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2012 South Alabama

2–⁠11 (1–⁠7 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Joey Jones.

Schedule and results

South Alabama in 2012, game by game: lost vs. UTSA 31–33; won vs. Nicholls 9–3; lost at NC State 7–31; lost at No. 23 Mississippi State 10–30; lost vs. Troy 10–31; lost at Arkansas State 29–36; won vs. Florida Atlantic 37–34; lost at UL Monroe 24–38; lost vs. Florida International 20–28; lost at North Texas 14–24; lost vs. Middle Tennessee 12–20; lost at Louisiana 30–52; lost at Hawai’i 7–23+7−24Lost 31–33 vs. UTSA-2UTSAWon 9–3 vs. Nicholls+6NichollsLost 7–31 at NC State-24NC StateLost 10–30 at No. 23 Mississippi State-20No. 23 Mississippi Sta…Lost 10–31 vs. Troy-21TroyLost 29–36 at Arkansas State-7Arkansas StateWon 37–34 vs. Florida Atlantic+3Florida AtlanticLost 24–38 at UL Monroe-14UL MonroeLost 20–28 vs. Florida International-8Florida Interna…Lost 14–24 at North Texas-10North TexasLost 12–20 vs. Middle Tennessee-8Middle TennesseeLost 30–52 at Louisiana-22LouisianaLost 7–23 at Hawai’i-16Hawai’i
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsUTSAL 31–⁠3360%
Sep 8vsNichollsW 9–⁠374%
Sep 15atNC StateL 7–⁠3114%
Sep 22at23Mississippi StateL 10–⁠3010%
Sep 29vsTroyL 10–⁠3137%
Oct 13atArkansas StateL 29–⁠3614%
Oct 20vsFlorida AtlanticW 37–⁠3455%
Oct 27atUL MonroeL 24–⁠3814%
Nov 3vsFlorida InternationalL 20–⁠2844%
Nov 10atNorth TexasL 14–⁠2425%
Nov 17vsMiddle TennesseeL 12–⁠2026%
Nov 24atLouisianaL 30–⁠5212%
Dec 1atHawai’iL 7–⁠2326%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Hawai’i 23–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; 10th in the Sun Belt Conference.

In program history: The worst season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 16 on file).

Record
2–⁠11
Conference
1–⁠7 10th in Sun Belt Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
240–⁠383
Coach
Joey Jones
Elo
1195 −98 this season
SP+ rating
-25.5 No. 121 of 124; offense No. 123, defense No. 91, special teams No. 88
SRS
−18.8 No. 119 of 124 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 113
Offensive coordinator
Robert Matthews
Defensive coordinator
Bill Clark
Offense
Multiple
Defense
Multiple 3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense112th of 124
  • Defense26th of 124
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted123rd of 124
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted32nd of 124
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0237%0.90112th of 124
Defense0.0138%0.8426th of 124
Opponent-adjusted-0.00 off
0.03 def		37% off
39% def		—123rd off
32nd 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
Offense-0.2own 293% allowed
Defense0.0own 353% caused

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. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsRoss Metheny QB2,148 yds
Passing touchdownsRoss Metheny QB12 TD
Rushing yardsDemetre Baker RB595 yds
Rushing touchdownsDemetre Baker RB3 TD
Receiving yardsCorey Besteda WR430 yds
Receiving touchdownsCorey Besteda WR2 TD
InterceptionsTyrell Pearson CB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2012 class

Steven Foster OG★★★No. 1187
Paul Kyles TE★★★No. 1319
Steve McKenzie OG★★★No. 1354
Clay Machen OC★★★No. 1428
Jay Minor WDE★★★No. 1802

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

The 2012 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.767
Receivers22.50.797
Offensive line52.60.801
Defensive line22.50.778
Linebackers12.00.767
Defensive backs22.00.767
Whole class132.40.786

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 111

The 2012 roster

111 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2012 line; 29 have a stat line. See the roster

2012 Sun Belt Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Arkansas State7–⁠110–⁠3
Louisiana6–⁠29–⁠4
Middle Tennessee6–⁠28–⁠4
UL Monroe6–⁠28–⁠5
Western Kentucky4–⁠47–⁠6
Troy3–⁠55–⁠7
North Texas3–⁠54–⁠8
Florida Atlantic2–⁠63–⁠9
Florida International2–⁠63–⁠9
South Alabama1–⁠72–⁠11

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