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2016 Western Michigan

13–⁠1 (8–⁠0 Mid-American Conference), coached by P.J. Fleck, finished No. 15 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Western Michigan in 2016, game by game: won at Northwestern 22–21; won vs. North Carolina Central 70–21; won at Illinois 34–10; won vs. Georgia Southern 49–31; won at Central Michigan 49–10; won vs. Northern Illinois 45–30; won at Akron 41–0; won vs. Eastern Michigan 45–31; won at Ball State 52–20; won at Kent State 37–21; won vs. Buffalo 38–0; won vs. Toledo 55–35; won vs. Ohio 29–23; lost vs. No. 8 Wisconsin 16–24+49−8Won 22–21 at Northwestern+1NorthwesternWon 70–21 vs. North Carolina Central+49North Carolina …Won 34–10 at Illinois+24IllinoisWon 49–31 vs. Georgia Southern+18Georgia SouthernWon 49–10 at Central Michigan+39Central MichiganWon 45–30 vs. Northern Illinois+15Northern Illino…Won 41–0 at Akron+41AkronWon 45–31 vs. Eastern Michigan+14Eastern MichiganWon 52–20 at Ball State+32Ball StateWon 37–21 at Kent State+16Kent StateWon 38–0 vs. Buffalo+38BuffaloWon 55–35 vs. Toledo+20ToledoWon 29–23 vs. Ohio+6OhioLost 16–24 vs. No. 8 Wisconsin-8No. 8 Wisconsin
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3atNorthwesternW 22–⁠2141%
Sep 10vsNorth Carolina CentralW 70–⁠2181%
Sep 17atIllinoisW 34–⁠1060%
Sep 24vsGeorgia SouthernW 49–⁠3161%
Oct 1atCentral MichiganW 49–⁠1056%
Oct 8vsNorthern IllinoisW 45–⁠3080%
Oct 15atAkronW 41–⁠060%
Oct 22vsEastern MichiganW 45–⁠3188%
Nov 1atBall StateW 52–⁠2078%
Nov 8atKent StateW 37–⁠2182%
Nov 19vsBuffaloW 38–⁠093%
Nov 25vsToledoW 55–⁠3563%
Dec 2vsOhioMid-American Championship GameW 29–⁠2377%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs8WisconsinCotton BowlL 16–⁠2453%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Wisconsin 24–⁠16 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 15 in the final AP poll; Mid-American Conference champions.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 7: 24
  2. Wk 8: 20
  3. Wk 9: 20
  4. Wk 10: 17
  5. Wk 11: 14
  6. Wk 12: 14
  7. Wk 13: 14
  8. Wk 14: 13
  9. Wk 15: 12
  10. Final: 15

Mid-American Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference, won the Mid-American Championship Game

William V. Campbell TrophyZach Terrell, QB

Consensus All-AmericanCorey Davis, WR

Record
13–⁠1
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
No. 15 peak No. 12
Points
582–⁠277
Coach
P.J. Fleck
Elo
1723 +178 this season
SP+ rating
11.5 No. 29 of 128; offense No. 13, defense No. 70, special teams No. 45
SRS
11.8 No. 19 of 128 in FBS
Returning
78% of last season’s EPA, No. 35 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 67 roster talent No. 81 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Kirk Ciarrocca
Defensive coordinator
Ed Pinkham
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense3rd of 128
  • Defense42nd of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted2nd of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted58th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.3253%1.123rd of 128
Defense0.0743%1.2842nd of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.28 off
0.09 def		51% off
44% def		—2nd off
58th 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
Offense4.7own 3111% allowed
Defense3.1own 2618% caused

CORE rating 12.6, 16th of 128 (offense 13.9, defense 1.3).

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 yardsZach Terrell QB3,533 yds
Passing touchdownsZach Terrell QB33 TD
Rushing yardsJarvion Franklin RB1,353 yds
Rushing touchdownsJarvion Franklin RB12 TD
Receiving yardsCorey Davis WR1,500 yds
Receiving touchdownsCorey Davis WR19 TD
TacklesRobert Spillane LB111 tkl
SacksKeion Adams DE7.5 sacks
InterceptionsDarius Phillips WR4 INT

Top recruits in the 2016 class

Matthew Falcon RB★★★No. 434
Stefan Claiborne S★★★No. 777
Spencer Kanz OT★★★No. 780
Matt Little PRO★★★No. 951
Drake Spears ATH★★★No. 1009

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

The 2016 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.847
Running backs33.00.843
Receivers72.60.805
Offensive line43.00.823
Defensive line22.50.799
Linebackers42.80.822
Defensive backs32.70.826
Athletes and specialists32.30.811
Whole class272.70.818

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 1Corey Davis WRTennessee Titans
Rd 2Taylor Moton OTCarolina Panthers
Rd 7Keion Adams DEPittsburgh Steelers

Roster 87

The 2016 roster

87 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2016 line; 47 have a stat line. See the roster

2016 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Western Michigan8–⁠013–⁠115
Toledo6–⁠29–⁠4
Ohio6–⁠28–⁠6
Miami (OH)6–⁠26–⁠7
Northern Illinois5–⁠35–⁠7
Eastern Michigan4–⁠47–⁠6
Central Michigan3–⁠56–⁠7
Akron3–⁠55–⁠7
Bowling Green3–⁠54–⁠8
Kent State2–⁠63–⁠9
Ball State1–⁠74–⁠8
Buffalo1–⁠72–⁠10

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