CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2016 Wake Forest

7–⁠6 (3–⁠5 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Dave Clawson.

Schedule and results

Wake Forest in 2016, game by game: won vs. Tulane 7–3; won at Duke 24–14; won vs. Delaware 38–21; won at Indiana 33–28; lost at NC State 16–33; won vs. Syracuse 28–9; lost at No. 14 Florida State 6–17; lost vs. Army 13–21; won vs. Virginia 27–20; lost at No. 5 Louisville 12–44; lost vs. No. 5 Clemson 13–35; lost vs. Boston College 14–17; won vs. No. 23 Temple 34–26+19−32Won 7–3 vs. Tulane+4TulaneWon 24–14 at Duke+10DukeWon 38–21 vs. Delaware+17DelawareWon 33–28 at Indiana+5IndianaLost 16–33 at NC State-17NC StateWon 28–9 vs. Syracuse+19SyracuseLost 6–17 at No. 14 Florida State-11No. 14 Florida StateLost 13–21 vs. Army-8ArmyWon 27–20 vs. Virginia+7VirginiaLost 12–44 at No. 5 Louisville-32No. 5 LouisvilleLost 13–35 vs. No. 5 Clemson-22No. 5 ClemsonLost 14–17 vs. Boston College-3Boston CollegeWon 34–26 vs. No. 23 Temple+8No. 23 Temple
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsTulaneW 7–⁠362%
Sep 10atDukeW 24–⁠1426%
Sep 17vsDelawareW 38–⁠2176%
Sep 24atIndianaW 33–⁠2834%
Oct 1atNC StateL 16–⁠3335%
Oct 8vsSyracuseW 28–⁠966%
Oct 15at14Florida StateL 6–⁠1720%
Oct 29vsArmyL 13–⁠2166%
Nov 5vsVirginiaW 27–⁠2061%
Nov 12at5LouisvilleL 12–⁠4414%
Nov 19vs5ClemsonL 13–⁠3517%
Nov 26vsBoston CollegeL 14–⁠1756%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvs23TempleMilitary BowlW 34–⁠2621%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Temple 34–⁠26 in the Military Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 40th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 119 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 9th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
265–⁠288
Coach
Dave Clawson
Elo
1472 +70 this season
SP+ rating
-0.6 No. 67 of 128; offense No. 114, defense No. 31, special teams No. 33
SRS
−0.4 No. 68 of 128 in FBS
Returning
80% of last season’s EPA, No. 32 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 57 roster talent No. 67 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Warren Ruggiero
Defensive coordinator
Mike Elko
Captains
Marquel Lee, Wendell Dunn, Josh Harris, Tyler Hayworth and Cam Serigne
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense121st of 128
  • Defense27th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted107th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted30th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0535%1.15121st of 128
Defense0.0342%1.1527th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.02 off
0.04 def		40% off
41% def		—107th off
30th 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
Offense3.1own 3217% allowed
Defense2.4own 3119% caused

CORE rating -3.5, 83rd of 128 (offense -10.1, defense -6.6).

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 yardsJohn Wolford QB1,774 yds
Passing touchdownsJohn Wolford QB9 TD
Rushing yardsMatt Colburn RB626 yds
Rushing touchdownsCade Carney RB6 TD
Receiving yardsTabari Hines WR447 yds
Receiving touchdownsCam Serigne TE3 TD
TacklesMarquel Lee LB105 tkl
SacksDuke Ejiofor DL10.5 sacks
InterceptionsJessie Bates III DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Sulaiman Kamara DT★★★No. 393
Taleni Suhren OT★★★No. 592
Jamie Newman DUAL★★★No. 645
Manny Walker WDE★★★No. 812
Zander Zimmer WDE★★★No. 858

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.862
Running backs22.50.819
Receivers52.60.814
Offensive line33.00.849
Defensive line43.00.851
Linebackers13.00.844
Defensive backs33.00.831
Athletes and specialists33.00.832
Whole class222.90.834

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 5Marquel Lee OLBOakland Raiders

Roster 99

The 2016 roster

99 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 54 have a stat line. See the roster

2016 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson7–⁠114–⁠11
Louisville7–⁠19–⁠421
Virginia Tech6–⁠210–⁠416
Florida State5–⁠310–⁠38
Miami5–⁠39–⁠420
North Carolina5–⁠38–⁠5
Pittsburgh5–⁠38–⁠5
Georgia Tech4–⁠49–⁠4
Wake Forest3–⁠57–⁠6
NC State3–⁠57–⁠6
Boston College2–⁠67–⁠6
Syracuse2–⁠64–⁠8
Duke1–⁠74–⁠8
Virginia1–⁠72–⁠10

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