CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2016 Mississippi State

6–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Southeastern Conference), coached by Dan Mullen.

Schedule and results

Mississippi State in 2016, game by game: lost vs. South Alabama 20–21; won vs. South Carolina 27–14; lost at No. 20 LSU 20–23; won at Massachusetts 47–35; lost vs. Auburn 14–38; lost at BYU 21–28; lost at Kentucky 38–40; won vs. Samford 56–41; won vs. No. 7 Texas A&M 35–28; lost at No. 1 Alabama 3–51; lost vs. Arkansas 42–58; won at Ole Miss 55–20; won vs. Miami (OH) 17–16+35−48Lost 20–21 vs. South Alabama-1South AlabamaWon 27–14 vs. South Carolina+13South CarolinaLost 20–23 at No. 20 LSU-3No. 20 LSUWon 47–35 at Massachusetts+12MassachusettsLost 14–38 vs. Auburn-24AuburnLost 21–28 at BYU-7BYULost 38–40 at Kentucky-2KentuckyWon 56–41 vs. Samford+15SamfordWon 35–28 vs. No. 7 Texas A&M+7No. 7 Texas A&MLost 3–51 at No. 1 Alabama-48No. 1 AlabamaLost 42–58 vs. Arkansas-16ArkansasWon 55–20 at Ole Miss+35Ole MissWon 17–16 vs. Miami (OH)+1Miami (OH)
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsSouth AlabamaL 20–⁠2182%
Sep 10vsSouth CarolinaW 27–⁠1469%
Sep 17at20LSUL 20–⁠2341%
Sep 24atMassachusettsW 47–⁠3575%
Oct 8vsAuburnL 14–⁠3862%
Oct 14atBYUL 21–⁠2837%
Oct 22atKentuckyL 38–⁠4055%
Oct 29vsSamfordW 56–⁠4174%
Nov 5vs7Texas A&MW 35–⁠2840%
Nov 12at1AlabamaL 3–⁠5111%
Nov 19vsArkansasL 42–⁠5857%
Nov 26atOle MissW 55–⁠2037%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsMiami (OH)St. Petersburg BowlW 17–⁠1670%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Miami (OH) 17–⁠16 in the St. Petersburg Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 19th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 9th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
395–⁠413
Coach
Dan Mullen
Elo
1597 −16 this season
SP+ rating
5.4 No. 56 of 128; offense No. 37, defense No. 60, special teams No. 103
SRS
1.9 No. 56 of 128 in FBS
Returning
33% of last season’s EPA, No. 118 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 28 roster talent No. 28 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Billy Gonzales and John Hevesy
Defensive coordinator
Peter Sirmon
Offense
Spread
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense39th of 128
  • Defense95th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted32nd of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted78th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1544%1.2239th of 128
Defense0.1744%1.3195th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
0.13 def		45% off
42% def		—32nd off
78th 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
Offense3.1own 3016% allowed
Defense3.7own 2715% caused

CORE rating 1.4, 55th of 128 (offense 6.0, defense 4.5).

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 yardsNick Fitzgerald QB2,423 yds
Passing touchdownsNick Fitzgerald QB21 TD
Rushing yardsNick Fitzgerald QB1,375 yds
Rushing touchdownsNick Fitzgerald QB16 TD
Receiving yardsFred Ross WR917 yds
Receiving touchdownsFred Ross WR12 TD
TacklesRichie Brown LB102 tkl
SacksJohnathan Calvin DL7 sacks
InterceptionsJamoral Graham DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Jeffery Simmons SDE★★★★★No. 18
Marquiss Spencer WDE★★★★No. 261
Kobe Jones DT★★★★No. 275
Jamal Couch ATH★★★No. 350
Stewart Reese OG★★★No. 397

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers43.00.850
Offensive line33.00.861
Defensive line34.30.934
Linebackers13.00.881
Defensive backs23.00.859
Athletes and specialists43.00.873
Whole class173.20.875

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 6Justin Senior OTSeattle Seahawks

Roster 124

The 2016 roster

124 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 58 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

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 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama8–⁠014–⁠12
Florida6–⁠29–⁠414
LSU5–⁠38–⁠413
Auburn5–⁠38–⁠524
Tennessee4–⁠49–⁠422
Georgia4–⁠48–⁠5
Texas A&M4–⁠48–⁠5
Kentucky4–⁠47–⁠6
Arkansas3–⁠57–⁠6
Vanderbilt3–⁠56–⁠7
Mississippi State3–⁠56–⁠7
South Carolina3–⁠56–⁠7
Ole Miss2–⁠65–⁠7
Missouri2–⁠64–⁠8

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