CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2016 South Carolina

6–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Southeastern Conference), coached by Will Muschamp.

Schedule and results

South Carolina in 2016, game by game: won at Vanderbilt 13–10; lost at Mississippi State 14–27; won vs. East Carolina 20–15; lost at Kentucky 10–17; lost vs. No. 9 Texas A&M 13–24; lost vs. Georgia 14–28; won vs. Massachusetts 34–28; won vs. No. 18 Tennessee 24–21; won vs. Missouri 31–21; lost at No. 22 Florida 7–20; won vs. Western Carolina 44–31; lost at No. 4 Clemson 7–56; lost vs. No. 25 South Florida 39–46+13−49Won 13–10 at Vanderbilt+3VanderbiltLost 14–27 at Mississippi State-13Mississippi Sta…Won 20–15 vs. East Carolina+5East CarolinaLost 10–17 at Kentucky-7KentuckyLost 13–24 vs. No. 9 Texas A&M-11No. 9 Texas A&MLost 14–28 vs. Georgia-14GeorgiaWon 34–28 vs. Massachusetts+6MassachusettsWon 24–21 vs. No. 18 Tennessee+3No. 18 TennesseeWon 31–21 vs. Missouri+10MissouriLost 7–20 at No. 22 Florida-13No. 22 FloridaWon 44–31 vs. Western Carolina+13Western CarolinaLost 7–56 at No. 4 Clemson-49No. 4 ClemsonLost 39–46 vs. No. 25 South Florida-7No. 25 South Florida
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1atVanderbiltW 13–⁠1050%
Sep 10atMississippi StateL 14–⁠2731%
Sep 17vsEast CarolinaW 20–⁠1555%
Sep 24atKentuckyL 10–⁠1753%
Oct 1vs9Texas A&ML 13–⁠2435%
Oct 9vsGeorgiaL 14–⁠2839%
Oct 22vsMassachusettsW 34–⁠2878%
Oct 29vs18TennesseeW 24–⁠2131%
Nov 5vsMissouriW 31–⁠2165%
Nov 12at22FloridaL 7–⁠2026%
Nov 19vsWestern CarolinaW 44–⁠3187%
Nov 26at4ClemsonL 7–⁠5611%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvs25South FloridaBirmingham BowlL 39–⁠4627%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to South Florida 46–⁠39 in the Birmingham Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 76th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 9th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
270–⁠344
Coach
Will Muschamp
Elo
1475 −25 this season
SP+ rating
-4.0 No. 85 of 128; offense No. 105, defense No. 56, special teams No. 34
SRS
−3.8 No. 80 of 128 in FBS
Returning
58% of last season’s EPA, No. 81 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 25 roster talent No. 23 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Kurt Roper and Bryan McClendon
Defensive coordinator
Travaris Robinson
Offense
Spread
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense96th of 128
  • Defense44th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted99th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted33rd of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0339%1.2396th of 128
Defense0.0746%1.0444th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.05 off
0.05 def		39% off
45% def		—99th off
33rd 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
Offense3.4own 3020% allowed
Defense3.4own 3115% caused

CORE rating -1.6, 74th of 128 (offense -7.3, defense -5.7).

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 yardsJake Bentley QB1,420 yds
Passing touchdownsJake Bentley QB9 TD
Rushing yardsRico Dowdle RB764 yds
Rushing touchdownsDeebo Samuel WR6 TD
Receiving yardsDeebo Samuel WR783 yds
Receiving touchdownsBryan Edwards WR4 TD
TacklesD.J. Smith DB79 tkl
SacksDarius English DL9 sacks
InterceptionsChris Lammons CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Brandon McIlwain DUAL★★★★No. 173
Bryan Edwards WR★★★★No. 218
Jake Bentley PRO★★★★No. 269
Stephon Taylor DT★★★★No. 287
Javon Kinlaw OT★★★★No. 330

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks24.00.917
Running backs23.00.865
Receivers73.10.865
Offensive line33.30.851
Defensive line83.00.855
Linebackers23.00.849
Defensive backs13.00.826
Whole class253.20.862

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 117

The 2016 roster

117 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 54 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

1 second team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2016 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2016 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama8–⁠014–⁠12
Florida6–⁠29–⁠414
LSU5–⁠38–⁠413
Auburn5–⁠38–⁠524
Tennessee4–⁠49–⁠422
Georgia4–⁠48–⁠5
Texas A&M4–⁠48–⁠5
Kentucky4–⁠47–⁠6
Arkansas3–⁠57–⁠6
Vanderbilt3–⁠56–⁠7
Mississippi State3–⁠56–⁠7
South Carolina3–⁠56–⁠7
Ole Miss2–⁠65–⁠7
Missouri2–⁠64–⁠8

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