
2016 LSU
8–4 (5–3 Southeastern Conference), coached by Les Miles, then Ed Orgeron (interim, final 8 games), finished No. 13 in the AP poll. Share
Schedule and results
- Best winBeat No. 15 Louisville 29–9Dec 31
Over the best-ranked team it beat, at a neutral site.
- Most excitingLost to Wisconsin 14–16Sep 3
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | vs | L 14–16 | 49% |
| Sep 10 | vs | W 34–13 | 72% |
| Sep 17 | vs | W 23–20 | 59% |
| Sep 24 | at | L 13–18 | 53% |
| Oct 1 | vs | W 42–7 | 71% |
| Oct 15 | vs | W 45–10 | 74% |
| Oct 22 | vs | W 38–21 | 56% |
| Nov 5 | vs | L 0–10 | 30% |
| Nov 12 | at | W 38–10 | 47% |
| Nov 19 | vs | L 10–16 | 66% |
| Nov 24 | at | W 54–39 | 44% |
| Dec 31Bowls & playoff | vs | W 29–9 | 53% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat Louisville 29–9 in the Citrus Bowl; No. 13 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Southeastern Conference.
In program history: The 13th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 1: 5
- Wk 2: 21
- Wk 3: 20
- Wk 4: 18
- Wk 8: 25
- Wk 9: 19
- Wk 10: 15
- Wk 11: 19
- Wk 12: 16
- Wk 13: 25
- Wk 14: 21
- Wk 15: 19
- Final: 13
- Record
- 8–4
- Conference
- 5–3 tied for 3rd in Southeastern Conference
- AP final
- No. 13 peak No. 5
- Points
- 340–189
- Coach
- Les Miles, then Ed Orgeron (interim, final 8 games)
- Elo
- 1730 +115 this season
- SP+ rating
- 25.3 No. 5 of 128; offense No. 40, defense No. 2, special teams No. 56
- SRS
- 17.8 No. 6 of 128 in FBS
- Returning
- 93% of last season’s EPA, No. 11 of 128
- Recruiting class
- No. 2 roster talent No. 3 in FBS
- Offensive coordinators
- Cam Cameron and Steve Ensminger
- Defensive coordinator
- Dave Aranda
- Offense
- Pro-style
- Defense
- 3–4
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.18 | 45% | 1.23 | 25th of 128 |
| Defense | -0.04 | 36% | 1.08 | 11th of 128 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.21 off -0.05 def | 48% off 34% def | — | 18th off 6th 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 | 3.5 | own 29 | 16% allowed |
| Defense | 2.1 | own 27 | 19% caused |
CORE rating 21.9, 7th of 128 (offense 5.5, defense -16.4).
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 | Danny Etling QB | 2,123 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Danny Etling QB | 11 TD |
| Rushing yards | Derrius Guice RB | 1,387 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Derrius Guice RB | 15 TD |
| Receiving yards | Malachi Dupre WR | 593 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | D.J. Chark WR | 3 TD |
| Tackles | Duke Riley LB | 92 tkl |
| Sacks | Arden Key LB | 12 sacks |
| Interceptions | Donte Jackson DB | 2 INT |
Top recruits in the 2016 class
| Kristian Fulton CB | ★★★★★ | No. 22 |
| Rashard Lawrence DT | ★★★★★ | No. 23 |
| Saivion Smith CB | ★★★★ | No. 47 |
| Eric Monroe S | ★★★★ | No. 55 |
| Michael Divinity OLB | ★★★★ | No. 64 |
| Ed Alexander DT | ★★★★ | No. 68 |
| Stephen Sullivan WR | ★★★★ | No. 125 |
| Drake Davis WR | ★★★★ | No. 128 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2016 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.843 |
| Running backs | 1 | 4.0 | 0.939 |
| Receivers | 4 | 4.0 | 0.930 |
| Offensive line | 4 | 3.5 | 0.883 |
| Defensive line | 7 | 3.9 | 0.925 |
| Linebackers | 2 | 3.5 | 0.904 |
| Defensive backs | 5 | 4.0 | 0.948 |
| Athletes and specialists | 1 | 3.0 | 0.822 |
| Whole class | 25 | 3.8 | 0.915 |
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 1 | Leonard Fournette RB | Jacksonville Jaguars |
| Rd 1 | Jamal Adams S | New York Jets |
| Rd 1 | Tre’Davious White CB | Buffalo Bills |
| Rd 2 | Ethan Pocic C | Seattle Seahawks |
| Rd 3 | Duke Riley ILB | Atlanta Falcons |
| Rd 3 | Kendell Beckwith ILB | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Rd 5 | Davon Godchaux DT | Miami Dolphins |
| Rd 7 | Malachi Dupre WR | Green Bay Packers |
Roster 113
The 2016 roster113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 55 have a stat line. See the roster
All-SEC
7 first team, 2 second teamFirst team
Derrius GuiceRBAP-1; Coaches-1
Ethan PocicCAP-1; Coaches-1
Will ClappOGCoaches-1
Arden KeyDEAP-1; Coaches-2
Kendell BeckwithLBAP-2; Coaches-1
Tre’Davious WhiteCBAP-1; Coaches-1
Jamal AdamsSAP-1; Coaches-2
Second team
Leonard FournetteRBAP-2; Coaches-2
Josh BoutteOGAP-2
From Wikipedia’s 2016 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
2016 Southeastern Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8–0 | 14–1 | 2 | |
| 6–2 | 9–4 | 14 | |
| 5–3 | 8–4 | 13 | |
| 5–3 | 8–5 | 24 | |
| 4–4 | 9–4 | 22 | |
| 4–4 | 8–5 | ||
| 4–4 | 8–5 | ||
| 4–4 | 7–6 | ||
| 3–5 | 7–6 | ||
| 3–5 | 6–7 | ||
| 3–5 | 6–7 | ||
| 3–5 | 6–7 | ||
| 2–6 | 5–7 | ||
| 2–6 | 4–8 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.