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2017 LSU

9–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Southeastern Conference), coached by Ed Orgeron, finished No. 18 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

LSU in 2017, game by game: won vs. BYU 27–0; won vs. Chattanooga 45–10; lost at Mississippi State 7–37; won vs. Syracuse 35–26; lost vs. Troy 21–24; won at No. 21 Florida 17–16; won vs. No. 10 Auburn 27–23; won at Ole Miss 40–24; lost at No. 1 Alabama 10–24; won vs. Arkansas 33–10; won at Tennessee 30–10; won vs. Texas A&M 45–21; lost vs. No. 14 Notre Dame 17–21+35−30Won 27–0 vs. BYU+27BYUWon 45–10 vs. Chattanooga+35ChattanoogaLost 7–37 at Mississippi State-30Mississippi Sta…Won 35–26 vs. Syracuse+9SyracuseLost 21–24 vs. Troy-3TroyWon 17–16 at No. 21 Florida+1No. 21 FloridaWon 27–23 vs. No. 10 Auburn+4No. 10 AuburnWon 40–24 at Ole Miss+16Ole MissLost 10–24 at No. 1 Alabama-14No. 1 AlabamaWon 33–10 vs. Arkansas+23ArkansasWon 30–10 at Tennessee+20TennesseeWon 45–21 vs. Texas A&M+24Texas A&MLost 17–21 vs. No. 14 Notre Dame-4No. 14 Notre Dame
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsBYUW 27–⁠055%
Sep 9vsChattanoogaW 45–⁠1088%
Sep 16atMississippi StateL 7–⁠3752%
Sep 23vsSyracuseW 35–⁠2681%
Sep 30vsTroyL 21–⁠2475%
Oct 7at21FloridaW 17–⁠1644%
Oct 14vs10AuburnW 27–⁠2354%
Oct 21atOle MissW 40–⁠2460%
Nov 4at1AlabamaL 10–⁠2421%
Nov 11vsArkansasW 33–⁠1081%
Nov 18atTennesseeW 30–⁠1067%
Nov 25vsTexas A&MW 45–⁠2171%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs14Notre DameCitrus BowlL 17–⁠2154%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Notre Dame 21–⁠17 in the Citrus Bowl; No. 18 in the final AP poll; 4th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 26th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 13
  2. Wk 2: 12
  3. Wk 3: 12
  4. Wk 4: 25
  5. Wk 5: 25
  6. Wk 8: 24
  7. Wk 9: 23
  8. Wk 10: 19
  9. Wk 12: 21
  10. Wk 13: 19
  11. Wk 14: 17
  12. Wk 15: 16
  13. Final: 18
Record
9–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 4th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 18 peak No. 12
Points
354–⁠246
Coach
Ed Orgeron
Elo
1702 +49 this season
SP+ rating
21.1 No. 11 of 128; offense No. 23, defense No. 8, special teams No. 83
SRS
10.4 No. 26 of 130 in FBS
Returning
69% of last season’s EPA, No. 46 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 7 roster talent No. 6 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Matt Canada
Defensive coordinator
Dave Aranda
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense30th of 130
  • Defense49th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted19th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted40th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1646%1.0730th of 130
Defense0.0540%1.1849th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.18 off
0.04 def		47% off
39% def		—19th off
40th 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
Offense3.4own 3113% allowed
Defense3.0own 2920% caused

CORE rating 13.6, 16th of 130 (offense 7.9, defense -5.7).

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 yardsDanny Etling QB2,463 yds
Passing touchdownsDanny Etling QB16 TD
Rushing yardsDerrius Guice RB1,251 yds
Rushing touchdownsDerrius Guice RB11 TD
Receiving yardsD.J. Chark WR874 yds
Receiving touchdownsD.J. Chark WR3 TD
TacklesDevin White LB133 tkl
SacksGreg Gilmore NT7.5 sacks
InterceptionsAndraez Williams CB6 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

JaCoby Stevens S★★★★★No. 18
K’Lavon Chaisson WDE★★★★No. 37
Austin Deculus OT★★★★No. 48
Tyler Shelvin DT★★★★No. 54
Jacob Phillips ILB★★★★No. 61
Grant Delpit S★★★★No. 67
Todd Harris S★★★★No. 86
Kary Vincent CB★★★★No. 95

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks24.00.919
Running backs23.00.863
Receivers33.30.856
Offensive line43.80.915
Defensive line53.40.914
Linebackers24.00.941
Defensive backs44.30.968
Athletes and specialists23.50.880
Whole class243.70.912

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 2Donte Jackson CBCarolina Panthers
Rd 2Derrius Guice RBWashington Redskins
Rd 2D.J. Chark WRJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 3Arden Key DEOakland Raiders
Rd 6Russell Gage WRAtlanta Falcons
Rd 7Danny Etling QBNew England Patriots
Rd 7Will Clapp OGNew Orleans Saints

Roster 122

The 2017 roster

122 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 63 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

4 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2017 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2017 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama7–⁠113–⁠11
Georgia7–⁠113–⁠22
Auburn7–⁠110–⁠410
LSU6–⁠29–⁠418
South Carolina5–⁠39–⁠4
Mississippi State4–⁠49–⁠419
Kentucky4–⁠47–⁠6
Missouri4–⁠47–⁠6
Texas A&M4–⁠47–⁠6
Ole Miss3–⁠56–⁠6
Florida3–⁠54–⁠7
Vanderbilt1–⁠75–⁠7
Arkansas1–⁠74–⁠8
Tennessee0–⁠84–⁠8

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