CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 Old Dominion

5–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Conference USA), coached by Bobby Wilder.

Schedule and results

Old Dominion in 2017, game by game: won vs. UAlbany 31–17; won at Massachusetts 17–7; lost vs. North Carolina 23–53; lost at No. 13 Virginia Tech 0–38; lost vs. Florida Atlantic 28–58; lost at Marshall 3–35; lost vs. Western Kentucky 31–35; lost at North Texas 38–45; won vs. Charlotte 6–0; won at Florida International 37–30; won vs. Rice 24–21; lost at Middle Tennessee 10–41+14−38Won 31–17 vs. UAlbany+14UAlbanyWon 17–7 at Massachusetts+10MassachusettsLost 23–53 vs. North Carolina-30North CarolinaLost 0–38 at No. 13 Virginia Tech-38No. 13 Virginia TechLost 28–58 vs. Florida Atlantic-30Florida AtlanticLost 3–35 at Marshall-32MarshallLost 31–35 vs. Western Kentucky-4Western KentuckyLost 38–45 at North Texas-7North TexasWon 6–0 vs. Charlotte+6CharlotteWon 37–30 at Florida International+7Florida Interna…Won 24–21 vs. Rice+3RiceLost 10–41 at Middle Tennessee-31Middle Tennessee
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsUAlbanyW 31–⁠1782%
Sep 9atMassachusettsW 17–⁠770%
Sep 16vsNorth CarolinaL 23–⁠5360%
Sep 23at13Virginia TechL 0–⁠3826%
Oct 7vsFlorida AtlanticL 28–⁠5869%
Oct 14atMarshallL 3–⁠3535%
Oct 20vsWestern KentuckyL 31–⁠3531%
Oct 28atNorth TexasL 38–⁠4540%
Nov 4vsCharlotteW 6–⁠073%
Nov 11atFlorida InternationalW 37–⁠3031%
Nov 18vsRiceW 24–⁠2177%
Nov 25atMiddle TennesseeL 10–⁠4142%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Middle Tennessee 41–⁠10; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 10th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 17 on file).

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 10th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
248–⁠380
Coach
Bobby Wilder
Elo
1407 −119 this season
SP+ rating
-16.8 No. 118 of 128; offense No. 123, defense No. 98, special teams No. 76
SRS
−16.9 No. 119 of 130 in FBS
Returning
56% of last season’s EPA, No. 80 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 124 roster talent No. 108 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Brian Scott
Defensive coordinator
Rich Nagy
Offense
Hurry-up spread option
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense117th of 130
  • Defense90th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted126th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted101st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0536%1.18117th of 130
Defense0.1545%1.2090th of 130
Opponent-adjusted-0.05 off
0.15 def		35% off
45% def		—126th off
101st 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
Offense2.9own 3116% allowed
Defense3.9own 3415% caused

CORE rating -17.5, 123rd of 130 (offense -11.6, defense 6.0).

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 yardsSteven Williams LB1,528 yds
Passing touchdownsSteven Williams LB6 TD
Rushing yardsRay Lawry RB742 yds
Rushing touchdownsRay Lawry RB7 TD
Receiving yardsIsaiah Harper WR462 yds
Receiving touchdownsMelvin Vaughn TE4 TD
TacklesMarvin Branch LB88 tkl
SacksOshane Ximines DE8.5 sacks
InterceptionsSean Carter S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Casey Perkins RB★★★No. 1822
Tracy White CB★★★No. 1876
Keisean Wilson ILB★★★No. 1886
Amari Colbert WR★★★No. 2001
Cameron Muller OT★★No. 2414

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.774
Running backs13.00.813
Receivers42.30.779
Offensive line32.00.781
Defensive line52.00.769
Linebackers22.50.791
Defensive backs22.50.792
Whole class182.20.781

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 2017 roster

114 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 67 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida Atlantic8–⁠011–⁠3
North Texas7–⁠19–⁠5
Southern Miss6–⁠28–⁠5
UAB6–⁠28–⁠5
Florida International5–⁠38–⁠5
Marshall4–⁠48–⁠5
Middle Tennessee4–⁠47–⁠6
Louisiana Tech4–⁠47–⁠6
Western Kentucky4–⁠46–⁠7
UTSA3–⁠56–⁠5
Old Dominion3–⁠55–⁠7
Rice1–⁠71–⁠11
Charlotte1–⁠71–⁠11
UTEP0–⁠80–⁠12

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