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2020 Louisiana

10–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Billy Napier, finished No. 15 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Louisiana in 2020, game by game: won at Iowa State 31–14; won at Georgia State 34–31; won vs. Georgia Southern 20–18; lost vs. Coastal Carolina 27–30; won at UAB 24–20; won at Texas State 44–34; won vs. Arkansas State 27–20; won vs. South Alabama 38–10; won at UL Monroe 70–20; won at App State 24–21; won vs. UTSA 31–24+50−3Won 31–14 at Iowa State+17Iowa StateWon 34–31 at Georgia State+3Georgia StateWon 20–18 vs. Georgia Southern+2Georgia SouthernLost 27–30 vs. Coastal Carolina-3Coastal CarolinaWon 24–20 at UAB+4UABWon 44–34 at Texas State+10Texas StateWon 27–20 vs. Arkansas State+7Arkansas StateWon 38–10 vs. South Alabama+28South AlabamaWon 70–20 at UL Monroe+50UL MonroeWon 24–21 at App State+3App StateWon 31–24 vs. UTSA+7UTSA
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12atIowa StateW 31–⁠1446%
Sep 19atGeorgia StateW 34–⁠3167%
Sep 26vsGeorgia SouthernW 20–⁠1874%
Oct 14vsCoastal CarolinaL 27–⁠3076%
Oct 23atUABW 24–⁠2050%
Oct 31atTexas StateW 44–⁠3480%
Nov 7vsArkansas StateW 27–⁠2079%
Nov 14vsSouth AlabamaW 38–⁠1086%
Nov 28atUL MonroeW 70–⁠2087%
Dec 4atApp StateW 24–⁠2141%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsUTSAFirst Responder BowlW 31–⁠2480%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat UTSA 31–⁠24 in the First Responder Bowl; No. 15 in the final AP poll; Sun Belt Conference champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 92 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 19
  2. Wk 4: 19
  3. Wk 6: 23
  4. Wk 7: 21
  5. Wk 11: 25
  6. Wk 12: 24
  7. Wk 13: 23
  8. Wk 14: 20
  9. Wk 15: 17
  10. Wk 16: 17
  11. Final: 15

Sun Belt Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Coastal Carolina

Record
10–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 2nd in Sun Belt Conference
AP final
No. 15 peak No. 15
Points
370–⁠242
Coach
Billy Napier
Elo
1692 +96 this season
SP+ rating
8.1 No. 34 of 130; offense No. 27, defense No. 47
SRS
9.0 No. 16 of 77 in FBS
Returning
73% of last season’s EPA, No. 50 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 79 roster talent No. 102 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Rob Sale
Defensive coordinator
Patrick Toney
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense30th of 127
  • Defense22nd of 127
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted25th of 127
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted13th of 127
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1947%1.2630th of 127
Defense0.0142%1.1122nd of 127
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
0.03 def		47% off
43% def		—25th off
13th 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 3213% allowed
Defense3.8own 2714% caused

CORE rating 14.8, 15th of 127 (offense 7.4, defense -7.3).

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 yardsLevi Lewis QB2,270 yds
Passing touchdownsLevi Lewis QB19 TD
Rushing yardsElijah Mitchell RB878 yds
Rushing touchdownsTrey Ragas RB10 TD
Receiving yardsKyren Lacy WR364 yds
Receiving touchdownsJalen Williams WR4 TD
TacklesLorenzo McCaskill LB83 tkl
SacksFerrod Gardner LB4.5 sacks
InterceptionsBralen Trahan S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2020 class

Reginald Johnson WR★★★No. 949
Kyren Lacy WR★★★No. 1080
Caleb Anderson ATH★★★No. 1103
Cory Marshall OG★★★No. 1249
Andray Pope ATH★★★No. 1253

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

The 2020 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs13.00.847
Receivers43.00.839
Offensive line23.00.838
Defensive line43.00.820
Linebackers13.00.841
Defensive backs42.80.821
Athletes and specialists43.00.838
Whole class203.00.832

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 2021

The 2021 draft
Rd 6Elijah Mitchell RBSan Francisco 49ers

Roster 129

The 2020 roster

129 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 67 have a stat line. See the roster

2020 Sun Belt Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Coastal Carolina8–⁠011–⁠114
Louisiana7–⁠110–⁠115
App State6–⁠29–⁠3
Georgia Southern4–⁠48–⁠5
Georgia State4–⁠46–⁠4
Troy3–⁠45–⁠6
South Alabama3–⁠54–⁠7
Arkansas State2–⁠64–⁠7
Texas State2–⁠62–⁠10
UL Monroe0–⁠70–⁠10

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