CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2018 Arizona State

7–⁠6 (5–⁠4 Pac-12), coached by Herm Edwards.

Schedule and results

Arizona State in 2018, game by game: won vs. UTSA 49–7; won vs. No. 15 Michigan State 16–13; lost at San Diego State 21–28; lost at No. 10 Washington 20–27; won vs. Oregon State 52–24; lost at No. 21 Colorado 21–28; lost vs. Stanford 13–20; won at USC 38–35; won vs. No. 16 Utah 38–20; won vs. UCLA 31–28; lost at Oregon 29–31; won at Arizona 41–40; lost vs. No. 19 Fresno State 20–31+42−11Won 49–7 vs. UTSA+42UTSAWon 16–13 vs. No. 15 Michigan State+3No. 15 Michigan StateLost 21–28 at San Diego State-7San Diego StateLost 20–27 at No. 10 Washington-7No. 10 WashingtonWon 52–24 vs. Oregon State+28Oregon StateLost 21–28 at No. 21 Colorado-7No. 21 ColoradoLost 13–20 vs. Stanford-7StanfordWon 38–35 at USC+3USCWon 38–20 vs. No. 16 Utah+18No. 16 UtahWon 31–28 vs. UCLA+3UCLALost 29–31 at Oregon-2OregonWon 41–40 at Arizona+1ArizonaLost 20–31 vs. No. 19 Fresno State-11No. 19 Fresno State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsUTSAW 49–⁠764%
Sep 8vs15Michigan StateW 16–⁠1349%
Sep 15atSan Diego StateL 21–⁠2843%
Sep 22at10WashingtonL 20–⁠2727%
Sep 29vsOregon StateW 52–⁠2479%
Oct 6at21ColoradoL 21–⁠2839%
Oct 18vsStanfordL 13–⁠2044%
Oct 27atUSCW 38–⁠3528%
Nov 3vs16UtahW 38–⁠2038%
Nov 10vsUCLAW 31–⁠2876%
Nov 17atOregonL 29–⁠3147%
Nov 24atArizonaW 41–⁠4048%
Dec 15Bowls & playoffvs19Fresno StateLas Vegas BowlL 20–⁠3133%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Fresno State 31–⁠20 in the Las Vegas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 44th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 93 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 23
Record
7–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠4 tied for 5th in Pac-12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 23
Points
389–⁠332
Coach
Herm Edwards
Elo
1558 +39 this season
SP+ rating
5.0 No. 51 of 130; offense No. 35, defense No. 86, special teams No. 12
SRS
4.5 No. 48 of 130 in FBS
Returning
90% of last season’s EPA, No. 7 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 36 roster talent No. 29 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Rob Likens
Defensive coordinator
Danny Gonzales
Captains
Cohl Cabral, DeMonte King, Manny Wilkins and Renell Wren
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense15th of 130
  • Defense73rd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted12th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted88th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2145%1.2115th of 130
Defense0.1346%1.1273rd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.20 off
0.13 def		47% off
47% def		—12th off
88th 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
Offense3.6own 2815% allowed
Defense3.5own 2616% caused

CORE rating 2.3, 50th of 130 (offense 6.0, defense 3.8).

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 yardsManny Wilkins QB3,023 yds
Passing touchdownsManny Wilkins QB20 TD
Rushing yardsEno Benjamin RB1,642 yds
Rushing touchdownsEno Benjamin RB16 TD
Receiving yardsN’Keal Harry WR1,088 yds
Receiving touchdownsN’Keal Harry WR9 TD
TacklesMerlin Robertson LB72 tkl
SacksMerlin Robertson LB5 sacks
InterceptionsAashari Crosswell S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Merlin Robertson OLB★★★★No. 129
Aashari Crosswell S★★★★No. 134
Jarrett Bell OG★★★No. 444
Reggie Hughes OLB★★★No. 466
Jermayne Lole SDE★★★No. 551

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs33.00.863
Receivers13.00.874
Offensive line42.80.835
Defensive line23.00.867
Linebackers33.30.890
Defensive backs33.30.879
Athletes and specialists13.00.861
Whole class173.10.865

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 1N’Keal Harry WRNew England Patriots
Rd 4Renell Wren DTCincinnati Bengals

Roster 112

The 2018 roster

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

2018 Pac-12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Washington State7–⁠211–⁠210
Washington7–⁠210–⁠413
Stanford6–⁠39–⁠4
Utah6–⁠39–⁠5
Oregon5–⁠49–⁠4
Arizona State5–⁠47–⁠6
California4–⁠57–⁠6
USC4–⁠55–⁠7
Arizona4–⁠55–⁠7
UCLA3–⁠63–⁠9
Colorado2–⁠75–⁠7
Oregon State1–⁠82–⁠10

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