CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2016 Washington State

8–⁠5 (7–⁠2 Pac-12), coached by Mike Leach.

Schedule and results

Washington State in 2016, game by game: lost vs. Eastern Washington 42–45; lost at Boise State 28–31; won vs. Idaho 56–6; won vs. Oregon 51–33; won at No. 15 Stanford 42–16; won vs. UCLA 27–21; won at Arizona State 37–32; won at Oregon State 35–31; won vs. Arizona 69–7; won vs. California 56–21; lost at No. 12 Colorado 24–38; lost vs. No. 6 Washington 17–45; lost vs. Minnesota 12–17+62−28Lost 42–45 vs. Eastern Washington-3Eastern Washing…Lost 28–31 at Boise State-3Boise StateWon 56–6 vs. Idaho+50IdahoWon 51–33 vs. Oregon+18OregonWon 42–16 at No. 15 Stanford+26No. 15 StanfordWon 27–21 vs. UCLA+6UCLAWon 37–32 at Arizona State+5Arizona StateWon 35–31 at Oregon State+4Oregon StateWon 69–7 vs. Arizona+62ArizonaWon 56–21 vs. California+35CaliforniaLost 24–38 at No. 12 Colorado-14No. 12 ColoradoLost 17–45 vs. No. 6 Washington-28No. 6 WashingtonLost 12–17 vs. Minnesota-5Minnesota
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsEastern WashingtonL 42–⁠4581%
Sep 10atBoise StateL 28–⁠3129%
Sep 17vsIdahoW 56–⁠678%
Oct 1vsOregonW 51–⁠3346%
Oct 8at15StanfordW 42–⁠1625%
Oct 15vsUCLAW 27–⁠2162%
Oct 22atArizona StateW 37–⁠3253%
Oct 29atOregon StateW 35–⁠3178%
Nov 5vsArizonaW 69–⁠782%
Nov 12vsCaliforniaW 56–⁠2177%
Nov 19at12ColoradoL 24–⁠3853%
Nov 25vs6WashingtonL 17–⁠4546%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsMinnesotaHoliday BowlL 12–⁠1755%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Minnesota 17–⁠12 in the Holiday Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 12th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 111 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 10: 25
  2. Wk 11: 23
  3. Wk 12: 20
  4. Wk 13: 23

Consensus All-AmericanCody O’Connell, OL

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
7–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Pac-12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 20
Points
496–⁠343
Coach
Mike Leach
Elo
1602 +56 this season
SP+ rating
6.2 No. 54 of 128; offense No. 29, defense No. 60, special teams No. 122
SRS
11.2 No. 21 of 128 in FBS
Returning
86% of last season’s EPA, No. 29 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 56 roster talent No. 65 in FBS
Defensive coordinator
Alex Grinch
Offense
Air raid
Defense
Multiple 3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense22nd of 128
  • Defense32nd of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted33rd of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted39th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1947%1.2222nd of 128
Defense0.0443%1.1532nd of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
0.06 def		48% off
42% def		—33rd off
39th 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
Offense4.3own 2912% allowed
Defense3.0own 2815% caused

CORE rating 4.7, 39th of 128 (offense 4.3, defense -0.4).

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 yardsLuke Falk QB4,468 yds
Passing touchdownsLuke Falk QB38 TD
Rushing yardsJames Williams RB585 yds
Rushing touchdownsGerard Wicks RB11 TD
Receiving yardsGabe Marks WR894 yds
Receiving touchdownsGabe Marks WR13 TD
TacklesPeyton Pelluer LB93 tkl
SacksHercules Mata’afa DL5 sacks
InterceptionsShalom Luani S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Isaiah Johnson-Mack WR★★★No. 550
Frederick Mauigoa OG★★★No. 603
Romello Harris RB★★★No. 795
Mason Vinyard TE★★★No. 897
Renard Bell WR★★★No. 971

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs13.00.854
Receivers63.00.848
Offensive line62.80.822
Defensive line33.00.824
Linebackers13.00.835
Defensive backs43.00.830
Athletes and specialists23.00.829
Whole class233.00.833

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 7Shalom Luani SOakland Raiders

Roster 113

The 2016 roster

113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 55 have a stat line. See the roster

2016 Pac-12 standings

Conference page
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.