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2018 Alabama

14–⁠1 (8–⁠0 Southeastern Conference), coached by Nick Saban, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 2018, game by game: won vs. Louisville 51–14; won vs. Arkansas State 57–7; won at Ole Miss 62–7; won vs. No. 22 Texas A&M 45–23; won vs. Louisiana 56–14; won at Arkansas 65–31; won vs. Missouri 39–10; won at Tennessee 58–21; won at No. 4 LSU 29–0; won vs. No. 18 Mississippi State 24–0; won vs. The Citadel 50–17; won vs. Auburn 52–21; won vs. No. 4 Georgia 35–28; won vs. No. 4 Oklahoma 45–34; lost vs. No. 2 Clemson 16–44+55−28Won 51–14 vs. Louisville+37LouisvilleWon 57–7 vs. Arkansas State+50Arkansas StateWon 62–7 at Ole Miss+55Ole MissWon 45–23 vs. No. 22 Texas A&M+22No. 22 Texas A&MWon 56–14 vs. Louisiana+42LouisianaWon 65–31 at Arkansas+34ArkansasWon 39–10 vs. Missouri+29MissouriWon 58–21 at Tennessee+37TennesseeWon 29–0 at No. 4 LSU+29No. 4 LSUWon 24–0 vs. No. 18 Mississippi State+24No. 18 Mississippi Sta…Won 50–17 vs. The Citadel+33The CitadelWon 52–21 vs. Auburn+31AuburnWon 35–28 vs. No. 4 Georgia+7No. 4 GeorgiaWon 45–34 vs. No. 4 Oklahoma+11No. 4 OklahomaLost 16–44 vs. No. 2 Clemson-28No. 2 Clemson
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsLouisvilleW 51–⁠1474%
Sep 8vsArkansas StateW 57–⁠785%
Sep 15atOle MissW 62–⁠773%
Sep 22vs22Texas A&MW 45–⁠2385%
Sep 29vsLouisianaW 56–⁠1493%
Oct 6atArkansasW 65–⁠3189%
Oct 13vsMissouriW 39–⁠1087%
Oct 20atTennesseeW 58–⁠2186%
Nov 3at4LSUW 29–⁠058%
Nov 10vs18Mississippi StateW 24–⁠083%
Nov 17vsThe CitadelW 50–⁠1797%
Nov 24vsAuburnW 52–⁠2184%
Dec 1vs4GeorgiaSEC Championship GameW 35–⁠2862%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvs4OklahomaOrange Bowl, CFP SemifinalW 45–⁠3464%
Jan 7Bowls & playoffvs2ClemsonCFP National ChampionshipL 16–⁠4454%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Clemson 44–⁠16 in the CFP National Championship; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 5th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

Southeastern Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference, won the SEC Championship Game

Heisman voteTua Tagovailoa, second

Led the nationTua Tagovailoa: passer rating (199.5)

Maxwell AwardTua Tagovailoa, QB; also the Walter Camp

Biletnikoff AwardJerry Jeudy, WR

Outland TrophyQuinnen Williams, DT

5 consensus All-AmericansTua Tagovailoa, QB; Jerry Jeudy, WR; Jonah Williams, OL; Quinnen Williams, DT; Deionte Thompson, DB

Walter Camp Coach of the YearNick Saban, coach

Broyles AwardMike Locksley, coach

Record
14–⁠1
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 1
Points
684–⁠271
Coach
Nick Saban
Elo
1890 +128 this season
SP+ rating
36.3 No. 1 of 130; offense No. 2, defense No. 7, special teams No. 80
SRS
27.4 No. 2 of 130 in FBS
Returning
78% of last season’s EPA, No. 35 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 5 roster talent No. 2 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Mike Locksley and Josh Gattis
Defensive coordinators
Tosh Lupoi and Pete Golding
Captains
Damien Harris, Hale Hentges, Christian Miller and Ross Pierschbacher
Offense
Pro spread
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense2nd of 130
  • Defense20th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted2nd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted5th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.3454%1.252nd of 130
Defense0.0036%1.3220th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.33 off
-0.05 def		55% off
33% def		—2nd off
5th 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
Offense4.5own 3111% allowed
Defense2.9own 2720% caused

CORE rating 35.5, 1st of 130 (offense 21.7, defense -13.8).

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 yardsTua Tagovailoa QB3,966 yds
Passing touchdownsTua Tagovailoa QB43 TD
Rushing yardsDamien Harris RB876 yds
Rushing touchdownsJosh Jacobs RB11 TD
Receiving yardsJerry Jeudy WR1,315 yds
Receiving touchdownsJerry Jeudy WR14 TD
TacklesDylan Moses LB86 tkl
SacksIsaiah Buggs DL10 sacks
InterceptionsSaivion Smith CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Eyabi Okie-Anoma WDE★★★★★No. 4
Patrick Surtain II CB★★★★★No. 6
Jaylen Waddle WR★★★★No. 39
Stephon Wynn SDE★★★★No. 74
Jalyn Armour-Davis CB★★★★No. 107
Jordan Davis WDE★★★★No. 108
Josh Jobe CB★★★★No. 109
Emil Ekiyor OC★★★★No. 113

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.50.777
Running backs23.50.885
Receivers33.70.929
Offensive line24.00.947
Defensive line54.20.957
Linebackers23.50.895
Defensive backs44.00.946
Athletes and specialists13.00.831
Whole class213.70.914

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 2019

The 2019 draft
Rd 1Quinnen Williams DTNew York Jets
Rd 1Jonah Williams OTCincinnati Bengals
Rd 1Josh Jacobs RBOakland Raiders
Rd 2Irv Smith Jr. TEMinnesota Vikings
Rd 3Damien Harris RBNew England Patriots
Rd 4Christian Miller OLBCarolina Panthers
Rd 5Deionte Thompson SArizona Cardinals
Rd 5Ross Pierschbacher OGWashington Redskins
Rd 5Mack Wilson ILBCleveland Browns
Rd 6Isaiah Buggs DTPittsburgh Steelers

Roster 118

The 2018 roster

118 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 55 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

6 first team, 7 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2018 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2018 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama8–⁠014–⁠12
Georgia7–⁠111–⁠37
Kentucky5–⁠310–⁠312
Florida5–⁠310–⁠37
LSU5–⁠310–⁠36
Texas A&M5–⁠39–⁠416
Missouri4–⁠48–⁠5
Mississippi State4–⁠48–⁠5
South Carolina4–⁠47–⁠6
Auburn3–⁠58–⁠5
Vanderbilt3–⁠56–⁠7
Tennessee2–⁠65–⁠7
Ole Miss1–⁠75–⁠7
Arkansas0–⁠82–⁠10

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