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2016 Northern Illinois

5–⁠7 (5–⁠3 Mid-American Conference), coached by Rod Carey.

Schedule and results

Northern Illinois in 2016, game by game: lost at Wyoming 34–40; lost at South Florida 17–48; lost vs. San Diego State 28–42; lost vs. Western Illinois 23–28; won at Ball State 31–24; lost at Western Michigan 30–45; lost vs. Central Michigan 28–34; won vs. Buffalo 44–7; won vs. Bowling Green 45–20; lost vs. Toledo 24–31; won at Eastern Michigan 31–24; won at Kent State 31–21+37−31Lost 34–40 at Wyoming-6WyomingLost 17–48 at South Florida-31South FloridaLost 28–42 vs. San Diego State-14San Diego StateLost 23–28 vs. Western Illinois-5Western IllinoisWon 31–24 at Ball State+7Ball StateLost 30–45 at Western Michigan-15Western MichiganLost 28–34 vs. Central Michigan-6Central MichiganWon 44–7 vs. Buffalo+37BuffaloWon 45–20 vs. Bowling Green+25Bowling GreenLost 24–31 vs. Toledo-7ToledoWon 31–24 at Eastern Michigan+7Eastern MichiganWon 31–21 at Kent State+10Kent State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3atWyomingL 34–⁠4066%
Sep 10atSouth FloridaL 17–⁠4837%
Sep 17vsSan Diego StateL 28–⁠4235%
Sep 24vsWestern IllinoisL 23–⁠2864%
Oct 1atBall StateW 31–⁠2440%
Oct 8atWestern MichiganL 30–⁠4520%
Oct 15vsCentral MichiganL 28–⁠3452%
Oct 22vsBuffaloW 44–⁠774%
Nov 1vsBowling GreenW 45–⁠2066%
Nov 9vsToledoL 24–⁠3125%
Nov 16atEastern MichiganW 31–⁠2453%
Nov 25atKent StateW 31–⁠2161%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Kent State 31–⁠21; unranked in the final AP poll; 5th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 18th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
5–⁠3 5th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
366–⁠364
Coach
Rod Carey
Elo
1498 −32 this season
SP+ rating
-2.4 No. 77 of 128; offense No. 50, defense No. 91, special teams No. 115
SRS
−5.0 No. 84 of 128 in FBS
Returning
86% of last season’s EPA, No. 25 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 112 roster talent No. 94 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mike Uremovich
Defensive coordinator
Kevin Kane
Captains
Sean Folliard, Kenny Golladay, Jamaal Payton and Corey Thomas
Most valuable player
Kenny Golladay
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense45th of 128
  • Defense87th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted60th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted77th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1445%1.1745th of 128
Defense0.1545%1.3887th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.11 off
0.13 def		43% off
45% def		—60th off
77th 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
Offense3.6own 2815% allowed
Defense3.4own 3017% caused

CORE rating 0.4, 62nd of 128 (offense 2.3, defense 1.9).

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 yardsAnthony Maddie QB1,213 yds
Passing touchdownsAnthony Maddie QB8 TD
Rushing yardsJoel Bouagnon 885 yds
Rushing touchdownsJoel Bouagnon 8 TD
Receiving yardsKenny Golladay WR1,164 yds
Receiving touchdownsKenny Golladay WR8 TD
TacklesSean Folliard LB81 tkl
SacksAustin Smaha DE5 sacks
InterceptionsMayomi Olootu CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Andrew Parchment WR★★★No. 1912
Daniel Isom ATH★★★No. 2072
Anthony Thompson DUAL★★No. 2210
Corey Lersch OLB★★No. 2457
Jordan Robinson WR★★No. 2482

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.794
Running backs12.00.775
Receivers52.20.775
Offensive line52.00.767
Defensive line22.00.785
Linebackers12.00.788
Defensive backs12.00.776
Athletes and specialists22.50.777
Whole class182.10.776

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 3Kenny Golladay WRDetroit Lions

Roster 103

The 2016 roster

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

2016 Mid-American Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Western Michigan8–⁠013–⁠115
Toledo6–⁠29–⁠4
Ohio6–⁠28–⁠6
Miami (OH)6–⁠26–⁠7
Northern Illinois5–⁠35–⁠7
Eastern Michigan4–⁠47–⁠6
Central Michigan3–⁠56–⁠7
Akron3–⁠55–⁠7
Bowling Green3–⁠54–⁠8
Kent State2–⁠63–⁠9
Ball State1–⁠74–⁠8
Buffalo1–⁠72–⁠10

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