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2011 Southern Miss

12–⁠2 (6–⁠2 Conference USA), coached by Larry Fedora, finished No. 20 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Southern Miss in 2011, game by game: won vs. Louisiana Tech 19–17; lost at Marshall 20–26; won vs. SE Louisiana 52–6; won at Virginia 30–24; won vs. Rice 48–24; won at Navy 63–35; won vs. SMU 27–3; won at UTEP 31–13; won at East Carolina 48–28; won vs. UCF 30–29; lost at UAB 31–34; won vs. Memphis 44–7; won vs. No. 7 Houston 49–28; won vs. Nevada 24–17+46−6Won 19–17 vs. Louisiana Tech+2Louisiana TechLost 20–26 at Marshall-6MarshallWon 52–6 vs. SE Louisiana+46SE LouisianaWon 30–24 at Virginia+6VirginiaWon 48–24 vs. Rice+24RiceWon 63–35 at Navy+28NavyWon 27–3 vs. SMU+24SMUWon 31–13 at UTEP+18UTEPWon 48–28 at East Carolina+20East CarolinaWon 30–29 vs. UCF+1UCFLost 31–34 at UAB-3UABWon 44–7 vs. Memphis+37MemphisWon 49–28 vs. No. 7 Houston+21No. 7 HoustonWon 24–17 vs. Nevada+7Nevada
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsLouisiana TechW 19–⁠1768%
Sep 10atMarshallL 20–⁠2658%
Sep 17vsSE LouisianaW 52–⁠687%
Sep 24atVirginiaW 30–⁠2454%
Oct 1vsRiceW 48–⁠2478%
Oct 8atNavyW 63–⁠3541%
Oct 22vsSMUW 27–⁠362%
Oct 29atUTEPW 31–⁠1366%
Nov 5atEast CarolinaW 48–⁠2870%
Nov 12vsUCFW 30–⁠2976%
Nov 17atUABL 31–⁠3485%
Nov 26vsMemphisW 44–⁠794%
Dec 3vs7HoustonConference USA Championship GameW 49–⁠2845%
Dec 24Bowls & playoffvsNevadaHawai’i BowlW 24–⁠1761%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Nevada 24–⁠17 in the Hawai’i Bowl; No. 20 in the final AP poll; Conference USA champions.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 90 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 11: 25
  2. Wk 12: 22
  3. Wk 14: 24
  4. Wk 15: 22
  5. Final: 20

Conference USA champions6–⁠2 in the conference, won the Conference USA Championship Game

Burlsworth TrophyAustin Davis, QB

Record
12–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠2 3rd in Conference USA
AP final
No. 20 peak No. 20
Points
516–⁠291
Coach
Larry Fedora
Elo
1703 +152 this season
SP+ rating
12.2 No. 30 of 120; offense No. 44, defense No. 26, special teams No. 28
SRS
8.7 No. 25 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 86
Offensive coordinator
Blake Anderson
Defensive coordinators
Dan Disch and David Duggan
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense27th of 120
  • Defense14th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted29th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted8th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1043%0.9627th of 120
Defense-0.0240%0.8314th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.08 off
-0.01 def		42% off
40% def		—29th 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
Offense-0.2own 332% allowed
Defense-0.7own 293% 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 yardsAustin Davis QB3,496 yds
Passing touchdownsAustin Davis QB30 TD
Rushing yardsJamal Woodyard RB732 yds
Rushing touchdownsAustin Davis QB4 TD
Receiving yardsRyan Balentine WR742 yds
Receiving touchdownsRyan Balentine WR8 TD
InterceptionsDeron Wilson DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2011 class

Rakeem Nunez-Roches DT★★★No. 1270
Ricky Lloyd PRO★★No. 1554
Tray Becton-Martin WR★★No. 1594
Rashod Hill OT★★No. 1693
Collin Jarbo TE★★No. 1990

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

The 2011 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.793
Receivers72.00.746
Offensive line32.00.760
Defensive line42.30.771
Linebackers32.00.733
Defensive backs12.00.733
Athletes and specialists22.00.733
Whole class212.00.751

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 2012

The 2012 draft
Rd 3Lamar Holmes OTAtlanta Falcons

Roster 102

The 2011 roster

102 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2011 line; 38 have a stat line. See the roster

2011 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Houston8–⁠013–⁠118
Tulsa7–⁠18–⁠5
Southern Miss6–⁠212–⁠220
SMU5–⁠38–⁠5
Marshall5–⁠37–⁠6
East Carolina4–⁠45–⁠7
UCF3–⁠55–⁠7
Rice3–⁠54–⁠8
UAB3–⁠53–⁠9
UTEP2–⁠65–⁠7
Memphis1–⁠72–⁠10
Tulane1–⁠72–⁠11

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