No. 695 |
| Dele Harding ILB | ★★★ | No. 712 |
| Eli Peters PRO | ★★★ | No. 983 |
| Tre Nation FB | ★★★ | No. 1071 |
| Kurt Gavin OT | ★★★ | No. 1085 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2016 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.846 |
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.842 |
| Receivers | 5 | 2.8 | 0.817 |
| Offensive line | 5 | 3.0 | 0.824 |
| Defensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.826 |
| Linebackers | 4 | 2.8 | 0.813 |
| Defensive backs | 3 | 2.3 | 0.793 |
| Athletes and specialists | 1 | 3.0 | 0.809 |
| Whole class | 24 | 2.8 | 0.818 |
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.
Drafted in 2017
The 2017 draft| Rd 3 | Dawaune Smoot DE | Jacksonville Jaguars |
Roster 97
The 2016 roster97 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster
All-Big Ten
1 first teamFirst team
Carroll PhillipsDLMedia-1
From Wikipedia’s 2016 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
2016 Big Ten standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 Ohio State | 8–1 | 11–2 | 6 |
 Penn State | 8–1 | 11–3 | 7 |
| Wisconsin | 7–2 | 11–3 | 9 |
| Michigan | 7–2 | 10–3 | 10 |
| Nebraska | 6–3 | 9–4 | |
| Iowa | 6–3 | 8–5 | |
| Minnesota | 5–4 | 9–4 | |
| Northwestern | 5–4 | 7–6 | |
 Indiana | 4–5 | 6–7 | |
 Maryland | 3–6 | 6–7 | |
| Illinois | 2–7 | 3–9 | |
| Michigan State | 1–8 | 3–9 | |
| Purdue | 1–8 | 3–9 | |
| Rutgers | 0–9 | 2–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.