CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2016 North Texas

5–⁠8 (3–⁠5 Conference USA), coached by Seth Littrell.

Schedule and results

North Texas in 2016, game by game: lost vs. SMU 21–34; won vs. Bethune-Cookman 41–20; lost at No. 23 Florida 0–32; won at Rice 42–35; lost vs. Middle Tennessee 13–30; won vs. Marshall 38–21; won at Army 35–18; lost at UTSA 17–31; lost vs. Louisiana Tech 24–45; lost at Western Kentucky 7–45; won vs. Southern Miss 29–23; lost at UTEP 24–52; lost vs. Army 31–38+21−38Lost 21–34 vs. SMU-13SMUWon 41–20 vs. Bethune-Cookman+21Bethune-CookmanLost 0–32 at No. 23 Florida-32No. 23 FloridaWon 42–35 at Rice+7RiceLost 13–30 vs. Middle Tennessee-17Middle TennesseeWon 38–21 vs. Marshall+17MarshallWon 35–18 at Army+17ArmyLost 17–31 at UTSA-14UTSALost 24–45 vs. Louisiana Tech-21Louisiana TechLost 7–45 at Western Kentucky-38Western KentuckyWon 29–23 vs. Southern Miss+6Southern MissLost 24–52 at UTEP-28UTEPLost 31–38 vs. Army-7Army
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsSMUL 21–⁠3453%
Sep 10vsBethune-CookmanW 41–⁠2047%
Sep 17at23FloridaL 0–⁠3213%
Sep 24atRiceW 42–⁠3536%
Oct 1vsMiddle TennesseeL 13–⁠3035%
Oct 8vsMarshallW 38–⁠2136%
Oct 22atArmyW 35–⁠1831%
Oct 29atUTSAL 17–⁠3147%
Nov 5vsLouisiana TechL 24–⁠4530%
Nov 12atWestern KentuckyL 7–⁠4513%
Nov 19vsSouthern MissW 29–⁠2349%
Nov 26atUTEPL 24–⁠5258%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsArmyHeart of Dallas BowlL 31–⁠3838%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Army 38–⁠31 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 55th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 105 on file).

Record
5–⁠8
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 8th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
322–⁠424
Coach
Seth Littrell
Elo
1337 +1 this season
SP+ rating
-14.6 No. 115 of 128; offense No. 111, defense No. 115, special teams No. 34
SRS
−15.7 No. 116 of 128 in FBS
Returning
14% of last season’s EPA, No. 128 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 102 roster talent No. 113 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Graham Harrell
Defensive coordinators
Mike Ekeler and Troy Reffett
Offense
Air raid
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense111th of 128
  • Defense54th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted118th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted61st of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0039%1.29111th of 128
Defense0.0943%1.2254th of 128
Opponent-adjusted-0.01 off
0.10 def		38% off
43% def		—118th off
61st 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 2920% allowed
Defense3.2own 3115% caused

CORE rating -4.2, 87th of 128 (offense -7.0, defense -2.8).

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 yardsMason Fine QB1,572 yds
Passing touchdownsAlec Morris QB9 TD
Rushing yardsJeffery Wilson RB936 yds
Rushing touchdownsJeffery Wilson RB14 TD
Receiving yardsThaddeous Thompson WR545 yds
Receiving touchdownsKelvin Smith TE2 TD
TacklesKishawn McClain S91 tkl
SacksJoshua Wheeler LB5.5 sacks
InterceptionsNate Brooks DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Nic Smith RB★★★No. 1372
LaDarius Hamilton SDE★★★No. 1924
Rico Bussey WR★★No. 2209
Joseph Ozougwu WDE★★No. 2568
Jameel Moore CB★★No. 2671

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.774
Running backs13.00.832
Receivers22.00.779
Offensive line12.00.775
Defensive line22.50.796
Defensive backs12.00.779
Athletes and specialists22.00.769
Whole class102.20.785

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; 57 have a stat line. See the roster

2016 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Western Kentucky7–⁠111–⁠3
Old Dominion7–⁠110–⁠3
Louisiana Tech6–⁠29–⁠5
Middle Tennessee5–⁠38–⁠5
UTSA5–⁠36–⁠7
Southern Miss4–⁠47–⁠6
Florida International4–⁠44–⁠8
North Texas3–⁠55–⁠8
Charlotte3–⁠54–⁠8
UTEP2–⁠64–⁠8
Marshall2–⁠63–⁠9
Florida Atlantic2–⁠63–⁠9
Rice2–⁠63–⁠9

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