2016 SMU
5–7 (3–5 American Athletic Conference), coached by Chad Morris. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest upsetBeat No. 11 Houston 38–16Oct 22
Houston was ranked No. 11 and favored to win.
- Most excitingLost to Tulsa 40–43Oct 7
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | at North Texas | W 34–21 | 47% |
| Sep 10 | at 23Baylor | L 13–40 | 14% |
| Sep 17 | vs Liberty | W 29–14 | 60% |
| Sep 23 | vs TCU | L 3–33 | 24% |
| Oct 1 | at Temple | L 20–45 | 28% |
| Oct 7 | at Tulsa | L 40–43 | 25% |
| Oct 22 | vs 11Houston | W 38–16 | 17% |
| Oct 29 | at Tulane | W 35–31 | 50% |
| Nov 5 | vs Memphis | L 7–51 | 46% |
| Nov 12 | at East Carolina | W 55–31 | 41% |
| Nov 19 | vs South Florida | L 27–35 | 34% |
| Nov 26 | vs Navy | L 31–75 | 28% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Navy 75–31; unranked in the final AP poll; 8th in the American Athletic Conference.
In program history: The 78th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 110 on file).
- Record
- 5–7
- Conference
- 3–5 8th in American Athletic Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 332–435
- Coach
- Chad Morris
- Elo
- 1423 +49 this season
- SP+ rating
- -10.8 No. 104 of 128; offense No. 100, defense No. 89, special teams No. 126
- SRS
- −5.7 No. 86 of 128 in FBS
- Returning
- 90% of last season’s EPA, No. 18 of 128
- Recruiting class
- No. 75 roster talent No. 75 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Joe Craddock
- Defensive coordinator
- Van Malone
- Offense
- Power spread
- Defense
- 4–2–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.06 | 39% | 1.23 | 82nd of 128 |
| Defense | 0.13 | 46% | 1.24 | 69th of 128 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.07 off 0.08 def | 41% off 44% def | — | 88th off 51st 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.0 | own 30 | 16% allowed |
| Defense | 3.5 | own 35 | 15% caused |
CORE rating -2.5, 77th of 128 (offense -2.0, defense 0.5).
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 yards | Ben Hicks QB | 2,930 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Ben Hicks QB | 19 TD |
| Rushing yards | Braeden West RB | 1,036 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Braeden West RB | 6 TD |
| Receiving yards | Courtland Sutton WR | 1,246 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Courtland Sutton WR | 10 TD |
| Tackles | Kyran Mitchell LB | 67 tkl |
| Sacks | Justin Lawler DE | 6 sacks |
| Interceptions | Horace Richardson DB | 6 INT |
Top recruits in the 2016 class
| Jordan Carmouche OLB | ★★★ | No. 550 |
| Michael Badejo OLB | ★★★ | No. 890 |
| Ryan Becker ATH | ★★★ | No. 960 |
| Aphonso Thomas RB | ★★★ | No. 960 |
| Brandon Benson WR | ★★★ | No. 971 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2016 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.847 |
| Receivers | 3 | 2.7 | 0.819 |
| Offensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.821 |
| Defensive line | 3 | 3.0 | 0.816 |
| Linebackers | 5 | 2.6 | 0.824 |
| Defensive backs | 4 | 3.0 | 0.807 |
| Athletes and specialists | 4 | 2.8 | 0.809 |
| Whole class | 24 | 2.8 | 0.817 |
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 roster114 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 57 have a stat line. See the roster
2016 American Athletic Conference standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Florida | 7–1 | 11–2 | 19 |
| Temple | 7–1 | 10–4 | |
| Navy | 7–1 | 9–5 | |
| Tulsa | 6–2 | 10–3 | |
| Houston | 5–3 | 9–4 | |
| Memphis | 5–3 | 8–5 | |
 UCF | 4–4 | 6–7 | |
 SMU | 3–5 | 5–7 | |
 Cincinnati | 1–7 | 4–8 | |
| Tulane | 1–7 | 4–8 | |
| East Carolina | 1–7 | 3–9 | |
 UConn | 1–7 | 3–9 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.