CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2016 USC

10–⁠3 (7–⁠2 Pac-12), coached by Clay Helton, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 2016, game by game: lost vs. No. 1 Alabama 6–52; won vs. Utah State 45–7; lost at No. 7 Stanford 10–27; lost at No. 24 Utah 27–31; won vs. Arizona State 41–20; won vs. No. 21 Colorado 21–17; won at Arizona 48–14; won vs. California 45–24; won vs. Oregon 45–20; won at No. 4 Washington 26–13; won at UCLA 36–14; won vs. Notre Dame 45–27; won vs. No. 5 Penn State 52–49+38−46Lost 6–52 vs. No. 1 Alabama-46No. 1 AlabamaWon 45–7 vs. Utah State+38Utah StateLost 10–27 at No. 7 Stanford-17No. 7 StanfordLost 27–31 at No. 24 Utah-4No. 24 UtahWon 41–20 vs. Arizona State+21Arizona StateWon 21–17 vs. No. 21 Colorado+4No. 21 ColoradoWon 48–14 at Arizona+34ArizonaWon 45–24 vs. California+21CaliforniaWon 45–20 vs. Oregon+25OregonWon 26–13 at No. 4 Washington+13No. 4 WashingtonWon 36–14 at UCLA+22UCLAWon 45–27 vs. Notre Dame+18Notre DameWon 52–49 vs. No. 5 Penn State+3No. 5 Penn State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vs1AlabamaL 6–⁠5227%
Sep 10vsUtah StateW 45–⁠765%
Sep 17at7StanfordL 10–⁠2728%
Sep 23at24UtahL 27–⁠3134%
Oct 1vsArizona StateW 41–⁠2053%
Oct 8vs21ColoradoW 21–⁠1771%
Oct 15atArizonaW 48–⁠1459%
Oct 27vsCaliforniaW 45–⁠2470%
Nov 5vsOregonW 45–⁠2071%
Nov 12at4WashingtonW 26–⁠1331%
Nov 19atUCLAW 36–⁠1467%
Nov 26vsNotre DameW 45–⁠2778%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs5Penn StateRose BowlW 52–⁠4956%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Penn State 52–⁠49 in the Rose Bowl; No. 3 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 18th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 20
  2. Wk 12: 15
  3. Wk 13: 12
  4. Wk 14: 10
  5. Wk 15: 9
  6. Final: 3

Jim Thorpe AwardAdoree’ Jackson, CB

Consensus All-AmericanAdoree’ Jackson, CB

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Pac-12
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 3
Points
447–⁠315
Coach
Clay Helton
Elo
1761 +163 this season
SP+ rating
23.6 No. 8 of 128; offense No. 19, defense No. 9, special teams No. 18
SRS
17.3 No. 8 of 128 in FBS
Returning
61% of last season’s EPA, No. 78 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 10 roster talent No. 2 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Tee Martin
Defensive coordinator
Clancy Pendergast
Captains
Max Browne, Zach Banner, Michael Hutchings and Adoree’ Jackson
Offense
Multiple
Defense
5–⁠2

How good, play by play

  • Offense23rd of 128
  • Defense37th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted22nd of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted27th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1948%1.1623rd of 128
Defense0.0638%1.3537th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.20 off
0.04 def		50% off
37% def		—22nd off
27th 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
Offense3.6own 3214% allowed
Defense3.2own 2818% caused

CORE rating 13.4, 14th of 128 (offense 9.5, defense -3.9).

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 yardsSam Darnold QB3,086 yds
Passing touchdownsSam Darnold QB31 TD
Rushing yardsRonald Jones II 1,082 yds
Rushing touchdownsRonald Jones II 12 TD
Receiving yardsJuJu Smith-Schuster WR914 yds
Receiving touchdownsJuJu Smith-Schuster WR10 TD
TacklesCameron Smith ILB83 tkl
SacksRasheem Green DT6 sacks
InterceptionsAdoree’ Jackson DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Oluwole Betiku Jr. WDE★★★★★No. 15
Jack Jones CB★★★★★No. 19
Tyler Vaughns WR★★★★No. 30
Michael Pittman Jr. WR★★★★No. 59
E.J. Price OT★★★★No. 84
Jamel Cook ATH★★★★No. 98
Trevon Sidney WR★★★★No. 143
Josh Imatorbhebhe WR★★★★No. 160

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.874
Running backs14.00.918
Receivers73.70.926
Offensive line34.00.926
Defensive line34.00.915
Linebackers23.00.856
Defensive backs24.50.946
Athletes and specialists14.00.954
Whole class203.80.918

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 1Adoree’ Jackson CBTennessee Titans
Rd 2JuJu Smith-Schuster WRPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 4Zach Banner OTIndianapolis Colts
Rd 6Leon McQuay III SKansas City Chiefs
Rd 7Stevie Tu’Ikolovatu DTTampa Bay Buccaneers

Roster 103

The 2016 roster

103 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 56 have a stat line. See the roster

2016 Pac-12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Washington8–⁠112–⁠24
Colorado8–⁠110–⁠417
USC7–⁠210–⁠33
Washington State7–⁠28–⁠5
Stanford6–⁠310–⁠312
Utah5–⁠49–⁠423
California3–⁠65–⁠7
Oregon State3–⁠64–⁠8
Arizona State2–⁠75–⁠7
Oregon2–⁠74–⁠8
UCLA2–⁠74–⁠8
Arizona1–⁠83–⁠9

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