CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2016 Iowa

8–⁠5 (6–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Kirk Ferentz.

Schedule and results

Iowa in 2016, game by game: won vs. Miami (OH) 45–21; won vs. Iowa State 42–3; lost vs. North Dakota State 21–23; won at Rutgers 14–7; lost vs. Northwestern 31–38; won at Minnesota 14–7; won at Purdue 49–35; lost vs. No. 10 Wisconsin 9–17; lost at No. 20 Penn State 14–41; won vs. No. 2 Michigan 14–13; won at Illinois 28–0; won vs. No. 17 Nebraska 40–10; lost vs. No. 20 Florida 3–30+39−27Won 45–21 vs. Miami (OH)+24Miami (OH)Won 42–3 vs. Iowa State+39Iowa StateLost 21–23 vs. North Dakota State-2North Dakota St…Won 14–7 at Rutgers+7RutgersLost 31–38 vs. Northwestern-7NorthwesternWon 14–7 at Minnesota+7MinnesotaWon 49–35 at Purdue+14PurdueLost 9–17 vs. No. 10 Wisconsin-8No. 10 WisconsinLost 14–41 at No. 20 Penn State-27No. 20 Penn StateWon 14–13 vs. No. 2 Michigan+1No. 2 MichiganWon 28–0 at Illinois+28IllinoisWon 40–10 vs. No. 17 Nebraska+30No. 17 NebraskaLost 3–30 vs. No. 20 Florida-27No. 20 Florida
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsMiami (OH)W 45–⁠2186%
Sep 10vsIowa StateW 42–⁠382%
Sep 17vsNorth Dakota StateL 21–⁠2367%
Sep 24atRutgersW 14–⁠764%
Oct 1vsNorthwesternL 31–⁠3872%
Oct 8atMinnesotaW 14–⁠751%
Oct 15atPurdueW 49–⁠3572%
Oct 22vs10WisconsinL 9–⁠1754%
Nov 5at20Penn StateL 14–⁠4143%
Nov 12vs2MichiganW 14–⁠1335%
Nov 19atIllinoisW 28–⁠068%
Nov 25vs17NebraskaW 40–⁠1052%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs20FloridaOutback BowlL 3–⁠3052%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Florida 30–⁠3 in the Outback Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 36th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 17
  2. Wk 2: 16
  3. Wk 3: 13
  4. Wk 14: 22
  5. Wk 15: 21
Record
8–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠3 tied for 5th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 13
Points
324–⁠245
Coach
Kirk Ferentz
Elo
1612 −4 this season
SP+ rating
10.3 No. 37 of 128; offense No. 68, defense No. 18, special teams No. 56
SRS
8.1 No. 29 of 128 in FBS
Returning
84% of last season’s EPA, No. 31 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 47 roster talent No. 55 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Greg Davis
Defensive coordinator
Phil Parker
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense79th of 128
  • Defense34th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted67th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted45th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0642%1.0779th of 128
Defense0.0441%1.0334th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.10 off
0.08 def		43% off
41% def		—67th off
45th 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
Offense3.3own 3214% allowed
Defense2.6own 2615% caused

CORE rating 1.7, 51st of 128 (offense -1.2, defense -2.9).

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 yardsC.J. Beathard QB1,929 yds
Passing touchdownsC.J. Beathard QB17 TD
Rushing yardsAkrum Wadley RB1,081 yds
Rushing touchdownsAkrum Wadley RB10 TD
Receiving yardsRiley McCarron WR517 yds
Receiving touchdownsGeorge Kittle TE4 TD
TacklesJosey Jewell 124 tkl
SacksJaleel Johnson DL7.5 sacks
InterceptionsBrandon Snyder DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Cedrick Lattimore SDE★★★No. 503
Nate Stanley PRO★★★No. 531
Noah Fant ATH★★★No. 532
Amani Hooker S★★★No. 557
Toks Akinribade RB★★★No. 623

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.870
Running backs33.00.845
Receivers43.00.844
Offensive line33.00.837
Defensive line53.00.849
Linebackers33.00.846
Defensive backs33.00.839
Athletes and specialists23.00.844
Whole class243.00.845

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 3C.J. Beathard QBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 4Jaleel Johnson DTMinnesota Vikings
Rd 5George Kittle TESan Francisco 49ers
Rd 5Desmond King CBLos Angeles Chargers

Roster 113

The 2016 roster

113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 57 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

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
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠111–⁠26
Penn State8–⁠111–⁠37
Wisconsin7–⁠211–⁠39
Michigan7–⁠210–⁠310
Nebraska6–⁠39–⁠4
Iowa6–⁠38–⁠5
Minnesota5–⁠49–⁠4
Northwestern5–⁠47–⁠6
Indiana4–⁠56–⁠7
Maryland3–⁠66–⁠7
Illinois2–⁠73–⁠9
Michigan State1–⁠83–⁠9
Purdue1–⁠83–⁠9
Rutgers0–⁠92–⁠10

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