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2018 Memphis

8–⁠6 (5–⁠3 American Athletic Conference), coached by Mike Norvell.

Schedule and results

Memphis in 2018, game by game: won vs. Mercer 66–14; lost at Navy 21–22; won vs. Georgia State 59–22; won vs. South Alabama 52–35; lost at Tulane 24–40; won vs. UConn 55–14; lost vs. No. 10 UCF 30–31; lost at Missouri 33–65; won at East Carolina 59–41; won vs. Tulsa 47–21; won at SMU 28–18; won vs. Houston 52–31; lost at No. 7 UCF 41–56; lost vs. Wake Forest 34–37+52−32Won 66–14 vs. Mercer+52MercerLost 21–22 at Navy-1NavyWon 59–22 vs. Georgia State+37Georgia StateWon 52–35 vs. South Alabama+17South AlabamaLost 24–40 at Tulane-16TulaneWon 55–14 vs. UConn+41UConnLost 30–31 vs. No. 10 UCF-1No. 10 UCFLost 33–65 at Missouri-32MissouriWon 59–41 at East Carolina+18East CarolinaWon 47–21 vs. Tulsa+26TulsaWon 28–18 at SMU+10SMUWon 52–31 vs. Houston+21HoustonLost 41–56 at No. 7 UCF-15No. 7 UCFLost 34–37 vs. Wake Forest-3Wake Forest
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsMercerW 66–⁠1486%
Sep 8atNavyL 21–⁠2256%
Sep 14vsGeorgia StateW 59–⁠2276%
Sep 22vsSouth AlabamaW 52–⁠3582%
Sep 28atTulaneL 24–⁠4067%
Oct 6vsUConnW 55–⁠1486%
Oct 13vs10UCFL 30–⁠3140%
Oct 20atMissouriL 33–⁠6547%
Nov 3atEast CarolinaW 59–⁠4167%
Nov 10vsTulsaW 47–⁠2180%
Nov 16atSMUW 28–⁠1856%
Nov 23vsHoustonW 52–⁠3158%
Dec 1at7UCFAmerican Athletic Championship GameL 41–⁠5624%
Dec 22Bowls & playoffvsWake ForestBirmingham BowlL 34–⁠3759%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Wake Forest 37–⁠34 in the Birmingham Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 84 on file).

AAC West champions5–⁠3 in the conference, shared with Houston and Tulane

Led the nationDarrell Henderson: yards per carry (8.9)

Consensus All-AmericanDarrell Henderson, RB

Record
8–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
601–⁠447
Coach
Mike Norvell
Elo
1595 +5 this season
SP+ rating
9.2 No. 36 of 130; offense No. 13, defense No. 87, special teams No. 38
SRS
2.4 No. 56 of 130 in FBS
Returning
39% of last season’s EPA, No. 104 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 81 roster talent No. 74 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Kenny Dillingham
Defensive coordinator
Chris Ball
Offense
Spread
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense11th of 130
  • Defense76th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted26th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted86th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2347%1.3411th of 130
Defense0.1341%1.3276th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
0.13 def		45% off
43% def		—26th off
86th 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
Offense4.2own 3014% allowed
Defense4.0own 2817% caused

CORE rating 5.6, 33rd of 130 (offense 8.1, defense 2.5).

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 yardsBrady White QB3,252 yds
Passing touchdownsBrady White QB26 TD
Rushing yardsDarrell Henderson RB1,909 yds
Rushing touchdownsDarrell Henderson RB22 TD
Receiving yardsDamonte Coxie WR1,174 yds
Receiving touchdownsDamonte Coxie WR7 TD
TacklesCurtis Akins LB100 tkl
SacksBryce Huff DE7 sacks
InterceptionsT.J. Carter S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Kayode Oladele SDE★★★★No. 310
Troy Hurst ATH★★★No. 1364
Nigel Brannon OT★★★No. 1443
Will Lawrence OG★★★No. 1516
Titus Jones OG★★★No. 1520

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.817
Running backs22.50.782
Receivers32.30.790
Offensive line62.70.814
Defensive line23.00.844
Linebackers22.50.806
Defensive backs13.00.824
Athletes and specialists23.00.834
Whole class192.70.812

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 3Darrell Henderson RBLos Angeles Rams
Rd 4Tony Pollard RBDallas Cowboys

Roster 109

The 2018 roster

109 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster

2018 American Athletic Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
UCF8–⁠012–⁠111
Temple7–⁠18–⁠5
Cincinnati6–⁠211–⁠224
Houston5–⁠38–⁠5
Memphis5–⁠38–⁠6
Tulane5–⁠37–⁠6
SMU4–⁠45–⁠7
South Florida3–⁠57–⁠6
Tulsa2–⁠63–⁠9
Navy2–⁠63–⁠10
East Carolina1–⁠73–⁠9
UConn0–⁠81–⁠11

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