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2018 Michigan State

7–⁠6 (5–⁠4 Big Ten), coached by Mark Dantonio.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 2018, game by game: won vs. Utah State 38–31; lost at Arizona State 13–16; won at Indiana 35–21; won vs. Central Michigan 31–20; lost vs. Northwestern 19–29; won at No. 8 Penn State 21–17; lost vs. No. 6 Michigan 7–21; won vs. Purdue 23–13; won at Maryland 24–3; lost vs. No. 8 Ohio State 6–26; lost at Nebraska 6–9; won vs. Rutgers 14–10; lost vs. Oregon 6–7+21−20Won 38–31 vs. Utah State+7Utah StateLost 13–16 at Arizona State-3Arizona StateWon 35–21 at Indiana+14IndianaWon 31–20 vs. Central Michigan+11Central MichiganLost 19–29 vs. Northwestern-10NorthwesternWon 21–17 at No. 8 Penn State+4No. 8 Penn StateLost 7–21 vs. No. 6 Michigan-14No. 6 MichiganWon 23–13 vs. Purdue+10PurdueWon 24–3 at Maryland+21MarylandLost 6–26 vs. No. 8 Ohio State-20No. 8 Ohio StateLost 6–9 at Nebraska-3NebraskaWon 14–10 vs. Rutgers+4RutgersLost 6–7 vs. Oregon-1Oregon
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsUtah StateW 38–⁠3173%
Sep 8atArizona StateL 13–⁠1651%
Sep 22atIndianaW 35–⁠2149%
Sep 29vsCentral MichiganW 31–⁠2081%
Oct 6vsNorthwesternL 19–⁠2969%
Oct 13at8Penn StateW 21–⁠1725%
Oct 20vs6MichiganL 7–⁠2148%
Oct 27vsPurdueW 23–⁠1354%
Nov 3atMarylandW 24–⁠358%
Nov 10vs8Ohio StateL 6–⁠2646%
Nov 17atNebraskaL 6–⁠964%
Nov 24vsRutgersW 14–⁠1089%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsOregonRedbox BowlL 6–⁠754%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oregon 7–⁠6 in the Redbox Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 40th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 11
  2. Wk 2: 15
  3. Wk 3: 25
  4. Wk 4: 24
  5. Wk 5: 21
  6. Wk 6: 20
  7. Wk 8: 24
  8. Wk 11: 24
Record
7–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠4 tied for 5th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 11
Points
243–⁠223
Coach
Mark Dantonio
Elo
1590 −6 this season
SP+ rating
11.5 No. 30 of 130; offense No. 111, defense No. 2, special teams No. 61
SRS
5.7 No. 43 of 130 in FBS
Returning
95% of last season’s EPA, No. 6 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 31 roster talent No. 34 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Dave Warner and Jim Bollman
Defensive coordinator
Mike Tressel
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense116th of 130
  • Defense7th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted114th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted3rd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0338%1.11116th of 130
Defense-0.0637%1.097th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.01 off
-0.06 def		39% off
35% def		—114th off
3rd 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
Offense2.8own 2817% allowed
Defense2.3own 2920% caused

CORE rating 4.1, 40th of 130 (offense -11.2, defense -15.3).

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 yardsBrian Lewerke QB2,042 yds
Passing touchdownsBrian Lewerke QB8 TD
Rushing yardsConnor Heyward RB529 yds
Rushing touchdownsConnor Heyward RB5 TD
Receiving yardsCody White WR555 yds
Receiving touchdownsFelton Davis III WR4 TD
TacklesJoe Bachie LB102 tkl
SacksKenny Willekes DE8 sacks
InterceptionsDavid Dowell S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Kalon Gervin CB★★★★No. 188
Trenton Gillison TE★★★★No. 250
Xavier Henderson ATH★★★★No. 313
Theo Day PRO★★★No. 377
Chase Kline ILB★★★No. 447

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.864
Running backs13.00.864
Receivers33.30.877
Offensive line33.00.868
Defensive line43.00.845
Linebackers33.00.862
Defensive backs43.30.892
Athletes and specialists23.50.884
Whole class223.10.870

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 3Justin Layne CBPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 4Khari Willis SIndianapolis Colts

Roster 101

The 2018 roster

101 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 61 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

3 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2018 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2018 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠113–⁠13
Michigan8–⁠110–⁠314
Northwestern8–⁠19–⁠521
Penn State6–⁠39–⁠417
Iowa5–⁠49–⁠425
Wisconsin5–⁠48–⁠5
Michigan State5–⁠47–⁠6
Purdue5–⁠46–⁠7
Minnesota3–⁠67–⁠6
Maryland3–⁠65–⁠7
Nebraska3–⁠64–⁠8
Indiana2–⁠75–⁠7
Illinois2–⁠74–⁠8
Rutgers0–⁠91–⁠11

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