CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2018 Florida State

5–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Willie Taggart.

Schedule and results

Florida State in 2018, game by game: lost vs. No. 20 Virginia Tech 3–24; won vs. Samford 36–26; lost at Syracuse 7–30; won vs. Northern Illinois 37–19; won at Louisville 28–24; lost at No. 17 Miami 27–28; won vs. Wake Forest 38–17; lost vs. No. 2 Clemson 10–59; lost at NC State 28–47; lost at No. 3 Notre Dame 13–42; won vs. No. 22 Boston College 22–21; lost vs. No. 13 Florida 14–41+21−49Lost 3–24 vs. No. 20 Virginia Tech-21No. 20 Virginia TechWon 36–26 vs. Samford+10SamfordLost 7–30 at Syracuse-23SyracuseWon 37–19 vs. Northern Illinois+18Northern Illino…Won 28–24 at Louisville+4LouisvilleLost 27–28 at No. 17 Miami-1No. 17 MiamiWon 38–17 vs. Wake Forest+21Wake ForestLost 10–59 vs. No. 2 Clemson-49No. 2 ClemsonLost 28–47 at NC State-19NC StateLost 13–42 at No. 3 Notre Dame-29No. 3 Notre DameWon 22–21 vs. No. 22 Boston College+1No. 22 Boston CollegeLost 14–41 vs. No. 13 Florida-27No. 13 Florida
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vs20Virginia TechL 3–⁠2458%
Sep 8vsSamfordW 36–⁠2677%
Sep 15atSyracuseL 7–⁠3054%
Sep 22vsNorthern IllinoisW 37–⁠1964%
Sep 29atLouisvilleW 28–⁠2444%
Oct 6at17MiamiL 27–⁠2830%
Oct 20vsWake ForestW 38–⁠1765%
Oct 27vs2ClemsonL 10–⁠5928%
Nov 3atNC StateL 28–⁠4734%
Nov 10at3Notre DameL 13–⁠4216%
Nov 17vs22Boston CollegeW 22–⁠2146%
Nov 24vs13FloridaL 14–⁠4151%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Florida 41–⁠14; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 10th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 56th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 78 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 19
Record
5–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 10th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 19
Points
263–⁠378
Coach
Willie Taggart
Elo
1510 −82 this season
SP+ rating
1.4 No. 71 of 130; offense No. 97, defense No. 37, special teams No. 96
SRS
−2.9 No. 82 of 130 in FBS
Returning
64% of last season’s EPA, No. 65 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 11 roster talent No. 7 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Walt Bell
Defensive coordinator
Harlon Barnett
Captains
Ricky Aguayo, Alec Eberle and Brian Burns
Offense
Gulf Coast
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense117th of 130
  • Defense38th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted105th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted33rd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0334%1.42117th of 130
Defense0.0439%1.2338th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.03 off
0.04 def		36% off
38% def		—105th off
33rd 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
Offense3.4own 2620% allowed
Defense3.4own 3616% caused

CORE rating 3.3, 45th of 130 (offense -6.0, defense -9.3).

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 yardsDeondre Francois QB2,731 yds
Passing touchdownsDeondre Francois QB15 TD
Rushing yardsCam Akers RB706 yds
Rushing touchdownsCam Akers RB6 TD
Receiving yardsNyqwan Murray WR744 yds
Receiving touchdownsTamorrion Terry WR8 TD
TacklesHamsah Nasirildeen DB91 tkl
SacksBrian Burns DE10 sacks
InterceptionsStanford Samuels III DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Jaiden Lars-Woodbey S★★★★No. 35
A.J. Lytton CB★★★★No. 50
Asante Samuel Jr. CB★★★★No. 60
Robert Cooper DT★★★★No. 117
Warren Thompson WR★★★★No. 157
Tre’Shaun Harrison ATH★★★★No. 161
Xavier Peters OLB★★★★No. 174
Malcolm Lamar SDE★★★★No. 222

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs13.00.887
Receivers53.40.891
Offensive line33.30.883
Defensive line53.60.897
Linebackers24.00.921
Defensive backs44.00.960
Athletes and specialists14.00.934
Whole class213.60.909

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 1Brian Burns OLBCarolina Panthers
Rd 6Demarcus Christmas DTSeattle Seahawks

Roster 97

The 2018 roster

97 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 56 have a stat line. See the roster

2018 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson8–⁠015–⁠01
Syracuse6–⁠210–⁠315
Pittsburgh6–⁠27–⁠7
NC State5–⁠39–⁠4
Georgia Tech5–⁠37–⁠6
Virginia4–⁠48–⁠5
Boston College4–⁠47–⁠5
Miami4–⁠47–⁠6
Virginia Tech4–⁠46–⁠7
Duke3–⁠58–⁠5
Wake Forest3–⁠57–⁠6
Florida State3–⁠55–⁠7
North Carolina1–⁠72–⁠9
Louisville0–⁠82–⁠10

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