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2018 Georgia Southern

10–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Chad Lunsford.

Schedule and results

Georgia Southern in 2018, game by game: won vs. South Carolina State 37–6; won vs. Massachusetts 34–13; lost at No. 2 Clemson 7–38; won vs. Arkansas State 28–21; won vs. South Alabama 48–13; won at Texas State 15–13; won at New Mexico State 48–31; won vs. No. 25 App State 34–14; lost at UL Monroe 25–44; lost vs. Troy 21–35; won at Coastal Carolina 41–17; won at Georgia State 35–14; won vs. Eastern Michigan 23–21+35−31Won 37–6 vs. South Carolina State+31South Carolina …Won 34–13 vs. Massachusetts+21MassachusettsLost 7–38 at No. 2 Clemson-31No. 2 ClemsonWon 28–21 vs. Arkansas State+7Arkansas StateWon 48–13 vs. South Alabama+35South AlabamaWon 15–13 at Texas State+2Texas StateWon 48–31 at New Mexico State+17New Mexico StateWon 34–14 vs. No. 25 App State+20No. 25 App StateLost 25–44 at UL Monroe-19UL MonroeLost 21–35 vs. Troy-14TroyWon 41–17 at Coastal Carolina+24Coastal CarolinaWon 35–14 at Georgia State+21Georgia StateWon 23–21 vs. Eastern Michigan+2Eastern Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsSouth Carolina StateW 37–⁠675%
Sep 8vsMassachusettsW 34–⁠1355%
Sep 15at2ClemsonL 7–⁠3812%
Sep 29vsArkansas StateW 28–⁠2141%
Oct 6vsSouth AlabamaW 48–⁠1369%
Oct 11atTexas StateW 15–⁠1370%
Oct 20atNew Mexico StateW 48–⁠3160%
Oct 25vs25App StateW 34–⁠1437%
Nov 3atUL MonroeL 25–⁠4462%
Nov 10vsTroyL 21–⁠3544%
Nov 17atCoastal CarolinaW 41–⁠1756%
Nov 24atGeorgia StateW 35–⁠1468%
Dec 15Bowls & playoffvsEastern MichiganCamellia BowlW 23–⁠2155%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Eastern Michigan 23–⁠21 in the Camellia Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Sun Belt Conference.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 38 on file).

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 3rd in Sun Belt Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
396–⁠280
Coach
Chad Lunsford
Elo
1540 +145 this season
SP+ rating
-2.4 No. 87 of 130; offense No. 78, defense No. 92, special teams No. 16
SRS
0.4 No. 66 of 130 in FBS
Returning
61% of last season’s EPA, No. 72 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 90 roster talent No. 124 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Bob DeBesse
Defensive coordinator
Scot Sloan
Offense
Pistol
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense34th of 130
  • Defense57th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted44th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted70th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1643%1.1934th of 130
Defense0.0845%1.0957th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.14 off
0.10 def		41% off
47% def		—44th off
70th 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
Offense3.8own 3311% allowed
Defense3.6own 2717% caused

CORE rating 4.0, 41st of 130 (offense 3.4, defense -0.6).

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 yardsShai Werts WR987 yds
Passing touchdownsShai Werts WR10 TD
Rushing yardsWesley Fields RB1,050 yds
Rushing touchdownsShai Werts WR15 TD
Receiving yardsWesley Fields RB237 yds
Receiving touchdownsDarion Anderson WR3 TD
TacklesJoshua Moon S71 tkl
SacksLogan Hunt DE5 sacks
InterceptionsKindle Vildor CB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Quin Williams OLB★★★No. 423
Brandon Cross CB★★★No. 892
Justin Birdsong CB★★★No. 1056
Andrew Cunningham RB★★★No. 1370
Christian Ford WR★★★No. 1407

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.00.785
Running backs13.00.839
Receivers52.60.812
Offensive line12.00.780
Defensive line42.50.804
Linebackers23.00.844
Defensive backs42.50.806
Athletes and specialists22.00.775
Whole class212.50.806

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 97

The 2018 roster

97 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 58 have a stat line. See the roster

2018 Sun Belt Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
App State7–⁠111–⁠2
Troy7–⁠110–⁠3
Georgia Southern6–⁠210–⁠3
Arkansas State5–⁠38–⁠5
Louisiana5–⁠37–⁠7
UL Monroe4–⁠46–⁠6
Coastal Carolina2–⁠65–⁠7
South Alabama2–⁠63–⁠9
Texas State1–⁠73–⁠9
Georgia State1–⁠72–⁠10

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