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2018 Boise State

10–⁠3 (7–⁠1 Mountain West Conference), coached by Bryan Harsin, finished No. 23 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Boise State in 2018, game by game: won at Troy 56–20; won vs. UConn 62–7; lost at No. 24 Oklahoma State 21–44; won at Wyoming 34–14; lost vs. San Diego State 13–19; won at Nevada 31–27; won vs. Colorado State 56–28; won at Air Force 48–38; won vs. BYU 21–16; won vs. No. 16 Fresno State 24–17; won at New Mexico 45–14; won vs. No. 14 Utah State 33–24; lost vs. No. 25 Fresno State 16–19+55−23Won 56–20 at Troy+36TroyWon 62–7 vs. UConn+55UConnLost 21–44 at No. 24 Oklahoma State-23No. 24 Oklahoma StateWon 34–14 at Wyoming+20WyomingLost 13–19 vs. San Diego State-6San Diego StateWon 31–27 at Nevada+4NevadaWon 56–28 vs. Colorado State+28Colorado StateWon 48–38 at Air Force+10Air ForceWon 21–16 vs. BYU+5BYUWon 24–17 vs. No. 16 Fresno State+7No. 16 Fresno StateWon 45–14 at New Mexico+31New MexicoWon 33–24 vs. No. 14 Utah State+9No. 14 Utah StateLost 16–19 vs. No. 25 Fresno State-3No. 25 Fresno State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1atTroyW 56–⁠2048%
Sep 8vsUConnW 62–⁠789%
Sep 15at24Oklahoma StateL 21–⁠4444%
Sep 29atWyomingW 34–⁠1462%
Oct 6vsSan Diego StateL 13–⁠1968%
Oct 13atNevadaW 31–⁠2772%
Oct 19vsColorado StateW 56–⁠2883%
Oct 27atAir ForceW 48–⁠3863%
Nov 3vsBYUW 21–⁠1679%
Nov 9vs16Fresno StateW 24–⁠1757%
Nov 16atNew MexicoW 45–⁠1481%
Nov 24vs14Utah StateW 33–⁠2467%
Dec 1vs25Fresno StateMountain West Championship GameL 16–⁠1963%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Fresno State 19–⁠16 in the Mountain West Championship Game; No. 23 in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 12th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 56 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 22
  2. Wk 2: 20
  3. Wk 3: 17
  4. Wk 12: 23
  5. Wk 13: 21
  6. Wk 14: 19
  7. Wk 15: 23
  8. Final: 23

MW Mountain champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Mountain West Conference
AP final
No. 23 peak No. 17
Points
460–⁠287
Coach
Bryan Harsin
Elo
1700 +79 this season
SP+ rating
12.2 No. 28 of 130; offense No. 18, defense No. 37, special teams No. 119
SRS
8.1 No. 29 of 130 in FBS
Returning
53% of last season’s EPA, No. 86 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 57 roster talent No. 65 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Zak Hill
Defensive coordinator
Andy Avalos
Offense
Multiple
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense16th of 130
  • Defense36th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted19th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted36th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2049%1.2216th of 130
Defense0.0442%1.1236th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.19 off
0.05 def		49% off
42% def		—19th off
36th 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 3113% allowed
Defense3.1own 2716% caused

CORE rating 13.4, 16th of 130 (offense 7.5, defense -6.0).

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 yardsBrett Rypien QB3,705 yds
Passing touchdownsBrett Rypien QB30 TD
Rushing yardsAlexander Mattison RB1,412 yds
Rushing touchdownsAlexander Mattison RB17 TD
Receiving yardsSean Modster WR978 yds
Receiving touchdownsA.J. Richardson WR8 TD
TacklesKekoa Nawahine S65 tkl
SacksCurtis Weaver LB8.5 sacks
InterceptionsKekaula Kaniho NT3 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Khalil Shakir ATH★★★★No. 360
Tyneil Hopper TE★★★No. 483
Chris Mitchell S★★★No. 596
Stefan Cobbs WR★★★No. 670
Andrew VanBuren RB★★★No. 707

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks32.70.822
Running backs23.00.851
Receivers53.00.850
Offensive line42.80.818
Defensive line32.70.809
Linebackers33.00.842
Defensive backs33.00.855
Athletes and specialists23.00.826
Whole class252.90.834

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 3Alexander Mattison RBMinnesota Vikings

Roster 90

The 2018 roster

90 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster

2018 Mountain West Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Fresno State7–⁠112–⁠218
Utah State7–⁠111–⁠222
Boise State7–⁠110–⁠323
Nevada5–⁠38–⁠5
Hawai’i5–⁠38–⁠6
San Diego State4–⁠47–⁠6
Wyoming4–⁠46–⁠6
Air Force3–⁠55–⁠7
UNLV2–⁠64–⁠8
Colorado State2–⁠63–⁠9
New Mexico1–⁠73–⁠9
San José State1–⁠71–⁠11

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