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2018 Old Dominion

4–⁠8 (2–⁠6 Conference USA), coached by Bobby Wilder.

Schedule and results

Old Dominion in 2018, game by game: lost at Liberty 10–52; lost vs. Florida International 20–28; lost at Charlotte 25–28; won vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech 49–35; lost at East Carolina 35–37; lost at Florida Atlantic 33–52; lost vs. Marshall 20–42; won at Western Kentucky 37–34; lost vs. Middle Tennessee 17–51; won vs. North Texas 34–31; won vs. VMI 77–14; lost at Rice 13–27+63−42Lost 10–52 at Liberty-42LibertyLost 20–28 vs. Florida International-8Florida Interna…Lost 25–28 at Charlotte-3CharlotteWon 49–35 vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech+14No. 13 Virginia TechLost 35–37 at East Carolina-2East CarolinaLost 33–52 at Florida Atlantic-19Florida AtlanticLost 20–42 vs. Marshall-22MarshallWon 37–34 at Western Kentucky+3Western KentuckyLost 17–51 vs. Middle Tennessee-34Middle TennesseeWon 34–31 vs. North Texas+3North TexasWon 77–14 vs. VMI+63VMILost 13–27 at Rice-14Rice
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1atLibertyL 10–⁠5257%
Sep 8vsFlorida InternationalL 20–⁠2850%
Sep 13atCharlotteL 25–⁠2849%
Sep 22vs13Virginia TechW 49–⁠3522%
Sep 29atEast CarolinaL 35–⁠3741%
Oct 6atFlorida AtlanticL 33–⁠5222%
Oct 13vsMarshallL 20–⁠4243%
Oct 20atWestern KentuckyW 37–⁠3437%
Oct 27vsMiddle TennesseeL 17–⁠5140%
Nov 10vsNorth TexasW 34–⁠3130%
Nov 17vsVMIW 77–⁠1487%
Nov 24atRiceL 13–⁠2767%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Rice 27–⁠13; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 10th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 16th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 17 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 10th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
370–⁠431
Coach
Bobby Wilder
Elo
1342 −96 this season
SP+ rating
-14.1 No. 109 of 130; offense No. 98, defense No. 119, special teams No. 41
SRS
−14.5 No. 118 of 130 in FBS
Returning
72% of last season’s EPA, No. 50 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 128 roster talent No. 121 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Brian Scott
Defensive coordinator
Rich Nagy
Offense
Hurry-up spread option
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense94th of 130
  • Defense110th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted106th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted122nd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0444%1.1894th of 130
Defense0.2045%1.39110th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.03 off
0.21 def		43% off
47% def		—106th off
122nd 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
Offense3.7own 3017% allowed
Defense3.9own 2915% caused

CORE rating -15.3, 120th of 130 (offense -3.6, defense 11.8).

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 yardsBlake LaRussa QB3,008 yds
Passing touchdownsBlake LaRussa QB19 TD
Rushing yardsKesean Strong RB499 yds
Rushing touchdownsKesean Strong RB9 TD
Receiving yardsTravis Fulgham WR1,083 yds
Receiving touchdownsJonathan Duhart WR9 TD
TacklesLawrence Garner LB100 tkl
SacksOshane Ximines DE12 sacks
InterceptionsGeronda Hall CB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Robert Mayo WR★★★No. 1532
Elijah Davis RB★★★No. 1585
Sokoya McDuffie DT★★★No. 1945
Kenny Gardner III S★★★No. 2036
Nigel Fitzgerald WR★★No. 2361

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.790
Running backs22.50.805
Receivers62.20.778
Offensive line22.00.774
Defensive line22.50.792
Linebackers12.00.780
Defensive backs32.30.781
Athletes and specialists32.00.780
Whole class202.20.783

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 3Oshane Ximines DENew York Giants
Rd 6Travis Fulgham WRDetroit Lions

Roster 117

The 2018 roster

117 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 71 have a stat line. See the roster

2018 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UAB7–⁠111–⁠3
Middle Tennessee7–⁠18–⁠6
Marshall6–⁠29–⁠4
Florida International6–⁠29–⁠4
North Texas5–⁠39–⁠4
Louisiana Tech5–⁠38–⁠5
Southern Miss5–⁠36–⁠5
Charlotte4–⁠45–⁠7
Florida Atlantic3–⁠55–⁠7
Old Dominion2–⁠64–⁠8
UTSA2–⁠63–⁠9
Western Kentucky2–⁠63–⁠9
Rice1–⁠72–⁠11
UTEP1–⁠71–⁠11

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