CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 Arizona

7–⁠6 (5–⁠4 Pac-12), coached by Rich Rodriguez.

Schedule and results

Arizona in 2017, game by game: won vs. Northern Arizona 62–24; lost vs. Houston 16–19; won at UTEP 63–16; lost vs. No. 23 Utah 24–30; won at Colorado 45–42; won vs. UCLA 47–30; won at California 45–44; won vs. No. 15 Washington State 58–37; lost at No. 17 USC 35–49; won vs. Oregon State 49–28; lost at Oregon 28–48; lost at Arizona State 30–42; lost vs. Purdue 35–38+47−20Won 62–24 vs. Northern Arizona+38Northern ArizonaLost 16–19 vs. Houston-3HoustonWon 63–16 at UTEP+47UTEPLost 24–30 vs. No. 23 Utah-6No. 23 UtahWon 45–42 at Colorado+3ColoradoWon 47–30 vs. UCLA+17UCLAWon 45–44 at California+1CaliforniaWon 58–37 vs. No. 15 Washington State+21No. 15 Washington StateLost 35–49 at No. 17 USC-14No. 17 USCWon 49–28 vs. Oregon State+21Oregon StateLost 28–48 at Oregon-20OregonLost 30–42 at Arizona State-12Arizona StateLost 35–38 vs. Purdue-3Purdue
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsNorthern ArizonaW 62–⁠2473%
Sep 9vsHoustonL 16–⁠1939%
Sep 15atUTEPW 63–⁠1658%
Sep 22vs23UtahL 24–⁠3036%
Oct 7atColoradoW 45–⁠4230%
Oct 14vsUCLAW 47–⁠3054%
Oct 21atCaliforniaW 45–⁠4436%
Oct 28vs15Washington StateW 58–⁠3742%
Nov 4at17USCL 35–⁠4923%
Nov 11vsOregon StateW 49–⁠2881%
Nov 18atOregonL 28–⁠4847%
Nov 25atArizona StateL 30–⁠4242%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsPurdueFoster Farms BowlL 35–⁠3849%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Purdue 38–⁠35 in the Foster Farms Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 6th in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 49th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 102 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 10: 23

Led the nationKhalil Tate: yards per carry (9.2)

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠4 6th in Pac-12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 23
Points
537–⁠447
Coach
Rich Rodriguez
Elo
1498 +56 this season
SP+ rating
3.7 No. 59 of 128; offense No. 14, defense No. 100, special teams No. 83
SRS
4.2 No. 47 of 130 in FBS
Returning
71% of last season’s EPA, No. 40 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 45 roster talent No. 46 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Calvin Magee and Rod Smith
Defensive coordinator
Marcel Yates
Offense
Spread option
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense12th of 130
  • Defense92nd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted13th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted105th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2247%1.3212th of 130
Defense0.1646%1.2592nd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.20 off
0.16 def		46% off
45% def		—13th off
105th 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
Offense4.2own 3212% allowed
Defense3.8own 3015% caused

CORE rating 3.0, 52nd of 130 (offense 11.4, defense 8.4).

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 yardsKhalil Tate QB1,591 yds
Passing touchdownsKhalil Tate QB14 TD
Rushing yardsKhalil Tate QB1,411 yds
Rushing touchdownsKhalil Tate QB12 TD
Receiving yardsTony Ellison WR598 yds
Receiving touchdownsShun Brown WR6 TD
TacklesTony Fields II LB104 tkl
SacksKylan Wilborn LB8 sacks
InterceptionsLorenzo Burns DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Nathan Tilford RB★★★★No. 214
Jalen Harris WDE★★★No. 481
Colin Schooler ILB★★★No. 582
Tony Fields ATH★★★No. 610
Rhedi Short S★★★No. 651

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.824
Running backs14.00.918
Receivers42.80.828
Offensive line13.00.846
Defensive line53.00.850
Linebackers42.80.828
Defensive backs73.00.847
Athletes and specialists42.80.833
Whole class282.90.841

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 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 5Dane Cruikshank CBTennessee Titans

Roster 123

The 2017 roster

123 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 65 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 Pac-12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC8–⁠111–⁠312
Washington7–⁠210–⁠316
Stanford7–⁠29–⁠520
Washington State6–⁠39–⁠4
Arizona State6–⁠37–⁠6
Arizona5–⁠47–⁠6
Oregon4–⁠57–⁠6
UCLA4–⁠56–⁠7
Utah3–⁠67–⁠6
Colorado2–⁠75–⁠7
California2–⁠75–⁠7
Oregon State0–⁠91–⁠11

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