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2018 East Carolina

3–⁠9 (1–⁠7 American Athletic Conference), coached by Scottie Montgomery, then David Blackwell (interim, final game).

Schedule and results

East Carolina in 2018, game by game: lost vs. North Carolina A&T 23–28; won vs. North Carolina 41–19; lost at South Florida 13–20; won vs. Old Dominion 37–35; lost at Temple 6–49; lost vs. Houston 20–42; lost vs. No. 10 UCF 10–37; lost vs. Memphis 41–59; lost at Tulane 18–24; won vs. UConn 55–21; lost at Cincinnati 6–56; lost at NC State 3–58+34−55Lost 23–28 vs. North Carolina A&T-5North Carolina …Won 41–19 vs. North Carolina+22North CarolinaLost 13–20 at South Florida-7South FloridaWon 37–35 vs. Old Dominion+2Old DominionLost 6–49 at Temple-43TempleLost 20–42 vs. Houston-22HoustonLost 10–37 vs. No. 10 UCF-27No. 10 UCFLost 41–59 vs. Memphis-18MemphisLost 18–24 at Tulane-6TulaneWon 55–21 vs. UConn+34UConnLost 6–56 at Cincinnati-50CincinnatiLost 3–58 at NC State-55NC State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsNorth Carolina A&TL 23–⁠2847%
Sep 8vsNorth CarolinaW 41–⁠1946%
Sep 22atSouth FloridaL 13–⁠2017%
Sep 29vsOld DominionW 37–⁠3559%
Oct 6atTempleL 6–⁠4928%
Oct 13vsHoustonL 20–⁠4234%
Oct 20vs10UCFL 10–⁠3717%
Nov 3vsMemphisL 41–⁠5933%
Nov 10atTulaneL 18–⁠2422%
Nov 17vsUConnW 55–⁠2171%
Nov 23atCincinnatiL 6–⁠5619%
Dec 1atNC StateL 3–⁠5812%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to NC State 58–⁠3; unranked in the final AP poll; 11th in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 54th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 70 on file).

Record
3–⁠9
Conference
1–⁠7 11th in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
273–⁠448
Coach
Scottie Montgomery, then David Blackwell (interim, final game)
Elo
1344 −58 this season
SP+ rating
-14.9 No. 110 of 130; offense No. 118, defense No. 101, special teams No. 30
SRS
−14.4 No. 117 of 130 in FBS
Returning
27% of last season’s EPA, No. 120 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 89 roster talent No. 85 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Tony Petersen
Defensive coordinator
David Blackwell
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense102nd of 130
  • Defense98th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted122nd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted102nd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0237%1.30102nd of 130
Defense0.1741%1.4098th of 130
Opponent-adjusted-0.00 off
0.15 def		35% off
41% def		—122nd off
102nd 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
Offense3.1own 2620% allowed
Defense4.3own 2919% caused

CORE rating -7.7, 99th of 130 (offense -10.2, defense -2.5).

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 yardsHolton Ahlers QB1,785 yds
Passing touchdownsHolton Ahlers QB12 TD
Rushing yardsHolton Ahlers QB592 yds
Rushing touchdownsHolton Ahlers QB6 TD
Receiving yardsTrevon Brown WR1,123 yds
Receiving touchdownsTrevon Brown WR9 TD
TacklesDevon Sutton DB80 tkl
SacksNate Harvey DE14.5 sacks
InterceptionsCorey Seargent DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Holton Ahlers DUAL★★★No. 543
Dorian Hardy SDE★★★No. 613
Donovan Noel OG★★★No. 1304
Damir Faison WDE★★★No. 1325
Nolan Johnson CB★★★No. 1513

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.846
Running backs13.00.809
Receivers22.50.796
Offensive line23.00.824
Defensive line52.80.818
Linebackers22.50.807
Defensive backs52.60.804
Athletes and specialists12.00.794
Whole class202.70.813

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 91

The 2018 roster

91 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster

2018 American Athletic Conference standings

Conference page
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.