Houston·American Athletic

2016 — The Winning Chapter

Houston's 2016 season (9-4) is a middle chapter: table-stakes progress, no crown in the ledger, the program still writing the book.

Record 9-4
Final result Bowl season Lost the Las Vegas Bowl
AP final #18 post-bowls
SP+ +2.6 last-week
Era —
The shape of the season · week by week, cumulative W-L below
W vs Okla 33-23 W vs Lamar 42-0 W @ Cincin 40-16 W @ Texa Sta 64-3 W vs UConn 42-14 L @ Navy 40-46 W vs Tulsa 38-31 L @ SMU 16-38 W vs UCF 31-24 W vs Tulane 30-18 W vs Louisv 36-10 L @ Memphis 44-48 L @ San Sta 10-34 Bowl

Who carried it

Season leaders, 2016.

Defining moments
The statement

The 2016 season's largest margin: Houston 64, Texas State 3. A 61-point win — the year's high-water mark.

The setback

The season's deepest loss: Houston 10, San Diego State 34. A 24-point margin the season is remembered by.

The postseason

The season's last act: Houston fell to San Diego State 10-34 in the postseason.

"Eat 'em up"
— Houston fanbase voice · 2016· synthesized
What it meant

2016 is a middle chapter for Houston — neither a crown year nor a crisis. It is the kind of season that fills the ledger between the named ones and gives the arc its shape.