CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2018 SMU

5–⁠7 (4–⁠4 American Athletic Conference), coached by Sonny Dykes.

Schedule and results

SMU in 2018, game by game: lost at North Texas 23–46; lost vs. No. 16 TCU 12–42; lost at No. 19 Michigan 20–45; won vs. Navy 31–30; won vs. Houston Christian 63–27; lost at No. 12 UCF 20–48; won at Tulane 27–23; lost vs. Cincinnati 20–26; won vs. No. 17 Houston 45–31; won at UConn 62–50; lost vs. Memphis 18–28; lost at Tulsa 24–27+36−30Lost 23–46 at North Texas-23North TexasLost 12–42 vs. No. 16 TCU-30No. 16 TCULost 20–45 at No. 19 Michigan-25No. 19 MichiganWon 31–30 vs. Navy+1NavyWon 63–27 vs. Houston Christian+36Houston Christi…Lost 20–48 at No. 12 UCF-28No. 12 UCFWon 27–23 at Tulane+4TulaneLost 20–26 vs. Cincinnati-6CincinnatiWon 45–31 vs. No. 17 Houston+14No. 17 HoustonWon 62–50 at UConn+12UConnLost 18–28 vs. Memphis-10MemphisLost 24–27 at Tulsa-3Tulsa
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1atNorth TexasL 23–⁠4642%
Sep 7vs16TCUL 12–⁠4232%
Sep 15at19MichiganL 20–⁠4521%
Sep 22vsNavyW 31–⁠3043%
Sep 29vsHouston ChristianW 63–⁠2788%
Oct 6at12UCFL 20–⁠4813%
Oct 20atTulaneW 27–⁠2337%
Oct 27vsCincinnatiL 20–⁠2647%
Nov 3vs17HoustonW 45–⁠3128%
Nov 10atUConnW 62–⁠5070%
Nov 16vsMemphisL 18–⁠2844%
Nov 24atTulsaL 24–⁠2758%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Tulsa 27–⁠24; unranked in the final AP poll; 7th in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 71st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 110 on file).

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠4 7th in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
365–⁠423
Coach
Sonny Dykes
Elo
1443 −28 this season
SP+ rating
-5.4 No. 93 of 130; offense No. 105, defense No. 79, special teams No. 61
SRS
−8.6 No. 98 of 130 in FBS
Returning
64% of last season’s EPA, No. 66 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 87 roster talent No. 73 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Rhett Lashlee
Defensive coordinator
Kevin Kane
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense105th of 130
  • Defense84th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted101st of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted90th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0237%1.41105th of 130
Defense0.1444%1.2584th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.13 def		37% off
45% def		—101st off
90th 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 3017% allowed
Defense3.9own 3117% caused

CORE rating -9.8, 105th of 130 (offense -7.4, defense 2.3).

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 yardsBen Hicks QB2,567 yds
Passing touchdownsBen Hicks QB19 TD
Rushing yardsBraeden West RB589 yds
Rushing touchdownsBraeden West RB6 TD
Receiving yardsJames Proche WR1,199 yds
Receiving touchdownsJames Proche WR12 TD
TacklesKyran Mitchell LB81 tkl
SacksRichard Moore LB5 sacks
InterceptionsKevin Johnson CB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Treveon Johnson WR★★★No. 514
Shabazz Dotson DT★★★No. 825
Jared Miles WR★★★No. 901
TaMerik Williams RB★★★No. 1497
William Brown PRO★★★No. 1568

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.831
Running backs13.00.834
Receivers33.00.853
Offensive line13.00.805
Defensive line32.70.822
Linebackers33.00.812
Defensive backs22.50.792
Whole class142.90.823

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 110

The 2018 roster

110 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 62 have a stat line. See the roster

2018 American Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UCF8–⁠012–⁠111
Temple7–⁠18–⁠5
Cincinnati6–⁠211–⁠224
Houston5–⁠38–⁠5
Memphis5–⁠38–⁠6
Tulane5–⁠37–⁠6
SMU4–⁠45–⁠7
South Florida3–⁠57–⁠6
Tulsa2–⁠63–⁠9
Navy2–⁠63–⁠10
East Carolina1–⁠73–⁠9
UConn0–⁠81–⁠11

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