CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2018 Iowa State

8–⁠5 (6–⁠3 Big 12), coached by Matt Campbell.

Schedule and results

Iowa State in 2018, game by game: lost at Iowa 3–13; lost vs. No. 5 Oklahoma 27–37; won vs. Akron 26–13; lost at TCU 14–17; won at No. 25 Oklahoma State 48–42; won vs. No. 6 West Virginia 30–14; won vs. Texas Tech 40–31; won at Kansas 27–3; won vs. Baylor 28–14; lost at No. 13 Texas 10–24; won vs. Kansas State 42–38; won vs. Drake 27–24; lost vs. No. 12 Washington State 26–28+24−14Lost 3–13 at Iowa-10IowaLost 27–37 vs. No. 5 Oklahoma-10No. 5 OklahomaWon 26–13 vs. Akron+13AkronLost 14–17 at TCU-3TCUWon 48–42 at No. 25 Oklahoma State+6No. 25 Oklahoma StateWon 30–14 vs. No. 6 West Virginia+16No. 6 West VirginiaWon 40–31 vs. Texas Tech+9Texas TechWon 27–3 at Kansas+24KansasWon 28–14 vs. Baylor+14BaylorLost 10–24 at No. 13 Texas-14No. 13 TexasWon 42–38 vs. Kansas State+4Kansas StateWon 27–24 vs. Drake+3DrakeLost 26–28 vs. No. 12 Washington State-2No. 12 Washington State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 8atIowaL 3–⁠1334%
Sep 15vs5OklahomaL 27–⁠3731%
Sep 22vsAkronW 26–⁠1363%
Sep 29atTCUL 14–⁠1733%
Oct 6at25Oklahoma StateW 48–⁠4228%
Oct 13vs6West VirginiaW 30–⁠1449%
Oct 27vsTexas TechW 40–⁠3160%
Nov 3atKansasW 27–⁠375%
Nov 10vsBaylorW 28–⁠1477%
Nov 17at13TexasL 10–⁠2440%
Nov 24vsKansas StateW 42–⁠3866%
Dec 1vsDrakeW 27–⁠2483%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvs12Washington StateAlamo BowlL 26–⁠2843%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Washington State 28–⁠26 in the Alamo Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big 12.

In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 132 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 11: 23
  2. Wk 12: 18
  3. Wk 13: 25
  4. Wk 14: 24
  5. Wk 15: 25
Record
8–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Big 12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 18
Points
348–⁠298
Coach
Matt Campbell
Elo
1617 +68 this season
SP+ rating
7.9 No. 38 of 130; offense No. 57, defense No. 28, special teams No. 80
SRS
6.9 No. 36 of 130 in FBS
Returning
57% of last season’s EPA, No. 82 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 55 roster talent No. 52 in FBS
Defensive coordinator
Jon Heacock
Offense
Pro spread
Defense
3-high safety

How good, play by play

  • Offense38th of 130
  • Defense56th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted43rd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted39th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1544%1.2138th of 130
Defense0.0843%1.1456th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.14 off
0.05 def		44% off
41% def		—43rd off
39th 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 2913% allowed
Defense3.4own 2918% caused

CORE rating 9.1, 25th of 130 (offense 4.0, defense -5.1).

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 yardsBrock Purdy QB2,250 yds
Passing touchdownsBrock Purdy QB16 TD
Rushing yardsDavid Montgomery RB1,185 yds
Rushing touchdownsDavid Montgomery RB13 TD
Receiving yardsHakeem Butler WR1,318 yds
Receiving touchdownsHakeem Butler WR9 TD
TacklesGreg Eisworth DB87 tkl
SacksJaQuan Bailey DE8 sacks
InterceptionsBraxton Lewis DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Joseph Scates WR★★★★No. 266
Sean Shaw Jr. WR★★★No. 541
Joey Ramos OT★★★No. 631
Trevor Downing OG★★★No. 737
Will McDonald IV WDE★★★No. 787

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.855
Receivers33.30.877
Offensive line33.00.850
Defensive line33.00.853
Linebackers33.00.835
Defensive backs33.00.848
Athletes and specialists23.00.825
Whole class193.10.850

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 3David Montgomery RBChicago Bears
Rd 4Hakeem Butler WRArizona Cardinals

Roster 110

The 2018 roster

110 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 61 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big 12

2 first team, 6 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2018 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2018 Big 12 standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma8–⁠112–⁠24
Texas7–⁠210–⁠49
West Virginia6–⁠38–⁠420
Iowa State6–⁠38–⁠5
TCU4–⁠57–⁠6
Baylor4–⁠57–⁠6
Oklahoma State3–⁠67–⁠6
Texas Tech3–⁠65–⁠7
Kansas State3–⁠65–⁠7
Kansas1–⁠83–⁠9

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