CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2016 Nebraska

9–⁠4 (6–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Mike Riley.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 2016, game by game: won vs. Fresno State 43–10; won vs. Wyoming 52–17; won vs. No. 22 Oregon 35–32; won at Northwestern 24–13; won vs. Illinois 31–16; won at Indiana 27–22; won vs. Purdue 27–14; lost at No. 11 Wisconsin 17–23; lost at No. 6 Ohio State 3–62; won vs. Minnesota 24–17; won vs. Maryland 28–7; lost at Iowa 10–40; lost vs. Tennessee 24–38+35−59Won 43–10 vs. Fresno State+33Fresno StateWon 52–17 vs. Wyoming+35WyomingWon 35–32 vs. No. 22 Oregon+3No. 22 OregonWon 24–13 at Northwestern+11NorthwesternWon 31–16 vs. Illinois+15IllinoisWon 27–22 at Indiana+5IndianaWon 27–14 vs. Purdue+13PurdueLost 17–23 at No. 11 Wisconsin-6No. 11 WisconsinLost 3–62 at No. 6 Ohio State-59No. 6 Ohio StateWon 24–17 vs. Minnesota+7MinnesotaWon 28–7 vs. Maryland+21MarylandLost 10–40 at Iowa-30IowaLost 24–38 vs. Tennessee-14Tennessee
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsFresno StateW 43–⁠1077%
Sep 10vsWyomingW 52–⁠1780%
Sep 17vs22OregonW 35–⁠3249%
Sep 24atNorthwesternW 24–⁠1350%
Oct 1vsIllinoisW 31–⁠1682%
Oct 15atIndianaW 27–⁠2260%
Oct 22vsPurdueW 27–⁠1486%
Oct 29at11WisconsinL 17–⁠2338%
Nov 5at6Ohio StateL 3–⁠6223%
Nov 12vsMinnesotaW 24–⁠1763%
Nov 19vsMarylandW 28–⁠780%
Nov 25atIowaL 10–⁠4048%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsTennesseeMusic City BowlL 24–⁠3849%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Tennessee 38–⁠24 in the Music City Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 79th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 20
  2. Wk 5: 15
  3. Wk 6: 12
  4. Wk 7: 10
  5. Wk 8: 8
  6. Wk 9: 7
  7. Wk 10: 9
  8. Wk 11: 21
  9. Wk 12: 19
  10. Wk 13: 17
  11. Wk 14: 23
  12. Wk 15: 24
Record
9–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠3 tied for 5th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 7
Points
345–⁠311
Coach
Mike Riley
Elo
1593 +32 this season
SP+ rating
10.3 No. 37 of 128; offense No. 24, defense No. 65, special teams No. 34
SRS
5.9 No. 41 of 128 in FBS
Returning
91% of last season’s EPA, No. 17 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 26 roster talent No. 26 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Danny Langsdorf
Defensive coordinator
Mark Banker
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense74th of 128
  • Defense52nd of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted75th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted55th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0843%1.1674th of 128
Defense0.0942%1.2152nd of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.09 off
0.09 def		43% off
42% def		—75th off
55th 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
Offense3.7own 3117% allowed
Defense3.1own 3217% caused

CORE rating 2.8, 45th of 128 (offense -1.6, defense -4.4).

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 yardsTommy Armstrong Jr. QB2,180 yds
Passing touchdownsTommy Armstrong Jr. QB14 TD
Rushing yardsTerrell Newby RB879 yds
Rushing touchdownsTommy Armstrong Jr. QB8 TD
Receiving yardsJordan Westerkamp WR526 yds
Receiving touchdownsJordan Westerkamp WR5 TD
TacklesJosh Banderas LB93 tkl
SacksRoss Dzuris DE5.5 sacks
InterceptionsKieron Williams DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Lamar Jackson S★★★★No. 81
John Raridon OG★★★★No. 119
Patrick O’Brien PRO★★★★No. 201
Marquel Dismuke S★★★★No. 254
Matt Farniok OT★★★★No. 334

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.922
Running backs13.00.866
Receivers23.00.855
Offensive line43.50.896
Defensive line32.70.843
Linebackers33.00.851
Defensive backs43.50.892
Athletes and specialists33.00.854
Whole class213.20.871

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 5Nathan Gerry SPhiladelphia Eagles

Roster 129

The 2016 roster

129 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 61 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

1 second team

Second 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.