CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2018 Iowa

9–⁠4 (5–⁠4 Big Ten), coached by Kirk Ferentz, finished No. 25 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Iowa in 2018, game by game: won vs. Northern Illinois 33–7; won vs. Iowa State 13–3; won vs. Northern Iowa 38–14; lost vs. No. 18 Wisconsin 17–28; won at Minnesota 48–31; won at Indiana 42–16; won vs. Maryland 23–0; lost at No. 17 Penn State 24–30; lost at Purdue 36–38; lost vs. Northwestern 10–14; won at Illinois 63–0; won vs. Nebraska 31–28; won vs. No. 18 Mississippi State 27–22+63−11Won 33–7 vs. Northern Illinois+26Northern Illino…Won 13–3 vs. Iowa State+10Iowa StateWon 38–14 vs. Northern Iowa+24Northern IowaLost 17–28 vs. No. 18 Wisconsin-11No. 18 WisconsinWon 48–31 at Minnesota+17MinnesotaWon 42–16 at Indiana+26IndianaWon 23–0 vs. Maryland+23MarylandLost 24–30 at No. 17 Penn State-6No. 17 Penn StateLost 36–38 at Purdue-2PurdueLost 10–14 vs. Northwestern-4NorthwesternWon 63–0 at Illinois+63IllinoisWon 31–28 vs. Nebraska+3NebraskaWon 27–22 vs. No. 18 Mississippi State+5No. 18 Mississippi Sta…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsNorthern IllinoisW 33–⁠768%
Sep 8vsIowa StateW 13–⁠366%
Sep 15vsNorthern IowaW 38–⁠1484%
Sep 22vs18WisconsinL 17–⁠2848%
Oct 6atMinnesotaW 48–⁠3155%
Oct 13atIndianaW 42–⁠1658%
Oct 20vsMarylandW 23–⁠078%
Oct 27at17Penn StateL 24–⁠3037%
Nov 3atPurdueL 36–⁠3851%
Nov 10vsNorthwesternL 10–⁠1464%
Nov 17atIllinoisW 63–⁠075%
Nov 23vsNebraskaW 31–⁠2878%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs18Mississippi StateOutback BowlW 27–⁠2246%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Mississippi State 27–⁠22 in the Outback Bowl; No. 25 in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 8: 19
  2. Wk 9: 18
  3. Wk 10: 19
  4. Final: 25

John Mackey AwardT.J. Hockenson, TE

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠4 tied for 5th in Big Ten
AP final
No. 25 peak No. 18
Points
405–⁠231
Coach
Kirk Ferentz
Elo
1672 +84 this season
SP+ rating
13.3 No. 23 of 130; offense No. 54, defense No. 18, special teams No. 41
SRS
13.5 No. 15 of 130 in FBS
Returning
83% of last season’s EPA, No. 21 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 39 roster talent No. 42 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Brian Ferentz
Defensive coordinator
Phil Parker
Captains
Jake Gervase, Parker Hesse, Keegan Render and Nate Stanley
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense75th of 130
  • Defense13th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted58th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted15th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0840%1.2475th of 130
Defense-0.0341%1.0313th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.11 off
-0.01 def		41% off
39% def		—58th off
15th 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
Offense3.7own 3413% allowed
Defense2.9own 3218% caused

CORE rating 10.0, 24th of 130 (offense -0.2, 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 yardsNathan Stanley QB2,825 yds
Passing touchdownsNathan Stanley QB26 TD
Rushing yardsMekhi Sargent RB745 yds
Rushing touchdownsMekhi Sargent RB9 TD
Receiving yardsT.J. Hockenson TE750 yds
Receiving touchdownsNoah Fant TE7 TD
TacklesJake Gervase DB83 tkl
SacksA.J. Epenesa DE10.5 sacks
InterceptionsAmani Hooker DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

John Waggoner WDE★★★No. 380
Dallas Craddieth S★★★No. 379
Tyler Linderbaum DT★★★No. 409
Spencer Petras PRO★★★No. 421
Julius Brents S★★★No. 439

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.886
Running backs23.00.860
Receivers42.80.811
Offensive line42.80.843
Defensive line33.00.881
Linebackers42.80.834
Defensive backs62.80.848
Athletes and specialists13.00.845
Whole class252.80.845

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 1T.J. Hockenson TEDetroit Lions
Rd 1Noah Fant TEDenver Broncos
Rd 4Anthony Nelson DETampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 4Amani Hooker STennessee Titans

Roster 98

The 2018 roster

98 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

5 first team, 3 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 Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠113–⁠13
Michigan8–⁠110–⁠314
Northwestern8–⁠19–⁠521
Penn State6–⁠39–⁠417
Iowa5–⁠49–⁠425
Wisconsin5–⁠48–⁠5
Michigan State5–⁠47–⁠6
Purdue5–⁠46–⁠7
Minnesota3–⁠67–⁠6
Maryland3–⁠65–⁠7
Nebraska3–⁠64–⁠8
Indiana2–⁠75–⁠7
Illinois2–⁠74–⁠8
Rutgers0–⁠91–⁠11

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