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2018 Notre Dame

12–⁠1, coached by Brian Kelly, finished No. 5 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Notre Dame in 2018, game by game: won vs. No. 14 Michigan 24–17; won vs. Ball State 24–16; won vs. Vanderbilt 22–17; won at Wake Forest 56–27; won vs. No. 7 Stanford 38–17; won at No. 24 Virginia Tech 45–23; won vs. Pittsburgh 19–14; won vs. Navy 44–22; won at Northwestern 31–21; won vs. Florida State 42–13; won vs. No. 12 Syracuse 36–3; won at USC 24–17; lost vs. No. 2 Clemson 3–30+33−27Won 24–17 vs. No. 14 Michigan+7No. 14 MichiganWon 24–16 vs. Ball State+8Ball StateWon 22–17 vs. Vanderbilt+5VanderbiltWon 56–27 at Wake Forest+29Wake ForestWon 38–17 vs. No. 7 Stanford+21No. 7 StanfordWon 45–23 at No. 24 Virginia Tech+22No. 24 Virginia TechWon 19–14 vs. Pittsburgh+5PittsburghWon 44–22 vs. Navy+22NavyWon 31–21 at Northwestern+10NorthwesternWon 42–13 vs. Florida State+29Florida StateWon 36–3 vs. No. 12 Syracuse+33No. 12 SyracuseWon 24–17 at USC+7USCLost 3–30 vs. No. 2 Clemson-27No. 2 Clemson
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vs14MichiganW 24–⁠1764%
Sep 8vsBall StateW 24–⁠1688%
Sep 15vsVanderbiltW 22–⁠1774%
Sep 22atWake ForestW 56–⁠2759%
Sep 29vs7StanfordW 38–⁠1757%
Oct 6at24Virginia TechW 45–⁠2355%
Oct 13vsPittsburghW 19–⁠1484%
Oct 27vsNavyW 44–⁠2286%
Nov 3atNorthwesternW 31–⁠2162%
Nov 10vsFlorida StateW 42–⁠1384%
Nov 17vs12SyracuseW 36–⁠375%
Nov 24atUSCW 24–⁠1773%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvs2ClemsonCotton Bowl, CFP SemifinalL 3–⁠3041%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Clemson 30–⁠3 in the Cotton Bowl, CFP Semifinal; No. 5 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 12th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 131 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 12
  2. Wk 2: 8
  3. Wk 3: 8
  4. Wk 4: 8
  5. Wk 5: 8
  6. Wk 6: 6
  7. Wk 7: 5
  8. Wk 8: 4
  9. Wk 9: 3
  10. Wk 10: 3
  11. Wk 11: 3
  12. Wk 12: 3
  13. Wk 13: 3
  14. Wk 14: 3
  15. Wk 15: 3
  16. Final: 5

Wuerffel TrophyDrue Tranquill, LB

Consensus All-AmericanJulian Love, DB

Bobby Dodd Coach of the YearBrian Kelly, coach

Record
12–⁠1
Conference
—
AP final
No. 5 peak No. 3
Points
408–⁠237
Coach
Brian Kelly
Elo
1786 +148 this season
SP+ rating
20.7 No. 13 of 130; offense No. 32, defense No. 10, special teams No. 45
SRS
16.8 No. 5 of 130 in FBS
Returning
68% of last season’s EPA, No. 55 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 10 roster talent No. 10 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Chip Long
Defensive coordinator
Clark Lea
Captains
Alex Bars, Sam Mustipher, Tyler Newsome and Drue Tranquill
Most valuable player
Ian Book
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense35th of 130
  • Defense16th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted38th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted16th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1545%1.2735th of 130
Defense-0.0139%1.1116th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.15 off
-0.01 def		46% off
39% def		—38th off
16th 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
Offense3.9own 2914% allowed
Defense2.8own 2816% caused

CORE rating 12.6, 19th of 130 (offense 5.2, defense -7.4).

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 yardsIan Book QB2,628 yds
Passing touchdownsIan Book QB19 TD
Rushing yardsDexter Williams RB995 yds
Rushing touchdownsDexter Williams RB12 TD
Receiving yardsMiles Boykin WR872 yds
Receiving touchdownsMiles Boykin WR8 TD
TacklesTe’von Coney LB111 tkl
SacksJerry Tillery DL8 sacks
InterceptionsJalen Elliott S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Houston Griffith CB★★★★No. 70
Kevin Austin WR★★★★No. 82
Phil Jurkovec DUAL★★★★No. 83
Shayne Simon OLB★★★★No. 90
Jack Lamb ILB★★★★No. 99
Derrik Allen S★★★★No. 106
Jayson Ademilola DT★★★★No. 128
Braden Lenzy ATH★★★★No. 215

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.959
Running backs23.00.859
Receivers53.80.907
Offensive line43.30.878
Defensive line33.30.897
Linebackers43.80.922
Defensive backs53.60.909
Athletes and specialists33.30.888
Whole class273.50.900

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 1Jerry Tillery DTLos Angeles Chargers
Rd 3Miles Boykin WRBaltimore Ravens
Rd 4Julian Love CBNew York Giants
Rd 4Drue Tranquill ILBLos Angeles Chargers
Rd 6Dexter Williams RBGreen Bay Packers
Rd 7Alize Mack TENew Orleans Saints

Roster 122

The 2018 roster

122 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 56 have a stat line. See the roster