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2016 Minnesota

9–⁠4 (5–⁠4 Big Ten), coached by Tracy Claeys.

Schedule and results

Minnesota in 2016, game by game: won vs. Oregon State 30–23; won vs. Indiana State 58–28; won vs. Colorado State 31–24; lost at Penn State 26–29; lost vs. Iowa 7–14; won at Maryland 31–10; won vs. Rutgers 34–32; won at Illinois 40–17; won vs. Purdue 44–31; lost at No. 21 Nebraska 17–24; won vs. Northwestern 29–12; lost at No. 5 Wisconsin 17–31; won vs. Washington State 17–12+30−14Won 30–23 vs. Oregon State+7Oregon StateWon 58–28 vs. Indiana State+30Indiana StateWon 31–24 vs. Colorado State+7Colorado StateLost 26–29 at Penn State-3Penn StateLost 7–14 vs. Iowa-7IowaWon 31–10 at Maryland+21MarylandWon 34–32 vs. Rutgers+2RutgersWon 40–17 at Illinois+23IllinoisWon 44–31 vs. Purdue+13PurdueLost 17–24 at No. 21 Nebraska-7No. 21 NebraskaWon 29–12 vs. Northwestern+17NorthwesternLost 17–31 at No. 5 Wisconsin-14No. 5 WisconsinWon 17–12 vs. Washington State+5Washington State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsOregon StateW 30–⁠2374%
Sep 10vsIndiana StateW 58–⁠2881%
Sep 24vsColorado StateW 31–⁠2465%
Oct 1atPenn StateL 26–⁠2946%
Oct 8vsIowaL 7–⁠1449%
Oct 15atMarylandW 31–⁠1046%
Oct 22vsRutgersW 34–⁠3278%
Oct 29atIllinoisW 40–⁠1761%
Nov 5vsPurdueW 44–⁠3183%
Nov 12at21NebraskaL 17–⁠2437%
Nov 19vsNorthwesternW 29–⁠1255%
Nov 26at5WisconsinL 17–⁠3125%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsWashington StateHoliday BowlW 17–⁠1245%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Washington State 17–⁠12 in the Holiday Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 38th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠4 tied for 7th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
381–⁠287
Coach
Tracy Claeys
Elo
1607 +91 this season
SP+ rating
12.6 No. 24 of 128; offense No. 76, defense No. 12, special teams No. 5
SRS
7.5 No. 34 of 128 in FBS
Returning
99% of last season’s EPA, No. 6 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 46 roster talent No. 59 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Jay Johnson
Defensive coordinator
Jay Sawvel
Captains
Mitch Leidner, Brandon Lingen, Jack Lynn and Damarius Travis
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense93rd of 128
  • Defense17th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted90th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted25th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0442%1.0393rd of 128
Defense0.0038%1.2117th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.06 off
0.04 def		43% off
38% def		—90th off
25th 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
Offense4.0own 3515% allowed
Defense3.3own 2819% caused

CORE rating 1.6, 53rd of 128 (offense -5.7, defense -7.4).

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 yardsMitch Leidner QB2,169 yds
Passing touchdownsMitch Leidner QB8 TD
Rushing yardsRodney Smith RB1,158 yds
Rushing touchdownsRodney Smith RB16 TD
Receiving yardsDrew Wolitarsky WR860 yds
Receiving touchdownsDrew Wolitarsky WR5 TD
TacklesDamarius Travis DB83 tkl
SacksBlake Cashman LB7.5 sacks
InterceptionsDamarius Travis DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Carter Coughlin OLB★★★★No. 88
Seth Green DUAL★★★No. 376
Tyler Johnson ATH★★★No. 561
Sam Schlueter OT★★★No. 618
Kamal Martin ATH★★★No. 780

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.844
Running backs12.00.750
Receivers13.00.849
Offensive line23.00.855
Defensive line23.00.827
Linebackers23.50.901
Defensive backs42.80.805
Athletes and specialists62.70.799
Whole class202.90.823

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 7Jalen Myrick CBJacksonville Jaguars

Roster 108

The 2016 roster

108 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 52 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

1 first team

First 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.