CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2018 Northern Illinois

8–⁠6 (6–⁠2 Mid-American Conference), coached by Rod Carey.

Schedule and results

Northern Illinois in 2018, game by game: lost at Iowa 7–33; lost vs. Utah 6–17; won vs. Central Michigan 24–16; lost at Florida State 19–37; won at Eastern Michigan 26–23; won at Ball State 24–16; won vs. Ohio 24–21; won at BYU 7–6; won at Akron 36–26; won vs. Toledo 38–15; lost vs. Miami (OH) 7–13; lost at Western Michigan 21–28; won vs. Buffalo 30–29; lost vs. UAB 13–37+23−26Lost 7–33 at Iowa-26IowaLost 6–17 vs. Utah-11UtahWon 24–16 vs. Central Michigan+8Central MichiganLost 19–37 at Florida State-18Florida StateWon 26–23 at Eastern Michigan+3Eastern MichiganWon 24–16 at Ball State+8Ball StateWon 24–21 vs. Ohio+3OhioWon 7–6 at BYU+1BYUWon 36–26 at Akron+10AkronWon 38–15 vs. Toledo+23ToledoLost 7–13 vs. Miami (OH)-6Miami (OH)Lost 21–28 at Western Michigan-7Western MichiganWon 30–29 vs. Buffalo+1BuffaloLost 13–37 vs. UAB-24UAB
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1atIowaL 7–⁠3332%
Sep 8vsUtahL 6–⁠1745%
Sep 15vsCentral MichiganW 24–⁠1665%
Sep 22atFlorida StateL 19–⁠3736%
Sep 29atEastern MichiganW 26–⁠2343%
Oct 6atBall StateW 24–⁠1660%
Oct 13vsOhioW 24–⁠2154%
Oct 27atBYUW 7–⁠644%
Nov 1atAkronW 36–⁠2655%
Nov 7vsToledoW 38–⁠1555%
Nov 14vsMiami (OH)L 7–⁠1371%
Nov 20atWestern MichiganL 21–⁠2853%
Nov 30vsBuffaloMid-American Championship GameW 30–⁠2941%
Dec 18Bowls & playoffvsUABBoca Raton BowlL 13–⁠3746%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to UAB 37–⁠13 in the Boca Raton Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Mid-American Conference champions.

In program history: The 19th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Mid-American Conference champions6–⁠2 in the conference, won the Mid-American Championship Game

Record
8–⁠6
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
282–⁠317
Coach
Rod Carey
Elo
1493 −16 this season
SP+ rating
-2.7 No. 89 of 130; offense No. 117, defense No. 23, special teams No. 102
SRS
−4.1 No. 87 of 130 in FBS
Returning
63% of last season’s EPA, No. 67 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 93 roster talent No. 88 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mike Uremovich
Defensive coordinator
Jeff Knowles
Captains
Max Scharping, Luke Shively, Josh Corcoran, Kyle Pugh and D.J. Brown
Most valuable player
Sutton Smith
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense114th of 130
  • Defense22nd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted117th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted32nd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0241%1.06114th of 130
Defense0.0137%1.2822nd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.01 off
0.04 def		41% off
39% def		—117th off
32nd 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
Offense3.2own 2914% allowed
Defense2.8own 2915% caused

CORE rating 0.2, 62nd of 130 (offense -10.1, defense -10.3).

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 yardsMarcus Childers QB2,000 yds
Passing touchdownsMarcus Childers QB15 TD
Rushing yardsTre Harbison RB987 yds
Rushing touchdownsMarcus Childers QB6 TD
Receiving yardsJauan Wesley WR589 yds
Receiving touchdownsD.J. Brown WR5 TD
TacklesAntonio Jones-Davis LB100 tkl
SacksSutton Smith DE12 sacks
InterceptionsJalen McKie DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Charles Robinson TE★★★No. 877
Marques Cox OT★★★No. 1306
Justin Hall APB★★★No. 1509
Joseph Bonds OLB★★★No. 1531
Mike DeHaan WDE★★★No. 1691

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.50.805
Running backs32.30.801
Receivers22.50.827
Offensive line23.00.821
Defensive line42.30.792
Linebackers32.70.812
Defensive backs52.80.802
Athletes and specialists22.50.807
Whole class232.60.806

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 2Max Scharping OTHouston Texans
Rd 6Sutton Smith OLBPittsburgh Steelers

Roster 90

The 2018 roster

90 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 51 have a stat line. See the roster

2018 Mid-American Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Buffalo7–⁠110–⁠4
Ohio6–⁠29–⁠4
Northern Illinois6–⁠28–⁠6
Miami (OH)6–⁠26–⁠6
Toledo5–⁠37–⁠6
Western Michigan5–⁠37–⁠6
Eastern Michigan5–⁠37–⁠6
Ball State3–⁠54–⁠8
Akron2–⁠64–⁠8
Bowling Green2–⁠63–⁠9
Kent State1–⁠72–⁠10
Central Michigan0–⁠81–⁠11

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