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2018 Middle Tennessee

8–⁠6 (7–⁠1 Conference USA), coached by Rick Stockstill.

Schedule and results

Middle Tennessee in 2018, game by game: lost at Vanderbilt 7–35; won vs. UT Martin 61–37; lost at No. 3 Georgia 7–49; won vs. Florida Atlantic 25–24; won at Marshall 34–24; lost at Florida International 21–24; won vs. Charlotte 21–13; won at Old Dominion 51–17; won vs. Western Kentucky 29–10; won at UTEP 48–32; lost at No. 20 Kentucky 23–34; won vs. UAB 27–3; lost vs. UAB 25–27; lost vs. App State 13–45+34−42Lost 7–35 at Vanderbilt-28VanderbiltWon 61–37 vs. UT Martin+24UT MartinLost 7–49 at No. 3 Georgia-42No. 3 GeorgiaWon 25–24 vs. Florida Atlantic+1Florida AtlanticWon 34–24 at Marshall+10MarshallLost 21–24 at Florida International-3Florida Interna…Won 21–13 vs. Charlotte+8CharlotteWon 51–17 at Old Dominion+34Old DominionWon 29–10 vs. Western Kentucky+19Western KentuckyWon 48–32 at UTEP+16UTEPLost 23–34 at No. 20 Kentucky-11No. 20 KentuckyWon 27–3 vs. UAB+24UABLost 25–27 vs. UAB-2UABLost 13–45 vs. App State-32App State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1atVanderbiltL 7–⁠3544%
Sep 8vsUT MartinW 61–⁠3775%
Sep 15at3GeorgiaL 7–⁠4914%
Sep 29vsFlorida AtlanticW 25–⁠2443%
Oct 5atMarshallW 34–⁠2436%
Oct 13atFlorida InternationalL 21–⁠2445%
Oct 20vsCharlotteW 21–⁠1377%
Oct 27atOld DominionW 51–⁠1760%
Nov 2vsWestern KentuckyW 29–⁠1079%
Nov 10atUTEPW 48–⁠3282%
Nov 17at20KentuckyL 23–⁠3441%
Nov 24vsUABW 27–⁠353%
Dec 1vsUABConference USA Championship GameL 25–⁠2762%
Dec 15Bowls & playoffvsApp StateNew Orleans BowlL 13–⁠4533%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to App State 45–⁠13 in the New Orleans Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 63 on file).

C-USA East champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Record
8–⁠6
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
392–⁠374
Coach
Rick Stockstill
Elo
1528 +36 this season
SP+ rating
-3.8 No. 91 of 130; offense No. 103, defense No. 68, special teams No. 49
SRS
−1.7 No. 76 of 130 in FBS
Returning
76% of last season’s EPA, No. 41 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 104 roster talent No. 91 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Tony Franklin
Defensive coordinator
Scott Shafer
Offense
Air raid
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense91st of 130
  • Defense32nd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted90th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted40th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0441%1.1691st of 130
Defense0.0441%1.2332nd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.05 def		42% off
41% def		—90th 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
Offense3.3own 3216% allowed
Defense3.3own 2818% caused

CORE rating -0.2, 67th of 130 (offense -1.5, defense -1.3).

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 yardsBrent Stockstill QB3,522 yds
Passing touchdownsBrent Stockstill QB29 TD
Rushing yardsChaton Mobley RB624 yds
Rushing touchdownsTavares Thomas RB5 TD
Receiving yardsTy Lee WR883 yds
Receiving touchdownsTy Lee WR7 TD
TacklesReed Blankenship S101 tkl
SacksD.Q. Thomas LB8 sacks
InterceptionsWesley Bush DB6 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Jarek Campbell ATH★★★No. 854
Luke Shiflett DUAL★★★No. 1434
Jordan Branch ATH★★★No. 1466
Marcus Greer OG★★★No. 1969
Jahlil Ryles OG★★★No. 1996

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.50.813
Receivers12.00.795
Offensive line52.40.777
Defensive line12.00.763
Defensive backs12.00.790
Athletes and specialists33.00.832
Whole class132.50.797

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.

Roster 114

The 2018 roster

114 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 65 have a stat line. See the roster

2018 Conference USA standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
UAB7–⁠111–⁠3
Middle Tennessee7–⁠18–⁠6
Marshall6–⁠29–⁠4
Florida International6–⁠29–⁠4
North Texas5–⁠39–⁠4
Louisiana Tech5–⁠38–⁠5
Southern Miss5–⁠36–⁠5
Charlotte4–⁠45–⁠7
Florida Atlantic3–⁠55–⁠7
Old Dominion2–⁠64–⁠8
UTSA2–⁠63–⁠9
Western Kentucky2–⁠63–⁠9
Rice1–⁠72–⁠11
UTEP1–⁠71–⁠11

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