CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2018 Purdue

6–⁠7 (5–⁠4 Big Ten), coached by Jeff Brohm.

Schedule and results

Purdue in 2018, game by game: lost vs. Northwestern 27–31; lost vs. Eastern Michigan 19–20; lost vs. Missouri 37–40; won vs. No. 23 Boston College 30–13; won at Nebraska 42–28; won at Illinois 46–7; won vs. No. 2 Ohio State 49–20; lost at Michigan State 13–23; won vs. No. 19 Iowa 38–36; lost at Minnesota 10–41; lost vs. Wisconsin 44–47; won at Indiana 28–21; lost vs. Auburn 14–63+39−49Lost 27–31 vs. Northwestern-4NorthwesternLost 19–20 vs. Eastern Michigan-1Eastern MichiganLost 37–40 vs. Missouri-3MissouriWon 30–13 vs. No. 23 Boston College+17No. 23 Boston CollegeWon 42–28 at Nebraska+14NebraskaWon 46–7 at Illinois+39IllinoisWon 49–20 vs. No. 2 Ohio State+29No. 2 Ohio StateLost 13–23 at Michigan State-10Michigan StateWon 38–36 vs. No. 19 Iowa+2No. 19 IowaLost 10–41 at Minnesota-31MinnesotaLost 44–47 vs. Wisconsin-3WisconsinWon 28–21 at Indiana+7IndianaLost 14–63 vs. Auburn-49Auburn
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsNorthwesternL 27–⁠3145%
Sep 8vsEastern MichiganL 19–⁠2063%
Sep 15vsMissouriL 37–⁠4049%
Sep 22vs23Boston CollegeW 30–⁠1343%
Sep 29atNebraskaW 42–⁠2857%
Oct 13atIllinoisW 46–⁠759%
Oct 20vs2Ohio StateW 49–⁠2030%
Oct 27atMichigan StateL 13–⁠2346%
Nov 3vs19IowaW 38–⁠3649%
Nov 10atMinnesotaL 10–⁠4167%
Nov 17vsWisconsinL 44–⁠4745%
Nov 24atIndianaW 28–⁠2154%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsAuburnMusic City BowlL 14–⁠6340%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Auburn 63–⁠14 in the Music City Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 53rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Led the nationRondale Moore: receptions (114 catches)

Paul Hornung AwardRondale Moore, WR/RS

Consensus All-AmericanRondale Moore, WR/RS

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
5–⁠4 tied for 5th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
397–⁠390
Coach
Jeff Brohm
Elo
1539 +17 this season
SP+ rating
6.5 No. 44 of 130; offense No. 17, defense No. 88, special teams No. 67
SRS
7.0 No. 34 of 130 in FBS
Returning
77% of last season’s EPA, No. 36 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 52 roster talent No. 71 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Brian Brohm and JaMarcus Shephard
Defensive coordinators
Nick Holt and Anthony Poindexter
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense47th of 130
  • Defense92nd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted34th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted94th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1345%1.2047th of 130
Defense0.1646%1.1692nd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.16 off
0.14 def		46% off
44% def		—34th off
94th 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
Offense3.8own 2817% allowed
Defense3.5own 2912% caused

CORE rating -1.1, 74th of 130 (offense 2.2, defense 3.2).

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 yardsDavid Blough QB3,705 yds
Passing touchdownsDavid Blough QB25 TD
Rushing yardsD.J. Knox RB883 yds
Rushing touchdownsD.J. Knox RB8 TD
Receiving yardsRondale Moore WR1,258 yds
Receiving touchdownsRondale Moore WR12 TD
TacklesMarkus Bailey LB95 tkl
SacksJacob Thieneman S5 sacks
InterceptionsKenneth Major CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Rondale Moore WR★★★★No. 229
Amad Anderson ATH★★★No. 473
Kory Taylor WR★★★No. 533
Jack Plummer PRO★★★No. 556
Jimmy McKenna OT★★★No. 794

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.874
Running backs13.00.837
Receivers53.20.860
Offensive line43.00.849
Defensive line63.00.837
Linebackers23.00.853
Defensive backs53.00.832
Athletes and specialists13.00.881
Whole class253.00.847

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 102

The 2018 roster

102 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 53 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

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
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠113–⁠13
Michigan8–⁠110–⁠314
Northwestern8–⁠19–⁠521
Penn State6–⁠39–⁠417
Iowa5–⁠49–⁠425
Wisconsin5–⁠48–⁠5
Michigan State5–⁠47–⁠6
Purdue5–⁠46–⁠7
Minnesota3–⁠67–⁠6
Maryland3–⁠65–⁠7
Nebraska3–⁠64–⁠8
Indiana2–⁠75–⁠7
Illinois2–⁠74–⁠8
Rutgers0–⁠91–⁠11

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