2016 San Diego State

11–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Mountain West Conference), coached by Rocky Long, finished No. 25 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

San Diego State in 2016, game by game: won vs. New Hampshire 31–0; won vs. California 45–40; won at Northern Illinois 42–28; lost at South Alabama 24–42; won vs. UNLV 26–7; won at Fresno State 17–3; won vs. San José State 42–3; won at Utah State 40–13; won vs. Hawai’i 55–0; won at Nevada 46–16; lost at Wyoming 33–34; lost vs. Colorado State 31–63; won at Wyoming 27–24; won vs. Houston 34–10+55−32Won 31–0 vs. New Hampshire+31New HampshireWon 45–40 vs. California+5CaliforniaWon 42–28 at Northern Illinois+14Northern Illino…Lost 24–42 at South Alabama-18South AlabamaWon 26–7 vs. UNLV+19UNLVWon 17–3 at Fresno State+14Fresno StateWon 42–3 vs. San José State+39San José StateWon 40–13 at Utah State+27Utah StateWon 55–0 vs. Hawai’i+55Hawai’iWon 46–16 at Nevada+30NevadaLost 33–34 at Wyoming-1WyomingLost 31–63 vs. Colorado State-32Colorado StateWon 27–24 at Wyoming+3WyomingWon 34–10 vs. Houston+24Houston
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsNew HampshireW 31–⁠081%
Sep 10vsCaliforniaW 45–⁠4069%
Sep 17atNorthern IllinoisW 42–⁠2865%
Oct 1atSouth AlabamaL 24–⁠4277%
Oct 8vsUNLVW 26–⁠783%
Oct 14atFresno StateW 17–⁠378%
Oct 21vsSan José StateW 42–⁠386%
Oct 28atUtah StateW 40–⁠1364%
Nov 5vsHawai’iW 55–⁠086%
Nov 12atNevadaW 46–⁠1679%
Nov 19atWyomingL 33–⁠3468%
Nov 26vsColorado StateL 31–⁠6378%
Dec 3atWyomingMountain West Championship GameW 27–⁠2461%
Dec 17vsHoustonLas Vegas BowlW 34–⁠1042%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Houston 34–⁠10 in the Las Vegas Bowl; No. 25 in the final AP poll; Mountain West Conference champions.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 86 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 22
  2. Wk 5: 19
  3. Wk 12: 24
  4. Final: 25

Mountain West Conference champions6–⁠2 in the conference, won the Mountain West Championship Game

Led the nationDonnel Pumphrey: rushing yards (2,133 yds)

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 shared first in Mountain West Conference
AP final
No. 25 peak No. 19
Points
493–⁠283
Coach
Rocky Long
Elo
1659 +44 this season
SP+ rating
11.4 No. 31 of 128; offense No. 50, defense No. 29, special teams No. 10
SRS
5.3 No. 46 of 128 in FBS
Returning
57% of last season’s EPA, No. 85 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 82 roster talent No. 74 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Jeff Horton
Defensive coordinator
Rocky Long
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense31st of 128
  • Defense7th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted49th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted8th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1744%1.3031st of 128
Defense-0.0738%1.237th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.13 off
-0.04 def
42% off
39% def
—49th off
8th 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
Offense3.9own 3415% allowed
Defense3.3own 2718% caused

CORE rating 11.8, 17th of 128 (offense 3.0, defense -8.8).

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 yardsChristian Chapman QB1,994 yds
Passing touchdownsChristian Chapman QB20 TD
Rushing yardsDonnel Pumphrey RB2,133 yds
Rushing touchdownsDonnel Pumphrey RB17 TD
Receiving yardsMikah Holder WR581 yds
Receiving touchdownsMikah Holder WR5 TD
TacklesCalvin Munson LB116 tkl
SacksAlex Barrett DL7.5 sacks
InterceptionsDamontae Kazee CB7 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Tayler Hawkins ATH★★★No. 1042
Chase Jasmin RB★★★No. 1147
Trenton Thompson S★★★No. 1164
Dru Mathis ILB★★★No. 1230
Parker Houston TE★★★No. 1271

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs23.00.827
Receivers42.80.809
Offensive line42.30.790
Defensive line22.50.804
Linebackers23.00.830
Defensive backs52.60.809
Athletes and specialists22.50.815
Whole class212.60.809

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 4Nico Siragusa OGBaltimore Ravens
Rd 4Donnel Pumphrey RBPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 5Damontae Kazee CBAtlanta Falcons

Roster 118

The 2016 roster

118 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster

2016 Mountain West Conference standings

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.