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2018 Rice

2–⁠11 (1–⁠7 Conference USA), coached by Mike Bloomgren.

Schedule and results

Rice in 2018, game by game: won vs. Prairie View A&M 31–28; lost vs. Houston 27–45; lost at Hawai’i 29–43; lost at Southern Miss 22–40; lost at Wake Forest 24–56; lost vs. UTSA 3–20; lost vs. UAB 0–42; lost at Florida International 17–36; lost at North Texas 17–41; lost vs. UTEP 26–34; lost at Louisiana Tech 13–28; lost at No. 10 LSU 10–42; won vs. Old Dominion 27–13+14−42Won 31–28 vs. Prairie View A&M+3Prairie View A&MLost 27–45 vs. Houston-18HoustonLost 29–43 at Hawai’i-14Hawai’iLost 22–40 at Southern Miss-18Southern MissLost 24–56 at Wake Forest-32Wake ForestLost 3–20 vs. UTSA-17UTSALost 0–42 vs. UAB-42UABLost 17–36 at Florida International-19Florida Interna…Lost 17–41 at North Texas-24North TexasLost 26–34 vs. UTEP-8UTEPLost 13–28 at Louisiana Tech-15Louisiana TechLost 10–42 at No. 10 LSU-32No. 10 LSUWon 27–13 vs. Old Dominion+14Old Dominion
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 25vsPrairie View A&MW 31–⁠2859%
Sep 1vsHoustonL 27–⁠4530%
Sep 8atHawai’iL 29–⁠4328%
Sep 22atSouthern MissL 22–⁠4022%
Sep 29atWake ForestL 24–⁠5618%
Oct 6vsUTSAL 3–⁠2040%
Oct 13vsUABL 0–⁠4224%
Oct 20atFlorida InternationalL 17–⁠3615%
Oct 27atNorth TexasL 17–⁠4111%
Nov 3vsUTEPL 26–⁠3463%
Nov 10atLouisiana TechL 13–⁠2810%
Nov 17at10LSUL 10–⁠424%
Nov 24vsOld DominionW 27–⁠1333%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Old Dominion 27–⁠13; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 13th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 112th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 115 on file).

Record
2–⁠11
Conference
1–⁠7 tied for 13th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
246–⁠468
Coach
Mike Bloomgren
Elo
1243 −93 this season
SP+ rating
-26.4 No. 128 of 130; offense No. 123, defense No. 125, special teams No. 26
SRS
−22.7 No. 128 of 130 in FBS
Returning
60% of last season’s EPA, No. 76 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 112 roster talent No. 105 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Jerry Mack
Defensive coordinator
Brian Smith
Offense
Multiple
Defense
Multiple 3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense124th of 130
  • Defense123rd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted130th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted129th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0634%1.32124th of 130
Defense0.2646%1.39123rd of 130
Opponent-adjusted-0.05 off
0.24 def		34% off
47% def		—130th off
129th 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 3019% allowed
Defense4.4own 2714% caused

CORE rating -27.4, 129th of 130 (offense -13.6, defense 13.7).

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 yardsShawn Stankavage QB1,328 yds
Passing touchdownsShawn Stankavage QB10 TD
Rushing yardsAustin Walter RB564 yds
Rushing touchdownsAustin Walter RB4 TD
Receiving yardsAustin Trammell WR632 yds
Receiving touchdownsAaron Cephus WR5 TD
TacklesGeorge Nyakwol S67 tkl
SacksAnthony Ekpe LB6 sacks
InterceptionsPrudy Calderon DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Cameron Valentine SDE★★★No. 1610
Jacob Doddridge FB★★★No. 1739
Jake Syptak OT★★★No. 1793
Prudy Calderon ATH★★★No. 1865
Juma Otoviano RB★★★No. 2027

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.748
Running backs23.00.816
Receivers32.30.789
Offensive line52.20.783
Defensive line32.30.787
Linebackers42.50.780
Defensive backs32.00.769
Athletes and specialists13.00.817
Whole class222.40.785

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 97

The 2018 roster

97 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 57 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.