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2016 Vanderbilt

6–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Southeastern Conference), coached by Derek Mason.

Schedule and results

Vanderbilt in 2016, game by game: lost vs. South Carolina 10–13; won vs. Middle Tennessee 47–24; lost at Georgia Tech 7–38; won at Western Kentucky 31–30; lost vs. No. 23 Florida 6–13; lost at Kentucky 13–20; won at Georgia 17–16; won vs. Tennessee State 35–17; lost at No. 11 Auburn 16–23; lost at Missouri 17–26; won vs. Ole Miss 38–17; won vs. No. 24 Tennessee 45–34; lost vs. NC State 17–41+23−31Lost 10–13 vs. South Carolina-3South CarolinaWon 47–24 vs. Middle Tennessee+23Middle TennesseeLost 7–38 at Georgia Tech-31Georgia TechWon 31–30 at Western Kentucky+1Western KentuckyLost 6–13 vs. No. 23 Florida-7No. 23 FloridaLost 13–20 at Kentucky-7KentuckyWon 17–16 at Georgia+1GeorgiaWon 35–17 vs. Tennessee State+18Tennessee StateLost 16–23 at No. 11 Auburn-7No. 11 AuburnLost 17–26 at Missouri-9MissouriWon 38–17 vs. Ole Miss+21Ole MissWon 45–34 vs. No. 24 Tennessee+11No. 24 TennesseeLost 17–41 vs. NC State-24NC State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsSouth CarolinaL 10–⁠1350%
Sep 10vsMiddle TennesseeW 47–⁠2448%
Sep 17atGeorgia TechL 7–⁠3834%
Sep 24atWestern KentuckyW 31–⁠3019%
Oct 1vs23FloridaL 6–⁠1337%
Oct 8atKentuckyL 13–⁠2040%
Oct 15atGeorgiaW 17–⁠1618%
Oct 22vsTennessee StateW 35–⁠1768%
Nov 5at11AuburnL 16–⁠2316%
Nov 12atMissouriL 17–⁠2647%
Nov 19vsOle MissW 38–⁠1730%
Nov 26vs24TennesseeW 45–⁠3432%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsNC StateIndependence BowlL 17–⁠4144%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to NC State 41–⁠17 in the Independence Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 62nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

Consensus All-AmericanZach Cunningham, LB

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 9th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
299–⁠312
Coach
Derek Mason
Elo
1482 +36 this season
SP+ rating
-1.2 No. 71 of 128; offense No. 89, defense No. 48, special teams No. 69
SRS
0.5 No. 61 of 128 in FBS
Returning
62% of last season’s EPA, No. 75 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 54 roster talent No. 41 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Andy Ludwig
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense99th of 128
  • Defense50th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted96th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted37th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0241%1.1199th of 128
Defense0.0943%1.1250th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.05 off
0.06 def		41% off
42% def		—96th off
37th 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 2918% allowed
Defense2.6own 3517% caused

CORE rating 0.8, 60th of 128 (offense -3.9, defense -4.7).

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 yardsKyle Shurmur QB2,409 yds
Passing touchdownsKyle Shurmur QB9 TD
Rushing yardsRalph Webb RB1,283 yds
Rushing touchdownsRalph Webb RB13 TD
Receiving yardsC.J. Duncan WR494 yds
Receiving touchdownsBailey McElwain FB2 TD
TacklesZach Cunningham ILB125 tkl
SacksAdam Butler DL4 sacks
InterceptionsTre Herndon CB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Joejuan Williams CB★★★★No. 208
Sean Auwae OC★★★No. 517
Zaire Jones S★★★No. 520
Deuce Wallace PRO★★★No. 561
Devin Cochran OT★★★No. 640

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.867
Running backs23.00.836
Receivers43.00.836
Offensive line33.00.854
Defensive line42.80.807
Linebackers12.00.786
Defensive backs53.20.858
Athletes and specialists13.00.819
Whole class213.00.836

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 2Zach Cunningham ILBHouston Texans
Rd 5Will Holden OTArizona Cardinals

Roster 95

The 2016 roster

95 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 51 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

1 first team, 2 second team

First 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.