CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2018 Baylor

7–⁠6 (4–⁠5 Big 12), coached by Matt Rhule.

Schedule and results

Baylor in 2018, game by game: won vs. Abilene Christian 55–27; won at UTSA 37–20; lost vs. Duke 27–40; won vs. Kansas 26–7; lost at No. 6 Oklahoma 33–66; won vs. Kansas State 37–34; lost at No. 9 Texas 17–23; lost at No. 13 West Virginia 14–58; won vs. Oklahoma State 35–31; lost at No. 23 Iowa State 14–28; lost vs. TCU 9–16; won vs. Texas Tech 35–24; won vs. Vanderbilt 45–38+28−44Won 55–27 vs. Abilene Christian+28Abilene Christi…Won 37–20 at UTSA+17UTSALost 27–40 vs. Duke-13DukeWon 26–7 vs. Kansas+19KansasLost 33–66 at No. 6 Oklahoma-33No. 6 OklahomaWon 37–34 vs. Kansas State+3Kansas StateLost 17–23 at No. 9 Texas-6No. 9 TexasLost 14–58 at No. 13 West Virginia-44No. 13 West VirginiaWon 35–31 vs. Oklahoma State+4Oklahoma StateLost 14–28 at No. 23 Iowa State-14No. 23 Iowa StateLost 9–16 vs. TCU-7TCUWon 35–24 vs. Texas Tech+11Texas TechWon 45–38 vs. Vanderbilt+7Vanderbilt
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsAbilene ChristianW 55–⁠2782%
Sep 8atUTSAW 37–⁠2039%
Sep 15vsDukeL 27–⁠4038%
Sep 22vsKansasW 26–⁠764%
Sep 29at6OklahomaL 33–⁠6613%
Oct 6vsKansas StateW 37–⁠3450%
Oct 13at9TexasL 17–⁠2321%
Oct 25at13West VirginiaL 14–⁠5826%
Nov 3vsOklahoma StateW 35–⁠3138%
Nov 10at23Iowa StateL 14–⁠2823%
Nov 17vsTCUL 9–⁠1646%
Nov 24vsTexas TechW 35–⁠2441%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsVanderbiltTexas BowlW 45–⁠3843%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Vanderbilt 45–⁠38 in the Texas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Big 12.

In program history: The 66th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 121 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠5 tied for 5th in Big 12
AP final
Unranked
Points
384–⁠412
Coach
Matt Rhule
Elo
1494 +74 this season
SP+ rating
2.0 No. 66 of 130; offense No. 39, defense No. 85, special teams No. 96
SRS
1.5 No. 59 of 130 in FBS
Returning
83% of last season’s EPA, No. 19 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 29 roster talent No. 33 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Glenn Thomas and Jeff Nixon
Defensive coordinator
Phil Snow
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠3 stack

How good, play by play

  • Offense26th of 130
  • Defense116th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted36th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted108th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1746%1.2126th of 130
Defense0.2243%1.39116th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.16 off
0.17 def		45% off
42% def		—36th off
108th 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
Offense3.8own 2717% allowed
Defense3.6own 3013% caused

CORE rating 0.5, 57th of 130 (offense 6.9, defense 6.4).

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 yardsCharlie Brewer QB3,024 yds
Passing touchdownsCharlie Brewer QB19 TD
Rushing yardsJohn Lovett RB573 yds
Rushing touchdownsCharlie Brewer QB7 TD
Receiving yardsJalen Hurd RB946 yds
Receiving touchdownsDenzel Mims WR8 TD
TacklesClay Johnston LB87 tkl
SacksJames Lynch DT5.5 sacks
InterceptionsRaleigh Texada CB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Gerry Bohanon DUAL★★★★No. 234
B.J. Hanspard ATH★★★★No. 237
Josh Fleeks WR★★★★No. 311
Tyquan Thornton WR★★★★No. 322
Craig Williams APB★★★★No. 348
Connor Galvin OT★★★★No. 351

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.851
Running backs14.00.894
Receivers73.30.876
Offensive line53.20.863
Defensive line23.00.856
Defensive backs23.00.863
Athletes and specialists33.30.859
Whole class223.20.866

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 3Jalen Hurd WRSan Francisco 49ers

Roster 105

The 2018 roster

105 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 63 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big 12

2 first team, 1 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 Big 12 standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma8–⁠112–⁠24
Texas7–⁠210–⁠49
West Virginia6–⁠38–⁠420
Iowa State6–⁠38–⁠5
TCU4–⁠57–⁠6
Baylor4–⁠57–⁠6
Oklahoma State3–⁠67–⁠6
Texas Tech3–⁠65–⁠7
Kansas State3–⁠65–⁠7
Kansas1–⁠83–⁠9

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