CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2018 California

7–⁠6 (4–⁠5 Pac-12), coached by Justin Wilcox.

Schedule and results

California in 2018, game by game: won vs. North Carolina 24–17; won at BYU 21–18; won vs. Idaho State 45–23; lost vs. No. 19 Oregon 24–42; lost at Arizona 17–24; lost vs. UCLA 7–37; won at Oregon State 49–7; won vs. No. 15 Washington 12–10; lost at No. 10 Washington State 13–19; won at USC 15–14; won vs. Colorado 33–21; lost vs. Stanford 13–23; lost vs. TCU 7–10+42−30Won 24–17 vs. North Carolina+7North CarolinaWon 21–18 at BYU+3BYUWon 45–23 vs. Idaho State+22Idaho StateLost 24–42 vs. No. 19 Oregon-18No. 19 OregonLost 17–24 at Arizona-7ArizonaLost 7–37 vs. UCLA-30UCLAWon 49–7 at Oregon State+42Oregon StateWon 12–10 vs. No. 15 Washington+2No. 15 WashingtonLost 13–19 at No. 10 Washington State-6No. 10 Washington StateWon 15–14 at USC+1USCWon 33–21 vs. Colorado+12ColoradoLost 13–23 vs. Stanford-10StanfordLost 7–10 vs. TCU-3TCU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsNorth CarolinaW 24–⁠1762%
Sep 8atBYUW 21–⁠1848%
Sep 15vsIdaho StateW 45–⁠2389%
Sep 29vs19OregonL 24–⁠4258%
Oct 6atArizonaL 17–⁠2445%
Oct 13vsUCLAL 7–⁠3770%
Oct 20atOregon StateW 49–⁠758%
Oct 27vs15WashingtonW 12–⁠1028%
Nov 3at10Washington StateL 13–⁠1921%
Nov 10atUSCW 15–⁠1425%
Nov 24vsColoradoW 33–⁠2163%
Dec 1vsStanfordL 13–⁠2340%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsTCUCheez-It BowlL 7–⁠1038%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to TCU 10–⁠7 in the Cheez-It Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 68th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 24
Record
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠5 tied for 7th in Pac-12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 24
Points
280–⁠265
Coach
Justin Wilcox
Elo
1483 −29 this season
SP+ rating
3.9 No. 55 of 130; offense No. 118, defense No. 13, special teams No. 22
SRS
0.2 No. 68 of 130 in FBS
Returning
87% of last season’s EPA, No. 12 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 42 roster talent No. 45 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Beau Baldwin
Defensive coordinator
Tim DeRuyter
Captains
Patrick Laird and Jordan Kunaszyk
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense123rd of 130
  • Defense4th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted127th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted6th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0640%1.00123rd of 130
Defense-0.0739%1.054th of 130
Opponent-adjusted-0.04 off
-0.04 def		40% off
39% def		—127th off
6th 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
Offense2.7own 3118% allowed
Defense3.0own 2715% caused

CORE rating -1.3, 77th of 130 (offense -14.3, defense -13.0).

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 yardsChase Garbers QB1,508 yds
Passing touchdownsChase Garbers QB14 TD
Rushing yardsPatrick Laird RB948 yds
Rushing touchdownsPatrick Laird RB5 TD
Receiving yardsVic Wharton III WR502 yds
Receiving touchdownsJordan Duncan WR4 TD
TacklesJordan Kunaszyk LB124 tkl
SacksJordan Kunaszyk LB4 sacks
InterceptionsJaylinn Hawkins S6 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Will Craig OT★★★★No. 292
Nikko Remigio WR★★★★No. 320
McCallan Castles TE★★★No. 393
Christopher Brooks RB★★★No. 513
Chigozie Anusiem S★★★No. 538

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs23.00.876
Receivers23.50.893
Offensive line53.20.861
Defensive line42.80.820
Linebackers52.80.837
Defensive backs23.00.852
Athletes and specialists13.00.800
Whole class213.00.848

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.

Roster 103

The 2018 roster

103 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 67 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.