2016 American Athletic Conference Leaders First Downs - Games vs. Unranked Teams Only (AP Poll) through 01/09/2017
| Name | G | Rush | Pass | Penalty | Total | Total/G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Navy | 12 | 187 | 49 | 15 | 251 | 20.9 |
| 2 | Tulsa | 12 | 178 | 156 | 25 | 359 | 29.9 |
| 3 | South Florida | 11 | 144 | 109 | 12 | 265 | 24.1 |
| 4 | Tulane | 11 | 123 | 59 | 18 | 200 | 18.2 |
| 5 | Temple | 12 | 121 | 119 | 19 | 259 | 21.6 |
| 6 | Houston | 11 | 111 | 147 | 10 | 268 | 24.4 |
| 7 | Memphis | 11 | 86 | 149 | 24 | 259 | 23.5 |
| 8 | UCF | 10 | 84 | 90 | 24 | 198 | 19.8 |
| 9 | East Carolina | 9 | 74 | 143 | 17 | 234 | 26.0 |
| 9 | SMU | 10 | 74 | 121 | 23 | 218 | 21.8 |
| 11 | Cincinnati | 10 | 66 | 124 | 11 | 201 | 20.1 |
| 12 | Connecticut | 10 | 63 | 101 | 13 | 177 | 17.7 |