2016 Conference USA football season

August 2023 2016 Conference USA football season #193980 #FFFFFF NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Football Conference USA logo (2013-2023).svg 250px September 1, 2016through December 27, 2016 13 ESPN, CBS Sports Network, American Sports Network, beIN Sports, Campus Insiders, CUSA.tv 2017 NFL Draft 2017 NFL Draft G Forrest Lamp, WKU Los Angeles Chargers, 38th overall Regular season Champions QB Ryan Higgins, La. Tech East Western Kentucky & Old Dominion (co-champions) West Louisiana Tech Championship Game 2016 Conference USA Football Championship Game Western Kentucky Louisiana Tech RB Anthony Wales, WKU Football 2015 2017 The 2016 Conference USA football season was the 21st season of Conference USA football and part of the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season began on September 1 with Charlotte facing Louisville.http://www.conferenceusa.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/020416aad.html C-USA Announces 2016 Football Schedule Conferenceusa.com 2016-02-04 2016-05-21 https://web.archive.org/web/20160605015135/http://www.conferenceusa.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/020416aad.html 2016-06-05 dead This season was the second season for the C-USA under realignment that took place in 2014, which added the 14th member Charlotte from the Atlantic 10 Conference. The C-USA is a "Group of Five" conference under the College Football Playoff format along with the American Athletic Conference, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference, and the Sun Belt Conference. C-USA consists of 14 members: Charlotte, FIU, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Miss, UAB, UTEP, UTSA, and Western Kentucky; and is split up into the East and West divisions. West champion Louisiana Tech played at East champion Western Kentucky's Houchens Industries-L. T. Smith Stadium for the Conference USA Championship on December 3, which Western Kentucky won 58–44. UAB continued to undergo reinstatement of its football program during the 2016 season and will begin play for the 2017 season.https://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/13295966/uab-blazers-bring-back-football-program-2017 UAB to reinstate football for 2017 season ESPN.com July 21, 2015 May 21, 2016 Western Kentucky entered the season as defending Conference USA champions, defeating Southern Miss in the previous year's championship game. The Hilltoppers would then go on to defeat South Florida in the Miami Beach Bowl 45–35.Doughty goes out on top: WKU rallies from early deficit to beat USF 45–35 in Miami Beach Bowl https://www.usnews.com/news/sports/articles/2015-12-21/doughty-wins-finale-wku-tops-usf-45-35-in-miami-beach-bowl May 21, 2016 U.S. News & World Report Associated Press December 21, 2015 Miami Preseason 2016 predictions The 2016 preseason media predictions were released on July 21, 2016, with the vote conducted by media members that cover the conference schools. Middle Tennessee was picked to win the East division for the first time in school history. After coming second in the East last year, which resulted a trip to the Bahamas Bowl, the Blue Raiders returned 13 starters for the upcoming season. In the West division, the media predicted Southern Miss to overcome the other 5 teams in the division. Southern Miss has been in the C-USA championship more than any team in the conference, with 3 appearances including an appearance last season against Western Kentucky. The Golden Eagles brought back seven starters on offense and six starters on defense. Western Kentucky, defending C-USA champion, was predicted to finish second in the East division, instead of returning to the title game. The championship game was held on December 3, 2016, where the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers bested the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs 58–44. West Division Southern Miss Louisiana Tech Rice UTEP UTSA North Texas East Division Middle Tennessee WKU Marshall Florida Atlantic FIU Old Dominion Charlotte References:C-USA ANNOUNCES 2016 PRESEASON MEDIA FOOTBALL POLL https://www.al.com/auburnfootball/index.ssf/2016/07/auburn_picked_to_finish_xxth_sec_west_media.html July 27, 2016 Conference USA July 21, 2016 Head coaches Three Conference USA teams hired new head coaches for the 2016 season. All three were in the West Division, and all three were replacing coaches who had spent at least 3 seasons at their respective schools. North Texas hired Seth Littrell to