CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2011 Western Kentucky

7–⁠5 (7–⁠1 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Willie Taggart.

Schedule and results

Western Kentucky in 2011, game by game: lost vs. Kentucky 3–14; lost vs. Navy 14–40; lost vs. Indiana State 16–44; lost vs. Arkansas State 22–26; won at Middle Tennessee 36–33; won at Florida Atlantic 20–0; won vs. Louisiana 42–23; won at UL Monroe 31–28; won vs. Florida International 10–9; lost at No. 1 LSU 9–42; won at North Texas 31–21; won vs. Troy 41–18+23−33Lost 3–14 vs. Kentucky-11KentuckyLost 14–40 vs. Navy-26NavyLost 16–44 vs. Indiana State-28Indiana StateLost 22–26 vs. Arkansas State-4Arkansas StateWon 36–33 at Middle Tennessee+3Middle TennesseeWon 20–0 at Florida Atlantic+20Florida AtlanticWon 42–23 vs. Louisiana+19LouisianaWon 31–28 at UL Monroe+3UL MonroeWon 10–9 vs. Florida International+1Florida Interna…Lost 9–42 at No. 1 LSU-33No. 1 LSUWon 31–21 at North Texas+10North TexasWon 41–18 vs. Troy+23Troy
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsKentuckyL 3–⁠1428%
Sep 10vsNavyL 14–⁠4022%
Sep 17vsIndiana StateL 16–⁠4460%
Oct 1vsArkansas StateL 22–⁠2631%
Oct 6atMiddle TennesseeW 36–⁠3322%
Oct 15atFlorida AtlanticW 20–⁠034%
Oct 22vsLouisianaW 42–⁠2334%
Oct 29atUL MonroeW 31–⁠2833%
Nov 5vsFlorida InternationalW 10–⁠941%
Nov 12at1LSUL 9–⁠426%
Nov 19atNorth TexasW 31–⁠2142%
Nov 26vsTroyW 41–⁠1860%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Troy 41–⁠18; unranked in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Sun Belt Conference.

In program history: The 16th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 56 on file).

Record
7–⁠5
Conference
7–⁠1 2nd in Sun Belt Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
275–⁠298
Coach
Willie Taggart
Elo
1435 +110 this season
SP+ rating
-16.1 No. 104 of 120; offense No. 109, defense No. 85, special teams No. 82
SRS
−10.1 No. 102 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 85
Offensive coordinator
Zach Azzanni
Defensive coordinator
Lance Guidry
Offense
West Coast
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense73rd of 120
  • Defense17th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted84th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted31st of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0340%0.9173rd of 120
Defense-0.0137%1.0917th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.02 def		40% off
39% def		—84th off
31st 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
Offense0.1own 332% allowed
Defense0.0own 302% caused

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. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Player leaders are hidden for this season: our source’s player stats for Western Kentucky are missing players (they add up to less than 85% of the team’s passing or rushing yards).

Top recruits in the 2011 class

DaMarcus Smith PRO★★★No. 415
Eric Robinson-Berry CB★★★No. 1235
Champ Lewis S★★No. 1681
Boe Brand WR★★No. 1776
Lawrence Campbell WDE★★No. 1776

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

The 2011 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks32.30.785
Running backs32.00.758
Receivers52.00.749
Offensive line52.00.737
Defensive line62.00.739
Linebackers22.00.756
Defensive backs22.50.802
Whole class262.10.754

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.

Roster 103

The 2011 roster

103 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2011 line; 35 have a stat line. See the roster

2011 Sun Belt Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Arkansas State8–⁠010–⁠3
Western Kentucky7–⁠17–⁠5
Louisiana6–⁠29–⁠4
Florida International5–⁠38–⁠5
North Texas4–⁠45–⁠7
UL Monroe3–⁠54–⁠8
Troy2–⁠63–⁠9
Middle Tennessee1–⁠72–⁠10
Florida Atlantic0–⁠81–⁠11

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