2016 American Athletic Conference Leaders First Downs - Games vs. FBS Teams With Non-Winning Record Only through 01/09/2017
| Name | G | Rush | Pass | Penalty | Total | Total/G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tulsa | 8 | 140 | 96 | 16 | 252 | 31.5 |
| 2 | USF | 8 | 103 | 78 | 7 | 188 | 23.5 |
| 3 | Navy | 5 | 88 | 16 | 7 | 111 | 22.2 |
| 4 | Temple | 7 | 87 | 62 | 14 | 163 | 23.3 |
| 5 | UCF | 6 | 61 | 54 | 8 | 123 | 20.5 |
| 6 | Tulane | 5 | 56 | 33 | 9 | 98 | 19.6 |
| 7 | Memphis | 6 | 55 | 65 | 11 | 131 | 21.8 |
| 8 | Houston | 6 | 54 | 76 | 6 | 136 | 22.7 |
| 9 | Connecticut | 6 | 43 | 60 | 10 | 113 | 18.8 |
| 10 | East Carolina | 5 | 42 | 88 | 14 | 144 | 28.8 |
| 11 | Cincinnati | 5 | 41 | 67 | 7 | 115 | 23.0 |
| 12 | SMU | 4 | 32 | 46 | 7 | 85 | 21.3 |