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2018 Fresno State

12–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Mountain West Conference), coached by Jeff Tedford, finished No. 18 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Fresno State in 2018, game by game: won vs. Idaho 79–13; lost at Minnesota 14–21; won at UCLA 38–14; won vs. Toledo 49–27; won at Nevada 21–3; won vs. Wyoming 27–3; won at New Mexico 38–7; won vs. Hawai’i 50–20; won at UNLV 48–3; lost at Boise State 17–24; won vs. San Diego State 23–14; won vs. San José State 31–13; won at No. 19 Boise State 19–16; won vs. Arizona State 31–20+66−7Won 79–13 vs. Idaho+66IdahoLost 14–21 at Minnesota-7MinnesotaWon 38–14 at UCLA+24UCLAWon 49–27 vs. Toledo+22ToledoWon 21–3 at Nevada+18NevadaWon 27–3 vs. Wyoming+24WyomingWon 38–7 at New Mexico+31New MexicoWon 50–20 vs. Hawai’i+30Hawai’iWon 48–3 at UNLV+45UNLVLost 17–24 at Boise State-7Boise StateWon 23–14 vs. San Diego State+9San Diego StateWon 31–13 vs. San José State+18San José StateWon 19–16 at No. 19 Boise State+3No. 19 Boise StateWon 31–20 vs. Arizona State+11Arizona State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsIdahoW 79–⁠1374%
Sep 8atMinnesotaL 14–⁠2149%
Sep 15atUCLAW 38–⁠1457%
Sep 29vsToledoW 49–⁠2760%
Oct 6atNevadaW 21–⁠367%
Oct 13vsWyomingW 27–⁠377%
Oct 20atNew MexicoW 38–⁠768%
Oct 27vsHawai’iW 50–⁠2085%
Nov 3atUNLVW 48–⁠383%
Nov 9atBoise StateL 17–⁠2443%
Nov 17vsSan Diego StateW 23–⁠1468%
Nov 24vsSan José StateW 31–⁠1394%
Dec 1at19Boise StateMountain West Championship GameW 19–⁠1637%
Dec 15Bowls & playoffvsArizona StateLas Vegas BowlW 31–⁠2067%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Arizona State 31–⁠20 in the Las Vegas Bowl; No. 18 in the final AP poll; Mountain West Conference champions.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 97 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 10: 20
  2. Wk 11: 16
  3. Wk 14: 25
  4. Wk 15: 19
  5. Final: 18

Mountain West Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference, won the Mountain West Championship Game

Record
12–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Mountain West Conference
AP final
No. 18 peak No. 16
Points
485–⁠198
Coach
Jeff Tedford
Elo
1711 +158 this season
SP+ rating
17.4 No. 16 of 130; offense No. 37, defense No. 12, special teams No. 92
SRS
13.2 No. 16 of 130 in FBS
Returning
85% of last season’s EPA, No. 17 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 92 roster talent No. 81 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Kalen DeBoer
Defensive coordinator
Bert Watts
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense21st of 130
  • Defense11th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted30th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted13th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1947%1.1421st of 130
Defense-0.0437%1.2111th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.16 off
-0.02 def		45% off
37% def		—30th off
13th 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 3112% allowed
Defense2.3own 2517% caused

CORE rating 14.1, 12th of 130 (offense 3.9, defense -10.2).

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 yardsMarcus McMaryion QB3,628 yds
Passing touchdownsMarcus McMaryion QB25 TD
Rushing yardsRonnie Rivers RB743 yds
Rushing touchdownsRonnie Rivers RB10 TD
Receiving yardsKeeSean Johnson WR1,340 yds
Receiving touchdownsKeeSean Johnson WR8 TD
TacklesJeffrey Allison LB131 tkl
SacksGeorge Helmuth LB5 sacks
InterceptionsAnthoula Kelly DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Tyrone Sampson Jr. OC★★★★No. 346
Isaiah Johnson ATH★★★No. 773
Emoryie Edwards WR★★★No. 1294
Alexandre Dumais SDE★★★No. 1681
Steven Comstock DUAL★★★No. 1683

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.50.808
Receivers52.80.810
Offensive line42.50.780
Defensive line42.80.805
Linebackers22.50.752
Defensive backs32.00.788
Athletes and specialists13.00.862
Whole class212.60.797

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 6Keesean Johnson WRArizona Cardinals

Roster 107

The 2018 roster

107 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 63 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.