2018 South Carolina
7–6 (4–4 Southeastern Conference), coached by Will Muschamp. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Chattanooga 49–9Nov 17
By 40 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingBeat Ole Miss 48–44Nov 3
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | vs Coastal Carolina | W 49–15 | 80% |
| Sep 8 | vs 3Georgia | L 17–41 | 40% |
| Sep 22 | at Vanderbilt | W 37–14 | 47% |
| Sep 29 | at 17Kentucky | L 10–24 | 41% |
| Oct 6 | vs Missouri | W 37–35 | 59% |
| Oct 13 | vs 22Texas A&M | L 23–26 | 57% |
| Oct 27 | vs Tennessee | W 27–24 | 72% |
| Nov 3 | at Ole Miss | W 48–44 | 47% |
| Nov 10 | at 19Florida | L 31–35 | 44% |
| Nov 17 | vs Chattanooga | W 49–9 | 85% |
| Nov 24 | at 2Clemson | L 35–56 | 13% |
| Dec 1 | vs Akron | W 28–3 | 85% |
| Dec 29Bowls & playoff | vs VirginiaBelk Bowl | L 0–28 | 57% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Virginia 28–0 in the Belk Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Southeastern Conference.
In program history: The 23rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 2: 24
- Record
- 7–6
- Conference
- 4–4 tied for 7th in Southeastern Conference
- AP final
- Unranked peak No. 24
- Points
- 391–354
- Coach
- Will Muschamp
- Elo
- 1545 −25 this season
- SP+ rating
- 14.9 No. 20 of 130; offense No. 21, defense No. 40, special teams No. 7
- SRS
- 8.0 No. 30 of 130 in FBS
- Returning
- 89% of last season’s EPA, No. 8 of 130
- Recruiting class
- No. 18 roster talent No. 21 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Bryan McClendon
- Defensive coordinator
- Travaris Robinson
- Offense
- Hurry-up, no-huddle spread
- Defense
- Multiple 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.10 | 44% | 1.24 | 65th of 130 |
| Defense | 0.17 | 49% | 1.01 | 100th of 130 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.14 off 0.11 def | 46% off 46% def | — | 45th off 76th 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.6 | own 29 | 17% allowed |
| Defense | 3.5 | own 28 | 15% caused |
CORE rating 1.4, 54th of 130 (offense 3.1, defense 1.7).
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 yards | Jake Bentley QB | 3,171 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Jake Bentley QB | 27 TD |
| Rushing yards | Rico Dowdle RB | 654 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Rico Dowdle RB | 4 TD |
| Receiving yards | Deebo Samuel WR | 882 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Deebo Samuel WR | 11 TD |
| Tackles | T.J. Brunson LB | 91 tkl |
| Sacks | Javon Kinlaw DL | 3.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Rashad Fenton DB | 3 INT |
Top recruits in the 2018 class
| Rick Sandidge DT | ★★★★ | No. 141 |
| Josh Vann WR | ★★★★ | No. 146 |
| Dylan Wonnum OT | ★★★★ | No. 148 |
| Dakereon Joyner DUAL | ★★★★ | No. 206 |
| Jaycee Horn CB | ★★★★ | No. 209 |
| Kingsley Enagbare SDE | ★★★★ | No. 269 |
| Jovaughn Gwyn OG | ★★★★ | No. 347 |
| Rosendo Louis ILB | ★★★★ | No. 352 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2018 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 4.0 | 0.920 |
| Running backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.874 |
| Receivers | 3 | 3.3 | 0.886 |
| Offensive line | 6 | 3.3 | 0.884 |
| Defensive line | 2 | 4.0 | 0.924 |
| Linebackers | 2 | 3.5 | 0.874 |
| Defensive backs | 4 | 3.3 | 0.880 |
| Whole class | 20 | 3.4 | 0.888 |
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 2 | Deebo Samuel WR | San Francisco 49ers |
| Rd 6 | Rashad Fenton CB | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Rd 6 | Dennis Daley OT | Carolina Panthers |
Roster 106
The 2018 roster106 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 69 have a stat line. See the roster
All-SEC
1 first team, 2 second teamFirst team
Deebo SamuelAPBAP-1; Coaches-1
Second team
- Zack BaileyOGAP-2; Coaches-2
- Joseph CharltonPCoaches-2
From Wikipedia’s 2018 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
2018 Southeastern Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 Alabama | 8–0 | 14–1 | 2 |
| Georgia | 7–1 | 11–3 | 7 |
| Kentucky | 5–3 | 10–3 | 12 |
| Florida | 5–3 | 10–3 | 7 |
 LSU | 5–3 | 10–3 | 6 |
| Texas A&M | 5–3 | 9–4 | 16 |
| Missouri | 4–4 | 8–5 | |
 Mississippi State | 4–4 | 8–5 | |
| South Carolina | 4–4 | 7–6 | |
 Auburn | 3–5 | 8–5 | |
| Vanderbilt | 3–5 | 6–7 | |
| Tennessee | 2–6 | 5–7 | |
| Ole Miss | 1–7 | 5–7 | |
 Arkansas | 0–8 | 2–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.