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2018 Louisiana Tech

8–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Conference USA), coached by Skip Holtz.

Schedule and results

Louisiana Tech in 2018, game by game: won at South Alabama 30–26; won vs. Southern 54–17; lost at No. 6 LSU 21–38; won at North Texas 29–27; lost vs. UAB 7–28; won at UTSA 31–3; won vs. UTEP 31–24; won at Florida Atlantic 21–13; lost at No. 21 Mississippi State 3–45; won vs. Rice 28–13; lost at Southern Miss 20–21; lost vs. Western Kentucky 15–30; won vs. Hawai’i 31–14+37−42Won 30–26 at South Alabama+4South AlabamaWon 54–17 vs. Southern+37SouthernLost 21–38 at No. 6 LSU-17No. 6 LSUWon 29–27 at North Texas+2North TexasLost 7–28 vs. UAB-21UABWon 31–3 at UTSA+28UTSAWon 31–24 vs. UTEP+7UTEPWon 21–13 at Florida Atlantic+8Florida AtlanticLost 3–45 at No. 21 Mississippi State-42No. 21 Mississippi Sta…Won 28–13 vs. Rice+15RiceLost 20–21 at Southern Miss-1Southern MissLost 15–30 vs. Western Kentucky-15Western KentuckyWon 31–14 vs. Hawai’i+17Hawai’i
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1atSouth AlabamaW 30–⁠2660%
Sep 8vsSouthernW 54–⁠1781%
Sep 22at6LSUL 21–⁠3827%
Sep 29atNorth TexasW 29–⁠2740%
Oct 6vsUABL 7–⁠2868%
Oct 13atUTSAW 31–⁠352%
Oct 20vsUTEPW 31–⁠2490%
Oct 26atFlorida AtlanticW 21–⁠1343%
Nov 3at21Mississippi StateL 3–⁠4534%
Nov 10vsRiceW 28–⁠1390%
Nov 17atSouthern MissL 20–⁠2155%
Nov 24vsWestern KentuckyL 15–⁠3081%
Dec 22Bowls & playoffvsHawai’iHawai’i BowlW 31–⁠1462%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Hawai’i 31–⁠14 in the Hawai’i Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 18th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 94 on file).

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 5th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
321–⁠299
Coach
Skip Holtz
Elo
1516 −15 this season
SP+ rating
-6.9 No. 94 of 130; offense No. 111, defense No. 56, special teams No. 114
SRS
−6.0 No. 93 of 130 in FBS
Returning
75% of last season’s EPA, No. 43 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 77 roster talent No. 77 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Todd Fitch
Defensive coordinator
Blake Baker
Captains
O’Shea Dugas, Teddy Veal, Jaylon Ferguson and Dae’Von Washington
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense103rd of 130
  • Defense34th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted100th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted59th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0241%1.12103rd of 130
Defense0.0440%1.1834th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.09 def		42% off
42% def		—100th off
59th 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
Offense3.5own 3016% allowed
Defense3.7own 2917% caused

CORE rating -1.8, 81st of 130 (offense -5.5, defense -3.7).

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 yardsJ’Mar Smith QB3,159 yds
Passing touchdownsJ’Mar Smith QB15 TD
Rushing yardsJaqwis Dancy RB670 yds
Rushing touchdownsJaqwis Dancy RB9 TD
Receiving yardsAdrian Hardy WR1,146 yds
Receiving touchdownsAdrian Hardy WR6 TD
TacklesCollin Scott LB77 tkl
SacksJaylon Ferguson DE13 sacks
InterceptionsAmik Robertson CB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Maureese Wren ATH★★★No. 411
Isaiah Windmon S★★★No. 784
BeeJay Williamson S★★★No. 898
Derek Turner S★★★No. 956
Brodrick Calhoun CB★★★No. 1444

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.833
Running backs32.30.800
Offensive line42.50.790
Defensive line22.50.809
Defensive backs53.00.847
Athletes and specialists33.00.844
Whole class182.70.821

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 3Jaylon Ferguson DEBaltimore Ravens

Roster 96

The 2018 roster

96 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 65 have a stat line. See the roster

2018 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UAB7–⁠111–⁠3
Middle Tennessee7–⁠18–⁠6
Marshall6–⁠29–⁠4
Florida International6–⁠29–⁠4
North Texas5–⁠39–⁠4
Louisiana Tech5–⁠38–⁠5
Southern Miss5–⁠36–⁠5
Charlotte4–⁠45–⁠7
Florida Atlantic3–⁠55–⁠7
Old Dominion2–⁠64–⁠8
UTSA2–⁠63–⁠9
Western Kentucky2–⁠63–⁠9
Rice1–⁠72–⁠11
UTEP1–⁠71–⁠11

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