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2017 San Diego State

10–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Mountain West Conference), coached by Rocky Long.

Schedule and results

San Diego State in 2017, game by game: won vs. UC Davis 38–17; won at Arizona State 30–20; won vs. No. 19 Stanford 20–17; won at Air Force 28–24; won vs. Northern Illinois 34–28; won at UNLV 41–10; lost vs. Boise State 14–31; lost vs. Fresno State 3–27; won at Hawai’i 28–7; won at San José State 52–7; won vs. Nevada 42–23; won vs. New Mexico 35–10; lost vs. Army 35–42+45−24Won 38–17 vs. UC Davis+21UC DavisWon 30–20 at Arizona State+10Arizona StateWon 20–17 vs. No. 19 Stanford+3No. 19 StanfordWon 28–24 at Air Force+4Air ForceWon 34–28 vs. Northern Illinois+6Northern Illino…Won 41–10 at UNLV+31UNLVLost 14–31 vs. Boise State-17Boise StateLost 3–27 vs. Fresno State-24Fresno StateWon 28–7 at Hawai’i+21Hawai’iWon 52–7 at San José State+45San José StateWon 42–23 vs. Nevada+19NevadaWon 35–10 vs. New Mexico+25New MexicoLost 35–42 vs. Army-7Army
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsUC DavisW 38–⁠1793%
Sep 9atArizona StateW 30–⁠2061%
Sep 16vs19StanfordW 20–⁠1756%
Sep 23atAir ForceW 28–⁠2454%
Sep 30vsNorthern IllinoisW 34–⁠2875%
Oct 7atUNLVW 41–⁠1074%
Oct 14vsBoise StateL 14–⁠3171%
Oct 21vsFresno StateL 3–⁠2779%
Oct 28atHawai’iW 28–⁠768%
Nov 4atSan José StateW 52–⁠784%
Nov 18vsNevadaW 42–⁠2384%
Nov 24vsNew MexicoW 35–⁠1084%
Dec 23Bowls & playoffvsArmyArmed Forces BowlL 35–⁠4258%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Army 42–⁠35 in the Armed Forces Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 86 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 22
  2. Wk 5: 19
  3. Wk 6: 19
  4. Wk 7: 19

Heisman voteRashaad Penny, fifth

Led the nationRashaad Penny: rushing yards (2,248 yds)

Consensus All-AmericanRashaad Penny, RB

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 3rd in Mountain West Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 19
Points
400–⁠263
Coach
Rocky Long
Elo
1601 −5 this season
SP+ rating
4.5 No. 54 of 128; offense No. 67, defense No. 45, special teams No. 30
SRS
2.7 No. 55 of 130 in FBS
Returning
72% of last season’s EPA, No. 39 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 77 roster talent No. 82 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Jeff Horton
Defensive coordinator
Danny Gonzales
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense24th of 130
  • Defense24th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted48th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted31st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1742%1.4024th of 130
Defense-0.0140%1.0824th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.11 off
0.02 def		39% off
41% def		—48th off
31st 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
Offense3.4own 3214% allowed
Defense3.3own 3015% caused

CORE rating 7.4, 31st of 130 (offense 0.4, defense -7.0).

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 yardsChristian Chapman QB1,873 yds
Passing touchdownsChristian Chapman QB13 TD
Rushing yardsRashaad Penny RB2,248 yds
Rushing touchdownsRashaad Penny RB23 TD
Receiving yardsMikah Holder WR602 yds
Receiving touchdownsKahale Warring TE3 TD
TacklesRonley Lakalaka LB82 tkl
SacksChibu Onyeukwu DL5.5 sacks
InterceptionsTariq Thompson S5 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Kaegun Williams APB★★★No. 596
Darren Hall CB★★★No. 815
Cam Roane PRO★★★No. 1072
Tayari Venable CB★★★No. 1152
Andrew Aleki OLB★★★No. 1382

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.50.814
Running backs23.00.843
Receivers42.50.800
Offensive line52.80.809
Defensive line32.70.805
Linebackers32.70.810
Defensive backs33.00.831
Athletes and specialists22.50.779
Whole class242.70.811

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 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 1Rashaad Penny RBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 7Nick Bawden FBDetroit Lions

Roster 107

The 2017 roster

107 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 58 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 Mountain West Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Boise State7–⁠111–⁠322
Fresno State7–⁠110–⁠4
San Diego State6–⁠210–⁠3
Wyoming5–⁠38–⁠5
Colorado State5–⁠37–⁠6
Utah State4–⁠46–⁠7
UNLV4–⁠45–⁠7
Air Force4–⁠45–⁠7
Nevada3–⁠53–⁠9
Hawai’i1–⁠73–⁠9
New Mexico1–⁠73–⁠9
San José State1–⁠72–⁠11

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