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2016 Marshall

3–⁠9 (2–⁠6 Conference USA), coached by Doc Holliday.

Schedule and results

Marshall in 2016, game by game: won vs. Morgan State 62–0; lost vs. Akron 38–65; lost vs. No. 3 Louisville 28–59; lost at Pittsburgh 27–43; lost at North Texas 21–38; won vs. Florida Atlantic 27–21; lost vs. Charlotte 24–27; lost at Southern Miss 14–24; lost at Old Dominion 14–38; won vs. Middle Tennessee 42–17; lost at Florida International 14–31; lost vs. Western Kentucky 6–60+62−54Won 62–0 vs. Morgan State+62Morgan StateLost 38–65 vs. Akron-27AkronLost 28–59 vs. No. 3 Louisville-31No. 3 LouisvilleLost 27–43 at Pittsburgh-16PittsburghLost 21–38 at North Texas-17North TexasWon 27–21 vs. Florida Atlantic+6Florida AtlanticLost 24–27 vs. Charlotte-3CharlotteLost 14–24 at Southern Miss-10Southern MissLost 14–38 at Old Dominion-24Old DominionWon 42–17 vs. Middle Tennessee+25Middle TennesseeLost 14–31 at Florida International-17Florida Interna…Lost 6–60 vs. Western Kentucky-54Western Kentucky
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 10vsMorgan StateW 62–⁠092%
Sep 17vsAkronL 38–⁠6573%
Sep 24vs3LouisvilleL 28–⁠5941%
Oct 1atPittsburghL 27–⁠4339%
Oct 8atNorth TexasL 21–⁠3864%
Oct 15vsFlorida AtlanticW 27–⁠2175%
Oct 22vsCharlotteL 24–⁠2782%
Oct 29atSouthern MissL 14–⁠2436%
Nov 5atOld DominionL 14–⁠3838%
Nov 12vsMiddle TennesseeW 42–⁠1741%
Nov 19atFlorida InternationalL 14–⁠3160%
Nov 26vsWestern KentuckyL 6–⁠6024%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Western Kentucky 60–⁠6; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 10th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 31st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

Record
3–⁠9
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 10th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
317–⁠423
Coach
Doc Holliday
Elo
1387 −205 this season
SP+ rating
-12.7 No. 110 of 128; offense No. 98, defense No. 104, special teams No. 109
SRS
−16.2 No. 119 of 128 in FBS
Returning
64% of last season’s EPA, No. 71 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 51 roster talent No. 73 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Bill Legg
Defensive coordinator
Chuck Heater
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense102nd of 128
  • Defense113th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted109th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted117th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0138%1.25102nd of 128
Defense0.2347%1.24113th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.01 off
0.20 def		38% off
48% def		—109th off
117th 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
Offense3.4own 3419% allowed
Defense4.4own 3115% caused

CORE rating -18.5, 122nd of 128 (offense -8.8, defense 9.7).

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 yardsChase Litton QB2,612 yds
Passing touchdownsChase Litton QB24 TD
Rushing yardsKeion Davis RB469 yds
Rushing touchdownsKeion Davis RB6 TD
Receiving yardsMichael Clark WR632 yds
Receiving touchdownsJosh Knight WR5 TD
TacklesCorey Neely S79 tkl
SacksGary Thompson DL5 sacks
InterceptionsChris Jackson DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Jaquan Yulee ILB★★★★No. 170
Shurod Thompson S★★★★No. 231
Xavier Gaines DUAL★★★No. 481
Pro Wells TE★★★No. 567
JaQua Daniels RB★★★No. 630

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.850
Running backs42.80.815
Receivers72.30.793
Offensive line52.20.788
Defensive line22.00.762
Linebackers23.50.872
Defensive backs72.90.834
Whole class292.60.812

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.

Roster 102

The 2016 roster

102 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 62 have a stat line. See the roster

2016 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Western Kentucky7–⁠111–⁠3
Old Dominion7–⁠110–⁠3
Louisiana Tech6–⁠29–⁠5
Middle Tennessee5–⁠38–⁠5
UTSA5–⁠36–⁠7
Southern Miss4–⁠47–⁠6
Florida International4–⁠44–⁠8
North Texas3–⁠55–⁠8
Charlotte3–⁠54–⁠8
UTEP2–⁠64–⁠8
Marshall2–⁠63–⁠9
Florida Atlantic2–⁠63–⁠9
Rice2–⁠63–⁠9

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