CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2018 Louisiana

7–⁠7 (5–⁠3 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Billy Napier.

Schedule and results

Louisiana in 2018, game by game: won vs. Grambling 49–17; lost at No. 16 Mississippi State 10–56; lost vs. Coastal Carolina 28–30; lost at No. 1 Alabama 14–56; won at Texas State 42–27; won vs. New Mexico State 66–38; lost at App State 17–27; won vs. Arkansas State 47–43; lost at Troy 16–26; won vs. Georgia State 36–22; won vs. South Alabama 48–38; won at UL Monroe 31–28; lost at App State 19–30; lost vs. Tulane 24–41+32−46Won 49–17 vs. Grambling+32GramblingLost 10–56 at No. 16 Mississippi State-46No. 16 Mississippi Sta…Lost 28–30 vs. Coastal Carolina-2Coastal CarolinaLost 14–56 at No. 1 Alabama-42No. 1 AlabamaWon 42–27 at Texas State+15Texas StateWon 66–38 vs. New Mexico State+28New Mexico StateLost 17–27 at App State-10App StateWon 47–43 vs. Arkansas State+4Arkansas StateLost 16–26 at Troy-10TroyWon 36–22 vs. Georgia State+14Georgia StateWon 48–38 vs. South Alabama+10South AlabamaWon 31–28 at UL Monroe+3UL MonroeLost 19–30 at App State-11App StateLost 24–41 vs. Tulane-17Tulane
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsGramblingW 49–⁠1755%
Sep 15at16Mississippi StateL 10–⁠5619%
Sep 22vsCoastal CarolinaL 28–⁠3058%
Sep 29at1AlabamaL 14–⁠567%
Oct 6atTexas StateW 42–⁠2760%
Oct 13vsNew Mexico StateW 66–⁠3867%
Oct 20atApp StateL 17–⁠2721%
Oct 27vsArkansas StateW 47–⁠4350%
Nov 3atTroyL 16–⁠2627%
Nov 10vsGeorgia StateW 36–⁠2273%
Nov 17vsSouth AlabamaW 48–⁠3878%
Nov 24atUL MonroeW 31–⁠2846%
Dec 1atApp StateSun Belt Championship GameL 19–⁠3022%
Dec 15Bowls & playoffvsTulaneCure BowlL 24–⁠4148%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Tulane 41–⁠24 in the Cure Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Sun Belt Conference.

In program history: The 23rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 92 on file).

SBC West champions5–⁠3 in the conference

Record
7–⁠7
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Sun Belt Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
447–⁠479
Coach
Billy Napier
Elo
1463 +39 this season
SP+ rating
-6.9 No. 94 of 130; offense No. 52, defense No. 116, special teams No. 12
SRS
−5.9 No. 92 of 130 in FBS
Returning
76% of last season’s EPA, No. 38 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 105 roster talent No. 103 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Rob Sale
Defensive coordinator
Ron Roberts
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense22nd of 130
  • Defense122nd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted21st of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted128th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1944%1.3522nd of 130
Defense0.2548%1.23122nd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.19 off
0.24 def		44% off
49% def		—21st off
128th 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 3116% allowed
Defense4.2own 2812% caused

CORE rating -7.8, 100th of 130 (offense 7.7, defense 15.5).

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 yardsAndre Nunez QB2,272 yds
Passing touchdownsAndre Nunez QB20 TD
Rushing yardsTrey Ragas RB1,181 yds
Rushing touchdownsElijah Mitchell RB13 TD
Receiving yardsJa’Marcus Bradley WR608 yds
Receiving touchdownsJa’Marcus Bradley WR10 TD
TacklesJacques Boudreaux LB93 tkl
SacksChaiziere Malbrue LB5 sacks
InterceptionsEric Garror CB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Timaje Porter DT★★★No. 882
Masry Mapieu DT★★★No. 954
Chris Smith RB★★★No. 1822
Max Yarbrough OG★★★No. 1973
Percy Butler WR★★No. 2398

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs13.00.820
Receivers22.00.774
Offensive line52.20.776
Defensive line23.00.856
Linebackers22.00.784
Defensive backs22.00.792
Athletes and specialists12.00.770
Whole class152.30.792

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 123

The 2018 roster

123 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 65 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.