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2016 Temple

10–⁠4 (7–⁠1 American Athletic Conference), coached by Matt Rhule, then Ed Foley (interim, bowl game).

Schedule and results

Temple in 2016, game by game: lost vs. Army 13–28; won vs. Stony Brook 38–0; lost at Penn State 27–34; won vs. Charlotte 48–20; won vs. SMU 45–20; lost at Memphis 27–34; won at UCF 26–25; won vs. South Florida 46–30; won vs. Cincinnati 34–13; won at UConn 21–0; won at Tulane 31–0; won vs. East Carolina 37–10; won at No. 20 Navy 34–10; lost vs. Wake Forest 26–34+38−15Lost 13–28 vs. Army-15ArmyWon 38–0 vs. Stony Brook+38Stony BrookLost 27–34 at Penn State-7Penn StateWon 48–20 vs. Charlotte+28CharlotteWon 45–20 vs. SMU+25SMULost 27–34 at Memphis-7MemphisWon 26–25 at UCF+1UCFWon 46–30 vs. South Florida+16South FloridaWon 34–13 vs. Cincinnati+21CincinnatiWon 21–0 at UConn+21UConnWon 31–0 at Tulane+31TulaneWon 37–10 vs. East Carolina+27East CarolinaWon 34–10 at No. 20 Navy+24No. 20 NavyLost 26–34 vs. Wake Forest-8Wake Forest
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsArmyL 13–⁠2879%
Sep 10vsStony BrookW 38–⁠081%
Sep 17atPenn StateL 27–⁠3440%
Sep 24vsCharlotteW 48–⁠2084%
Oct 1vsSMUW 45–⁠2072%
Oct 6atMemphisL 27–⁠3436%
Oct 15atUCFW 26–⁠2550%
Oct 21vsSouth FloridaW 46–⁠3043%
Oct 29vsCincinnatiW 34–⁠1366%
Nov 4atUConnW 21–⁠068%
Nov 19atTulaneW 31–⁠075%
Nov 26vsEast CarolinaW 37–⁠1084%
Dec 3at20NavyAmerican Athletic Championship GameW 34–⁠1033%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsWake ForestMilitary BowlL 26–⁠3479%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Wake Forest 34–⁠26 in the Military Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; American Athletic Conference champions.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 92 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 15: 23

American Athletic Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference, won the American Athletic Championship Game

AAC East champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with South Florida

Record
10–⁠4
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 23
Points
453–⁠258
Coach
Matt Rhule, then Ed Foley (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1621 +71 this season
SP+ rating
11.9 No. 28 of 128; offense No. 52, defense No. 22, special teams No. 56
SRS
8.7 No. 28 of 128 in FBS
Returning
63% of last season’s EPA, No. 74 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 59 roster talent No. 71 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Glenn Thomas
Defensive coordinator
Phil Snow
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense57th of 128
  • Defense15th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted54th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted26th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1244%1.2657th of 128
Defense-0.0037%1.1815th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.12 off
0.04 def		43% off
39% def		—54th off
26th 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
Offense3.8own 3316% allowed
Defense3.0own 3120% caused

CORE rating 7.2, 31st of 128 (offense 1.9, defense -5.3).

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 yardsP.J. Walker QB3,295 yds
Passing touchdownsP.J. Walker QB22 TD
Rushing yardsJahad Thomas RB953 yds
Rushing touchdownsRyquell Armstead RB14 TD
Receiving yardsVentell Bryant WR895 yds
Receiving touchdownsJahad Thomas RB6 TD
TacklesAvery Williams LB66 tkl
SacksHaason Reddick S9.5 sacks
InterceptionsDelvon Randall S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Karamo Dioubate DT★★★★No. 172
Anthony Russo PRO★★★No. 648
Keyvone Bruton S★★★No. 691
Tyliek Raynor RB★★★No. 795
Isaiah Wright WR★★★No. 913

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.861
Running backs32.70.792
Receivers42.80.809
Offensive line22.50.804
Defensive line53.20.833
Linebackers13.00.842
Defensive backs82.60.809
Athletes and specialists13.00.814
Whole class252.80.815

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 1Haason Reddick ILBArizona Cardinals
Rd 2Dion Dawkins OGBuffalo Bills
Rd 5Nate Hairston CBIndianapolis Colts

Roster 119

The 2016 roster

119 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 70 have a stat line. See the roster

2016 American Athletic Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
South Florida7–⁠111–⁠219
Temple7–⁠110–⁠4
Navy7–⁠19–⁠5
Tulsa6–⁠210–⁠3
Houston5–⁠39–⁠4
Memphis5–⁠38–⁠5
UCF4–⁠46–⁠7
SMU3–⁠55–⁠7
Cincinnati1–⁠74–⁠8
Tulane1–⁠74–⁠8
East Carolina1–⁠73–⁠9
UConn1–⁠73–⁠9

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