2016 Nevada

5–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Mountain West Conference), coached by Brian Polian.

Schedule and results

Nevada in 2016, game by game: won vs. Cal Poly 30–27; lost at No. 18 Notre Dame 10–39; won vs. Buffalo 38–14; lost at Purdue 14–24; lost at Hawai’i 17–38; won vs. Fresno State 27–22; lost at San José State 10–14; lost vs. Wyoming 34–42; lost at New Mexico 26–35; lost vs. San Diego State 16–46; won vs. Utah State 38–37; won at UNLV 45–10+35−30Won 30–27 vs. Cal Poly+3Cal PolyLost 10–39 at No. 18 Notre Dame-29No. 18 Notre DameWon 38–14 vs. Buffalo+24BuffaloLost 14–24 at Purdue-10PurdueLost 17–38 at Hawai’i-21Hawai’iWon 27–22 vs. Fresno State+5Fresno StateLost 10–14 at San José State-4San José StateLost 34–42 vs. Wyoming-8WyomingLost 26–35 at New Mexico-9New MexicoLost 16–46 vs. San Diego State-30San Diego StateWon 38–37 vs. Utah State+1Utah StateWon 45–10 at UNLV+35UNLV
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat UNLV 45–⁠10; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 36th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 8th in Mountain West Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
305–⁠348
Coach
Brian Polian
Elo
1418 −71 this season
SP+ rating
-13.0 No. 111 of 128; offense No. 85, defense No. 118, special teams No. 103
SRS
−12.6 No. 113 of 128 in FBS
Returning
91% of last season’s EPA, No. 16 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 105 roster talent No. 101 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Tim Cramsey
Defensive coordinators
Scott Boone and Bill Teerlinck
Offense
Pistol
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense44th of 128
  • Defense94th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted70th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted115th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1446%1.1344th of 128
Defense0.1749%1.1394th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.10 off
0.19 def
43% off
50% def
—70th off
115th 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
Offense3.2own 2814% allowed
Defense3.7own 2913% caused

CORE rating -12.8, 112th of 128 (offense -1.9, defense 10.9).

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 yardsTy Gangi QB1,301 yds
Passing touchdownsTyler Stewart QB9 TD
Rushing yardsJames Butler RB1,336 yds
Rushing touchdownsJames Butler RB12 TD
Receiving yardsWyatt Demps WR686 yds
Receiving touchdownsWyatt Demps WR9 TD
TacklesAlex Bertrando LB105 tkl
SacksMalik Reed LB5 sacks
InterceptionsJaden Sawyer DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Trevion Armstrong WR★★★No. 1133
Alec Simpson ILB★★★No. 1392
Lawson Hall OLB★★★No. 1463
Daniel Brown CB★★★No. 1994
Nick Gregg DT★★★No. 2057

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs22.00.773
Receivers32.30.803
Offensive line22.00.753
Defensive line22.50.785
Linebackers42.80.813
Defensive backs52.40.783
Whole class182.40.789

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 114

The 2016 roster

114 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 54 have a stat line. See the roster

2016 Mountain West Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
San Diego State6–⁠211–⁠325
Boise State6–⁠210–⁠3
New Mexico6–⁠29–⁠4
Wyoming6–⁠28–⁠6
Air Force5–⁠310–⁠3
Colorado State5–⁠37–⁠6
Hawai’i4–⁠47–⁠7
Nevada3–⁠55–⁠7
UNLV3–⁠54–⁠8
San José State3–⁠54–⁠8
Utah State1–⁠73–⁠9
Fresno State0–⁠81–⁠11

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