CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2018 Cincinnati

11–⁠2 (6–⁠2 American Athletic Conference), coached by Luke Fickell, finished No. 24 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Cincinnati in 2018, game by game: won at UCLA 26–17; won at Miami (OH) 21–0; won vs. Alabama A&M 63–7; won vs. Ohio 34–30; won at UConn 49–7; won vs. Tulane 37–21; lost at Temple 17–24; won at SMU 26–20; won vs. Navy 42–0; won vs. South Florida 35–23; lost at No. 11 UCF 13–38; won vs. East Carolina 56–6; won vs. Virginia Tech 35–31+56−25Won 26–17 at UCLA+9UCLAWon 21–0 at Miami (OH)+21Miami (OH)Won 63–7 vs. Alabama A&M+56Alabama A&MWon 34–30 vs. Ohio+4OhioWon 49–7 at UConn+42UConnWon 37–21 vs. Tulane+16TulaneLost 17–24 at Temple-7TempleWon 26–20 at SMU+6SMUWon 42–0 vs. Navy+42NavyWon 35–23 vs. South Florida+12South FloridaLost 13–38 at No. 11 UCF-25No. 11 UCFWon 56–6 vs. East Carolina+50East CarolinaWon 35–31 vs. Virginia Tech+4Virginia Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1atUCLAW 26–⁠1728%
Sep 8atMiami (OH)W 21–⁠040%
Sep 15vsAlabama A&MW 63–⁠785%
Sep 22vsOhioW 34–⁠3051%
Sep 29atUConnW 49–⁠762%
Oct 6vsTulaneW 37–⁠2162%
Oct 20atTempleL 17–⁠2437%
Oct 27atSMUW 26–⁠2053%
Nov 3vsNavyW 42–⁠072%
Nov 10vsSouth FloridaW 35–⁠2355%
Nov 17at11UCFL 13–⁠3822%
Nov 23vsEast CarolinaW 56–⁠681%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsVirginia TechMilitary BowlW 35–⁠3157%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Virginia Tech 35–⁠31 in the Military Bowl; No. 24 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 13th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 114 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 7: 25
  2. Wk 8: 20
  3. Wk 11: 25
  4. Wk 12: 19
  5. Final: 24
Record
11–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠2 3rd in American Athletic Conference
AP final
No. 24 peak No. 19
Points
454–⁠224
Coach
Luke Fickell
Elo
1593 +207 this season
SP+ rating
5.4 No. 49 of 130; offense No. 74, defense No. 36, special teams No. 80
SRS
7.1 No. 33 of 130 in FBS
Returning
79% of last season’s EPA, No. 28 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 48 roster talent No. 64 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mike Denbrock
Defensive coordinator
Marcus Freeman
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense28th of 130
  • Defense6th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted56th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted10th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1743%1.2828th of 130
Defense-0.0736%1.196th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.12 off
-0.03 def		41% off
38% def		—56th off
10th 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
Offense4.0own 3013% allowed
Defense2.9own 2819% caused

CORE rating 13.5, 15th of 130 (offense 0.2, defense -13.3).

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 yardsDesmond Ridder QB2,445 yds
Passing touchdownsDesmond Ridder QB20 TD
Rushing yardsMichael Warren II RB1,328 yds
Rushing touchdownsMichael Warren II RB19 TD
Receiving yardsKahlil Lewis WR782 yds
Receiving touchdownsKahlil Lewis WR9 TD
TacklesMalik Clements LB68 tkl
SacksCortez Broughton DT5.5 sacks
InterceptionsJames Wiggins S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Leonard Taylor TE★★★★No. 299
Tavion Thomas RB★★★No. 410
Josh Whyle TE★★★No. 412
Malik Vann SDE★★★No. 450
Meechi Harris WR★★★No. 494

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.864
Running backs32.70.811
Receivers73.10.855
Offensive line23.00.821
Defensive line43.00.855
Linebackers13.00.841
Defensive backs33.00.844
Athletes and specialists33.00.849
Whole class243.00.844

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 7Cortez Broughton DTLos Angeles Chargers

Roster 102

The 2018 roster

102 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 64 have a stat line. See the roster

2018 American Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UCF8–⁠012–⁠111
Temple7–⁠18–⁠5
Cincinnati6–⁠211–⁠224
Houston5–⁠38–⁠5
Memphis5–⁠38–⁠6
Tulane5–⁠37–⁠6
SMU4–⁠45–⁠7
South Florida3–⁠57–⁠6
Tulsa2–⁠63–⁠9
Navy2–⁠63–⁠10
East Carolina1–⁠73–⁠9
UConn0–⁠81–⁠11

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