CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2016 Massachusetts

2–⁠10, coached by Mark Whipple.

Schedule and results

Massachusetts in 2016, game by game: lost at No. 25 Florida 7–24; lost vs. Boston College 7–26; won vs. Florida International 21–13; lost vs. Mississippi State 35–47; lost vs. Tulane 24–31; lost at Old Dominion 16–36; lost vs. Louisiana Tech 28–56; lost at South Carolina 28–34; won vs. Wagner 34–10; lost at Troy 31–52; lost at BYU 9–51; lost at Hawai’i 40–46+24−42Lost 7–24 at No. 25 Florida-17No. 25 FloridaLost 7–26 vs. Boston College-19Boston CollegeWon 21–13 vs. Florida International+8Florida Interna…Lost 35–47 vs. Mississippi State-12Mississippi Sta…Lost 24–31 vs. Tulane-7TulaneLost 16–36 at Old Dominion-20Old DominionLost 28–56 vs. Louisiana Tech-28Louisiana TechLost 28–34 at South Carolina-6South CarolinaWon 34–10 vs. Wagner+24WagnerLost 31–52 at Troy-21TroyLost 9–51 at BYU-42BYULost 40–46 at Hawai’i-6Hawai’i
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3at25FloridaL 7–⁠2418%
Sep 10vsBoston CollegeL 7–⁠2648%
Sep 17vsFlorida InternationalW 21–⁠1356%
Sep 24vsMississippi StateL 35–⁠4725%
Oct 1vsTulaneL 24–⁠3151%
Oct 7atOld DominionL 16–⁠3628%
Oct 15vsLouisiana TechL 28–⁠5625%
Oct 22atSouth CarolinaL 28–⁠3422%
Oct 29vsWagnerW 34–⁠1062%
Nov 5atTroyL 31–⁠5217%
Nov 19atBYUL 9–⁠519%
Nov 26atHawai’iL 40–⁠4630%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Hawai’i 46–⁠40; unranked in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 44th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 91 on file).

Record
2–⁠10
Conference
—
AP final
Unranked
Points
280–⁠426
Coach
Mark Whipple
Elo
1281 −93 this season
SP+ rating
-15.3 No. 118 of 128; offense No. 102, defense No. 109, special teams No. 124
SRS
−14.8 No. 115 of 128 in FBS
Returning
18% of last season’s EPA, No. 126 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 86 roster talent No. 108 in FBS

How good, play by play

  • Offense110th of 128
  • Defense99th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted104th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted113th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0039%1.30110th of 128
Defense0.1846%1.1499th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.18 def		39% off
47% def		—104th off
113th 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
Offense3.5own 2920% allowed
Defense3.8own 3315% caused

CORE rating -14.2, 114th of 128 (offense -5.0, defense 9.2).

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 yardsAndrew Ford QB2,665 yds
Passing touchdownsAndrew Ford QB26 TD
Rushing yardsMarquis Young RB898 yds
Rushing touchdownsMarquis Young RB4 TD
Receiving yardsAdam Breneman TE808 yds
Receiving touchdownsAdam Breneman TE8 TD
TacklesSteve Casali LB105 tkl
SacksDa’Sean Downey DL6 sacks
InterceptionsIsaiah Rodgers CB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Cycoby Burch ATH★★★No. 1096
Elijah J Robinson WR★★★No. 1487
Taylor Riggins OLB★★★No. 1499
Antione Webster S★★★No. 1501
Brennon Dingle WR★★★No. 1584

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs32.30.796
Receivers52.60.811
Offensive line22.00.785
Defensive line52.40.787
Linebackers22.50.797
Defensive backs42.30.780
Athletes and specialists23.00.823
Whole class232.40.796

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 107

The 2016 roster

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