CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2016 Utah

9–⁠4 (5–⁠4 Pac-12), coached by Kyle Whittingham, finished No. 23 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Utah in 2016, game by game: won vs. Southern Utah 24–0; won vs. BYU 20–19; won at San José State 34–17; won vs. USC 31–27; lost at California 23–28; won vs. Arizona 36–23; won at Oregon State 19–14; won at UCLA 52–45; lost vs. No. 4 Washington 24–31; won at Arizona State 49–26; lost vs. Oregon 28–30; lost at No. 9 Colorado 22–27; won vs. Indiana 26–24+24−7Won 24–0 vs. Southern Utah+24Southern UtahWon 20–19 vs. BYU+1BYUWon 34–17 at San José State+17San José StateWon 31–27 vs. USC+4USCLost 23–28 at California-5CaliforniaWon 36–23 vs. Arizona+13ArizonaWon 19–14 at Oregon State+5Oregon StateWon 52–45 at UCLA+7UCLALost 24–31 vs. No. 4 Washington-7No. 4 WashingtonWon 49–26 at Arizona State+23Arizona StateLost 28–30 vs. Oregon-2OregonLost 22–27 at No. 9 Colorado-5No. 9 ColoradoWon 26–24 vs. Indiana+2Indiana
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsSouthern UtahW 24–⁠084%
Sep 10vsBYUW 20–⁠1963%
Sep 17atSan José StateW 34–⁠1766%
Sep 23vsUSCW 31–⁠2766%
Oct 1atCaliforniaL 23–⁠2859%
Oct 8vsArizonaW 36–⁠2374%
Oct 15atOregon StateW 19–⁠1478%
Oct 22atUCLAW 52–⁠4555%
Oct 29vs4WashingtonL 24–⁠3151%
Nov 10atArizona StateW 49–⁠2662%
Nov 19vsOregonL 28–⁠3077%
Nov 26at9ColoradoL 22–⁠2746%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsIndianaFoster Farms BowlW 26–⁠2470%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Indiana 26–⁠24 in the Foster Farms Bowl; No. 23 in the final AP poll; 6th in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 18th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 24
  2. Wk 5: 18
  3. Wk 6: 24
  4. Wk 7: 21
  5. Wk 8: 19
  6. Wk 9: 17
  7. Wk 10: 16
  8. Wk 11: 13
  9. Wk 12: 11
  10. Wk 13: 21
  11. Final: 23

Ray Guy AwardMitch Wishnowsky, P

Consensus All-AmericanMitch Wishnowsky, P

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠4 6th in Pac-12
AP final
No. 23 peak No. 11
Points
388–⁠311
Coach
Kyle Whittingham
Elo
1648 +32 this season
SP+ rating
10.9 No. 35 of 128; offense No. 46, defense No. 38, special teams No. 8
SRS
7.8 No. 31 of 128 in FBS
Returning
34% of last season’s EPA, No. 117 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 37 roster talent No. 51 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Aaron Roderick and Jim Harding
Defensive coordinator
Morgan Scalley
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense69th of 128
  • Defense53rd of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted64th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted48th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0944%1.1069th of 128
Defense0.0941%1.3153rd of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.10 off
0.08 def		45% off
40% def		—64th off
48th 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
Offense3.2own 3419% allowed
Defense3.3own 2922% caused

CORE rating 1.2, 57th of 128 (offense -1.3, defense -2.5).

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 yardsTroy Williams QB2,757 yds
Passing touchdownsTroy Williams QB15 TD
Rushing yardsJoe Williams RB1,407 yds
Rushing touchdownsJoe Williams RB10 TD
Receiving yardsTim Patrick WR711 yds
Receiving touchdownsTim Patrick WR5 TD
TacklesChase Hansen LB90 tkl
SacksHunter Dimick DE14.5 sacks
InterceptionsMarcus Williams DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Maxs Tupai WDE★★★★No. 286
Tyler Huntley PRO★★★No. 561
Leki Fotu SDE★★★No. 579
R.J. Hubert WR★★★No. 600
Davir Hamilton ATH★★★No. 603

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.867
Running backs23.00.834
Receivers53.00.841
Offensive line43.00.849
Defensive line53.20.860
Linebackers22.50.804
Defensive backs23.00.841
Athletes and specialists23.00.856
Whole class233.00.845

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 1Garett Bolles OTDenver Broncos
Rd 2Marcus Williams SNew Orleans Saints
Rd 4Joe Williams RBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 5Isaac Asiata OGMiami Dolphins
Rd 5Brian Allen CBPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 5J.J. Dielman CCincinnati Bengals
Rd 6Sam Tevi OTLos Angeles Chargers
Rd 6Pita Taumoepenu DESan Francisco 49ers

Roster 136

The 2016 roster

136 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 61 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.