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2017 Louisville

8–⁠5 (4–⁠4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Bobby Petrino.

Schedule and results

Louisville in 2017, game by game: won vs. Purdue 35–28; won at North Carolina 47–35; lost vs. No. 3 Clemson 21–47; won vs. Kent State 42–3; won vs. Murray State 55–10; lost at No. 24 NC State 25–39; lost vs. Boston College 42–45; won at Florida State 31–28; lost at Wake Forest 32–42; won vs. Virginia 38–21; won vs. Syracuse 56–10; won at Kentucky 44–17; lost vs. No. 24 Mississippi State 27–31+46−26Won 35–28 vs. Purdue+7PurdueWon 47–35 at North Carolina+12North CarolinaLost 21–47 vs. No. 3 Clemson-26No. 3 ClemsonWon 42–3 vs. Kent State+39Kent StateWon 55–10 vs. Murray State+45Murray StateLost 25–39 at No. 24 NC State-14No. 24 NC StateLost 42–45 vs. Boston College-3Boston CollegeWon 31–28 at Florida State+3Florida StateLost 32–42 at Wake Forest-10Wake ForestWon 38–21 vs. Virginia+17VirginiaWon 56–10 vs. Syracuse+46SyracuseWon 44–17 at Kentucky+27KentuckyLost 27–31 vs. No. 24 Mississippi State-4No. 24 Mississippi Sta…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsPurdueW 35–⁠2878%
Sep 9atNorth CarolinaW 47–⁠3550%
Sep 16vs3ClemsonL 21–⁠4739%
Sep 23vsKent StateW 42–⁠385%
Sep 30vsMurray StateW 55–⁠1095%
Oct 5at24NC StateL 25–⁠3947%
Oct 14vsBoston CollegeL 42–⁠4577%
Oct 21atFlorida StateW 31–⁠2834%
Oct 28atWake ForestL 32–⁠4253%
Nov 11vsVirginiaW 38–⁠2170%
Nov 18vsSyracuseW 56–⁠1076%
Nov 25atKentuckyW 44–⁠1749%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvs24Mississippi StateTaxSlayer BowlL 27–⁠3147%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Mississippi State 31–⁠27 in the TaxSlayer Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 18th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 82 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 16
  2. Wk 2: 17
  3. Wk 3: 14
  4. Wk 4: 19
  5. Wk 5: 17
  6. Wk 6: 17

Heisman voteLamar Jackson, third

Led the nationLamar Jackson: total offense (5,261 yds), total offense per game (404.7)

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 5th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 14
Points
495–⁠356
Coach
Bobby Petrino
Elo
1620 +19 this season
SP+ rating
19.2 No. 14 of 128; offense No. 2, defense No. 47, special teams No. 38
SRS
11.8 No. 23 of 130 in FBS
Returning
67% of last season’s EPA, No. 50 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 34 roster talent No. 36 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Lonnie Galloway and Mike Summers
Defensive coordinator
Peter Sirmon
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense4th of 130
  • Defense69th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted2nd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted75th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2749%1.344th of 130
Defense0.1046%1.1669th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.27 off
0.10 def		50% off
45% def		—2nd off
75th 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 2815% allowed
Defense3.1own 3318% caused

CORE rating 14.3, 14th of 130 (offense 17.2, defense 2.9).

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 yardsLamar Jackson QB3,660 yds
Passing touchdownsLamar Jackson QB27 TD
Rushing yardsLamar Jackson QB1,601 yds
Rushing touchdownsLamar Jackson QB18 TD
Receiving yardsJaylen Smith WR980 yds
Receiving touchdownsDez Fitzpatrick WR9 TD
TacklesDorian Etheridge LB83 tkl
SacksJames Hearns LB7 sacks
InterceptionsTrumaine Washington CB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Colin Wilson RB★★★★No. 227
C.J. Avery S★★★★No. 226
Russ Yeast CB★★★★No. 280
Caleb Chandler OT★★★No. 375
Mekhi Becton OT★★★No. 399

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs14.00.913
Receivers43.00.870
Offensive line43.00.874
Defensive line13.00.835
Linebackers32.70.821
Defensive backs73.30.860
Athletes and specialists22.50.823
Whole class223.00.857

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 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 1Jaire Alexander CBGreen Bay Packers
Rd 1Lamar Jackson QBBaltimore Ravens
Rd 3Geron Christian OTWashington Redskins
Rd 6Trevon Young DELos Angeles Rams

Roster 109

The 2017 roster

109 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 57 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson7–⁠112–⁠24
Miami7–⁠110–⁠313
NC State6–⁠29–⁠423
Virginia Tech5–⁠39–⁠424
Wake Forest4–⁠48–⁠5
Louisville4–⁠48–⁠5
Boston College4–⁠47–⁠6
Georgia Tech4–⁠45–⁠6
Florida State3–⁠57–⁠6
Duke3–⁠57–⁠6
Virginia3–⁠56–⁠7
Pittsburgh3–⁠55–⁠7
Syracuse2–⁠64–⁠8
North Carolina1–⁠73–⁠9

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