replace Dan McCarney, who was fired after the Mean Green lost to Portland State on October 10, 2015.Sports Illustrated Evans Thayer https://www.si.com/college-football/2015/10/10/north-texas-mean-green-coach-dan-mccarney-fired North Texas fires head coach Dan McCarney after 0–5 start October 10, 2015 May 21, 2016 Mike Canales was promoted as interim head coach after the fire until the hire of Littrell. Seth is coming from being an assistant head coach for offense and tight ends coach at North Carolina. Littrell was hired on December 5, 2015.McMurphy Brett North Texas tabs UNC's Seth Littrell as new coach https://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/14294027/north-texas-mean-green-tabs-north-carolina-tar-heels-oc-seth-littrell-new-head-coach ESPN May 21, 2016 December 5, 2015 Southern Miss hired Jay Hopson to replace Todd Monken, who resigned to become the new Offensive Coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 2015 season.Southern Miss coach Todd Monken leaves to become Buccaneers OC https://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/14638475/southern-mississippi-head-coach-todd-monken-leaving-nfl ESPN.com ESPN Internet Ventures May 21, 2016 January 24, 2016 Jay spent has spent four years prior to Southern Miss at Alcorn State and help bring the Braves to two SWAC Championship Titles. Hopson was hired on January 30, 2016."Southern Miss hires Alcorn State's Jay Hopson as new head coach" Sun Herald. Retrieved 2016-01-30. UTSA hired Frank Wilson to replace Larry Coker, who resigned on January 5, 2016. Wilson is come from being a running backs coach and a recruiting coordinator at LSU for 7 seasons. Frank was hired on January 14, 2016.Ching David UTSA taps LSU assistant coach Frank Wilson as head coach https://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/14572975/utsa-roadrunners-hire-lsu-tigers-assistant-coach-frank-wilson-head-coach ESPN.com ESPN Internet Ventures May 21, 2016 January 14, 2016 Note: All stats shown are before the beginning of the season. Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school CUSA recordCharlotte Brad Lambert 4 12–22 12–22 0–8FIU Ron Turner 4 55–82 10–26 7–17Florida Atlantic Charlie Partridge 3 6–18 6–18 5–11Louisiana Tech Skip Holtz 4 110–88 22–17 16–8Marshall Doc Holliday 7 50–28 50–28 33–15Middle Tennessee Rick Stockstill 11 64–61 64–61 17–7North Texas Seth Littrell 1 0–0 0–0 0–0Old Dominion Bobby Wilder 8 57–27 57–27 7–9Rice David Bailiff 10 74–75 53–60 37–35Southern Miss Jay Hopson 1 32–17 0–0 0–0UTEP Sean Kugler 4 14–23 14–23 9–15UTSA Frank Wilson 1 0–0 0–0 0–0Western Kentucky Jeff Brohm 3 20–7 20–7 12–4 C-USA vs other conferences C-USA vs power conferences Index to colors and formattingConference USA member wonConference USA member lostConference USA teams in bold This is a list of the power conference teams (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC) C-USA plays in non-conference (Rankings from the AP Poll): Date Visitor Home Site Score September 1 Charlotte #19 Louisville Papa John's Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, Kentucky 14–70 September 1 Indiana FIU FIU Stadium • Miami 34–13 September 3 Louisiana Tech Arkansas Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, Arkansas 20–21 September 3 Southern Miss Kentucky Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, Kentucky 44–35 September 9 Maryland FIU FIU Stadium • Miami, Florida 41–14 September 10 Florida Atlantic #25 Miami Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, Florida 10–38 September 10 Middle Tennessee Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, Tennessee 24–47 September 10 UTEP #11 Texas Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, Texas 7–41 September 10 WKU #1 Alabama Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, Alabama 10–38 September 16 Baylor Rice Rice Stadium • Houston 38–10 September 16 Arizona State UTSA Alamodome • San Antonio, Texas 32–28 September 17 Florida Atlantic Kansas St. Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium • Manhattan, Kansas 7–63 September 17 Louisiana Tech Texas Tech Jones AT&T Stadium • Lubbock, Texas 45–59 September 17 North Texas Florida Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, Florida 0–32 September 17 Old Dominion NC State Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, North Carolina 22–49 September 24 Vanderbilt WKU Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, Kentucky 31–30 OT September 24 Louisville Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, West Virginia 59–28 October 1 Marshall Pittsburgh Heinz Field • Pittsburgh 27–43 October 15 Southern Miss LSU Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, Louisiana 10–45 October 22 Middle Tennessee Missouri Faurot Field • Columbia, Missouri 51–45 November 19 UTSA Texas A&M Kyle Field • College Station, Texas 10–23 November 26 Rice Stanford Stanford Stadium • Stanford, California 17–41 2016 records against non-conference opponents Regular season Power 5 conferencesRecordACC0–5Big Ten0–2Big 120–4Pac-120–2SEC2–7Power 5 Total2–20Other FBS conferencesRecordAmerican0–3Independents3–3MAC2–3Mountain West0–1Sun Belt1–2Other FBS Total6–12FCS OpponentsRecordFootball Championship Subdivision11–0Total non-conference record19–32 Post season Other FBS conferencesRecordAmerican2–0Independents0–1MAC1–0Mountain West0–2Sun Belt1–0Total bowl record4–2 Postseason Bowl games 2016–17 NCAA football bowl games Per conference regulations, all teams with seven or more wins shall be placed into conference bowls prior to any other bowl eligible teams without a winning record (i.e. 6–6 record). The rankings are from final CFP Poll and all game times are in Eastern. Old Dominion was the first team to accept a bowl bid on November 28.Bowl invitation Date Time Bowl Game Site TV CUSA Team Opponent Result December 27, 2016 12:00 p.m. Heart of Dallas Bowl Cotton Bowl • Dallas ESPN North Texas Army Army 38, North Texas 31 OT December 24, 2016 8:00 p.m. Hawaii Bowl Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, Hawaii ESPN Middle Tennessee Hawaii Hawaii 52, Middle Tennessee 35 December 23, 2016 3:30 p.m. Armed Forces Bowl* Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, Texas ESPN Louisiana Tech Navy Louisiana Tech 48, Navy 45 December 23, 2016 1:00 p.m. Bahamas Bowl Thomas Robinson Stadium • Nassau, Bahamas ESPN Old Dominion Eastern Michigan Old Dominion 24, Eastern Michigan 20 December 20, 2016 7:00 p.m. Boca Raton Bowl FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, Florida ESPN Western Kentucky Memphis Western Kentucky 51 Memphis 31 December 17, 2016 9:00 p.m. New Orleans Bowl Mercedes-Benz Superdome • New Orleans ESPN Southern Miss. UL-Layfeyette Southern Miss 28 UL Lafayette 21 December 17, 2016 2:00 p.m. New Mexico Bowl University Stadium • Albuquerque, New Mexico ESPN UTSA New Mexico New Mexico 23 UTSA 20 Additional bowl game offer. C-USA had no previous arrangement to play in the Armed Forces Bowl. Postseason awards Most Valuable Player:Ryan Higgins Offensive player of the year:Carlos Henderson Defensive player of the year:Trey Hendrickson Coach of the Year:Skip Holtzhttp://conferenceusa.com/news/2016/12/7/FB_1207162545.aspx?path=football FB: Holtz Named C-USA Coach of the Year December 7, 2016 Conference USA www.conferenceusa.com January 12, 2017 Freshman of the Year:Josiah Tauaefa Newcomer of the Year:Mike Whitehttp://conferenceusa.com/news/2016/12/7/FB_1207160125.aspx FB: 2016 Players of the Year December 7, 2016 Conference USA www.conferenceusa.com January 12, 2017 All C-USA http://conferenceusa.com/news/2016/12/6/FB_1206161823.aspx FB: 2016 All-Conference Teams December 6, 2016 Conference USA www.conferenceusa.com January 12, 2017 Home game attendance TeamStadiumCapacityGame 1Game 2Game 3Game 4Game 5Game 6Game 7Total Average% of CapacityCharlotteJerry Richardson Stadium15,31415,807†15,08012,58913,93914,30613,4330 —85,15414,19292.67%FIUFIU Stadium20,00016,08917,08418,524†16,16417,06114,41315,054114,38916,34181.70%Florida AtlanticFAU Stadium29,41914,887†13,8467,4019,3389,1225,8430 —60,43710,07234.24%Louisiana TechJoe Aillet Stadium28,01916,91022,10117,97822,05823,012†0 —0 —102,05920,41173.64%MarshallJoan C. Edwards Stadium38,22726,48824,25840,592†22,83920,90420,84117,397172,31924,75964.77%Middle TennesseeJohnny "Red" Floyd Stadium30,78819,96720,10522,411†13,50510,2270 —0 —86,21517,24356.00%North TexasApogee Stadium30,85024,718†15,60919,82318,21621,64319,1200 —119,12919,85464.36%Old DominionForeman Field20,11820,11820,11820,11820,11820,11820,1180 —120,70820,118100.00%RiceRice Stadium47,00027,047†20,79220,13421,53819,89219,1480 —121,15120,25843.10%Southern MissM. M. Roberts Stadium36,00029,50927,90528,32531,275†28,34726,1640 —171,52528,58779.41%UTEPSun Bowl Stadium51,50030,11937,893†21,41917,75119,25415,97718,591161,00423,00044.66%UTSAAlamodome65,00022,38029,035†19,81823,63319,55323,8070 —138,22623,03735.44%WKUHouchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium22,11319,28623,674†17,33118,67615,51616,2390 —110,72218,45383.45% Bold – Exceed capacity †Season High References