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2018 Mississippi State

8–⁠5 (4–⁠4 Southeastern Conference), coached by Joe Moorhead. Officially 0–⁠5. The NCAA vacated eight wins, per the season’s Wikipedia article.

From the season’s Wikipedia article: “Mississippi State subsequently vacated all eight victories due to NCAA sanctions due to academic misconduct involving 10 players and a tutor in online coursework.”

Schedule and results

Mississippi State in 2018, game by game: won vs. Stephen F. Austin 63–6; won at Kansas State 31–10; won vs. Louisiana 56–10; lost at Kentucky 7–28; lost vs. Florida 6–13; won vs. No. 8 Auburn 23–9; lost at No. 5 LSU 3–19; won vs. No. 16 Texas A&M 28–13; won vs. Louisiana Tech 45–3; lost at No. 1 Alabama 0–24; won vs. Arkansas 52–6; won at Ole Miss 35–3; lost vs. Iowa 22–27+57−24Won 63–6 vs. Stephen F. Austin+57Stephen F. Aust…Won 31–10 at Kansas State+21Kansas StateWon 56–10 vs. Louisiana+46LouisianaLost 7–28 at Kentucky-21KentuckyLost 6–13 vs. Florida-7FloridaWon 23–9 vs. No. 8 Auburn+14No. 8 AuburnLost 3–19 at No. 5 LSU-16No. 5 LSUWon 28–13 vs. No. 16 Texas A&M+15No. 16 Texas A&MWon 45–3 vs. Louisiana Tech+42Louisiana TechLost 0–24 at No. 1 Alabama-24No. 1 AlabamaWon 52–6 vs. Arkansas+46ArkansasWon 35–3 at Ole Miss+32Ole MissLost 22–27 vs. Iowa-5Iowa
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsStephen F. AustinW 63–⁠692%
Sep 8atKansas StateW 31–⁠1047%
Sep 15vsLouisianaW 56–⁠1081%
Sep 22atKentuckyL 7–⁠2856%
Sep 29vsFloridaL 6–⁠1367%
Oct 6vs8AuburnW 23–⁠946%
Oct 20at5LSUL 3–⁠1931%
Oct 27vs16Texas A&MW 28–⁠1359%
Nov 3vsLouisiana TechW 45–⁠366%
Nov 10at1AlabamaL 0–⁠2417%
Nov 17vsArkansasW 52–⁠687%
Nov 22atOle MissW 35–⁠367%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvsIowaOutback BowlL 22–⁠2754%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Iowa 27–⁠22 in the Outback Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 7th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 18
  2. Wk 2: 18
  3. Wk 3: 16
  4. Wk 4: 14
  5. Wk 5: 23
  6. Wk 7: 24
  7. Wk 8: 22
  8. Wk 10: 21
  9. Wk 11: 18
  10. Wk 12: 25
  11. Wk 13: 22
  12. Wk 14: 20
  13. Wk 15: 18
Record
8–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 7th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 14
Points
371–⁠171
Coach
Joe Moorhead
Elo
1659 +47 this season
SP+ rating
23.2 No. 8 of 130; offense No. 32, defense No. 1, special teams No. 100
SRS
15.8 No. 9 of 130 in FBS
Returning
88% of last season’s EPA, No. 10 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 27 roster talent No. 23 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Luke Getsy
Defensive coordinator
Bob Shoop
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense42nd of 130
  • Defense1st of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted32nd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted1st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1447%1.1342nd of 130
Defense-0.1237%1.101st of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.16 off
-0.11 def		49% off
35% def		—32nd off
1st 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
Offense4.3own 2814% allowed
Defense2.3own 3120% caused

CORE rating 18.9, 6th of 130 (offense 1.9, defense -17.0).

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 yardsNick Fitzgerald QB1,772 yds
Passing touchdownsNick Fitzgerald QB16 TD
Rushing yardsNick Fitzgerald QB1,121 yds
Rushing touchdownsNick Fitzgerald QB13 TD
Receiving yardsStephen Guidry WR440 yds
Receiving touchdownsKylin Hill RB4 TD
TacklesJohnathan Abram S95 tkl
SacksMontez Sweat DE8.5 sacks
InterceptionsC.J. Morgan S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Malik Heath WR★★★★No. 172
Devonta Jason WR★★★★No. 177
Kwatrivous Johnson OT★★★★No. 294
Jaden Crumedy WDE★★★★No. 342
Jalen Mayden DUAL★★★★No. 361

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.892
Running backs13.00.857
Receivers63.30.879
Offensive line23.50.871
Defensive line43.30.864
Linebackers13.00.852
Defensive backs43.00.864
Athletes and specialists23.00.878
Whole class213.20.871

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 1Jeffery Simmons DTTennessee Titans
Rd 1Montez Sweat DEWashington Redskins
Rd 1Johnathan Abram SOakland Raiders
Rd 2Elgton Jenkins CGreen Bay Packers
Rd 6Gerri Green OLBIndianapolis Colts

Roster 110

The 2018 roster

110 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 68 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

3 first team, 3 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 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama8–⁠014–⁠12
Georgia7–⁠111–⁠37
Kentucky5–⁠310–⁠312
Florida5–⁠310–⁠37
LSU5–⁠310–⁠36
Texas A&M5–⁠39–⁠416
Missouri4–⁠48–⁠5
Mississippi State4–⁠48–⁠5
South Carolina4–⁠47–⁠6
Auburn3–⁠58–⁠5
Vanderbilt3–⁠56–⁠7
Tennessee2–⁠65–⁠7
Ole Miss1–⁠75–⁠7
Arkansas0–⁠82–⁠10

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