2018 Nebraska
4–8 (3–6 Big Ten), coached by Scott Frost. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Bethune-Cookman 45–9Oct 27
By 36 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to Northwestern 31–34Oct 13
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 8 | vs Colorado | L 28–33 | 49% |
| Sep 15 | vs Troy | L 19–24 | 43% |
| Sep 22 | at 19Michigan | L 10–56 | 20% |
| Sep 29 | vs Purdue | L 28–42 | 43% |
| Oct 6 | at 16Wisconsin | L 24–41 | 10% |
| Oct 13 | at Northwestern | L 31–34 | 20% |
| Oct 20 | vs Minnesota | W 53–28 | 43% |
| Oct 27 | vs Bethune-Cookman | W 45–9 | 73% |
| Nov 3 | at 8Ohio State | L 31–36 | 13% |
| Nov 10 | vs Illinois | W 54–35 | 62% |
| Nov 17 | vs Michigan State | W 9–6 | 36% |
| Nov 23 | at Iowa | L 28–31 | 22% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Iowa 31–28; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Big Ten.
In program history: The 107th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).
- Record
- 4–8
- Conference
- 3–6 tied for 9th in Big Ten
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 360–375
- Coach
- Scott Frost
- Elo
- 1472 +8 this season
- SP+ rating
- 5.4 No. 49 of 130; offense No. 42, defense No. 55, special teams No. 80
- SRS
- 2.6 No. 55 of 130 in FBS
- Returning
- 44% of last season’s EPA, No. 98 of 130
- Recruiting class
- No. 23 roster talent No. 25 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Troy Walters
- Defensive coordinator
- Erik Chinander
- Offense
- No-huddle spread option
- Defense
- 3–4
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.14 | 47% | 1.16 | 39th of 130 |
| Defense | 0.15 | 45% | 1.22 | 87th of 130 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.16 off 0.13 def | 49% off 44% def | — | 29th off 92nd 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.5 | own 26 | 18% allowed |
| Defense | 3.5 | own 32 | 18% caused |
CORE rating 4.4, 36th of 130 (offense 7.1, defense 2.6).
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 yards | Adrian Martinez QB | 2,617 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Adrian Martinez QB | 17 TD |
| Rushing yards | Devine Ozigbo RB | 1,082 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Devine Ozigbo RB | 12 TD |
| Receiving yards | Stanley Morgan Jr. WR | 1,004 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | J.D. Spielman WR | 8 TD |
| Tackles | Mohamed Barry LB | 112 tkl |
| Sacks | Luke Gifford OLB | 5.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Antonio Reed DB | 2 INT |
Top recruits in the 2018 class
| Adrian Martinez DUAL | ★★★★ | No. 139 |
| Cam Jurgens TE | ★★★★ | No. 193 |
| Maurice Washington RB | ★★★★ | No. 207 |
| Cam’ron Jones S | ★★★★ | No. 289 |
| Tate Wildeman WDE | ★★★★ | No. 321 |
| Caleb Tannor WDE | ★★★★ | No. 328 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2018 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 4.0 | 0.942 |
| Running backs | 1 | 4.0 | 0.919 |
| Receivers | 5 | 3.2 | 0.877 |
| Offensive line | 2 | 3.0 | 0.855 |
| Defensive line | 4 | 3.5 | 0.879 |
| Defensive backs | 4 | 3.0 | 0.848 |
| Athletes and specialists | 3 | 3.0 | 0.852 |
| Whole class | 20 | 3.3 | 0.871 |
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.
Roster 117
The 2018 roster117 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 67 have a stat line. See the roster
All-Big Ten
1 second teamSecond team
Stanley Morgan Jr.WRCoaches-2; Media-2
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| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 8–1 | 13–1 | 3 |
| Michigan | 8–1 | 10–3 | 14 |
| Northwestern | 8–1 | 9–5 | 21 |
 Penn State | 6–3 | 9–4 | 17 |
| Iowa | 5–4 | 9–4 | 25 |
| Wisconsin | 5–4 | 8–5 | |
| Michigan State | 5–4 | 7–6 | |
| Purdue | 5–4 | 6–7 | |
| Minnesota | 3–6 | 7–6 | |
 Maryland | 3–6 | 5–7 | |
 Nebraska | 3–6 | 4–8 | |
 Indiana | 2–7 | 5–7 | |
| Illinois | 2–7 | 4–8 | |
 Rutgers | 0–9 | 1–11 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.