2018 South Florida
7–6 (3–5 American Athletic Conference), coached by Charlie Strong. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Elon 34–14Sep 1
By 20 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingBeat Georgia Tech 49–38Sep 8
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | vs Elon | W 34–14 | 89% |
| Sep 8 | vs Georgia Tech | W 49–38 | 68% |
| Sep 15 | vs Illinois | W 25–19 | 78% |
| Sep 22 | vs East Carolina | W 20–13 | 83% |
| Oct 6 | at Massachusetts | W 58–42 | 77% |
| Oct 12 | at Tulsa | W 25–24 | 76% |
| Oct 20 | vs UConn | W 38–30 | 92% |
| Oct 27 | at Houston | L 36–57 | 50% |
| Nov 3 | vs Tulane | L 15–41 | 79% |
| Nov 10 | at 25Cincinnati | L 23–35 | 45% |
| Nov 17 | at Temple | L 17–27 | 36% |
| Nov 23 | vs 8UCF | L 10–38 | 28% |
| Dec 20Bowls & playoff | vs MarshallGasparilla Bowl | L 20–38 | 55% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Marshall 38–20 in the Gasparilla Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 8th in the American Athletic Conference.
In program history: The 16th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 28 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 7: 23
- Wk 8: 21
- Wk 9: 21
- Record
- 7–6
- Conference
- 3–5 8th in American Athletic Conference
- AP final
- Unranked peak No. 21
- Points
- 370–416
- Coach
- Charlie Strong
- Elo
- 1489 −127 this season
- SP+ rating
- -1.2 No. 83 of 130; offense No. 69, defense No. 80, special teams No. 87
- SRS
- −9.1 No. 99 of 130 in FBS
- Returning
- 28% of last season’s EPA, No. 119 of 130
- Recruiting class
- No. 65 roster talent No. 62 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Sterlin Gilbert
- Defensive coordinator
- Brian Jean-Mary
- Offense
- Veer and shoot
- Defense
- 3–3–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.11 | 43% | 1.23 | 60th of 130 |
| Defense | 0.16 | 44% | 1.30 | 91st of 130 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.07 off 0.15 def | 40% off 44% def | — | 87th off 98th 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 | 3.0 | own 30 | 16% allowed |
| Defense | 3.5 | own 29 | 17% caused |
CORE rating -7.1, 98th of 130 (offense -4.0, 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 yards | Blake Barnett QB | 2,705 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Blake Barnett QB | 12 TD |
| Rushing yards | Jordan Cronkrite RB | 1,120 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Jordan Cronkrite RB | 9 TD |
| Receiving yards | Tyre McCants WR | 617 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Darnell Salomon WR | 4 TD |
| Tackles | Khalid McGee S | 111 tkl |
| Sacks | Josh Black LB | 5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Nick Roberts S | 3 INT |
Top recruits in the 2018 class
| Stacy Kirby WDE | ★★★ | No. 590 |
| Zion Roland WR | ★★★ | No. 621 |
| Dwayne Boyles OLB | ★★★ | No. 662 |
| Sebastian Sainterling OG | ★★★ | No. 979 |
| Octavious Battle DUAL | ★★★ | No. 1021 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2018 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 3 | 2.7 | 0.821 |
| Running backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.832 |
| Receivers | 2 | 3.0 | 0.854 |
| Offensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.845 |
| Defensive line | 7 | 3.0 | 0.838 |
| Linebackers | 3 | 2.7 | 0.825 |
| Defensive backs | 3 | 3.0 | 0.831 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 3.0 | 0.831 |
| Whole class | 26 | 2.9 | 0.835 |
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 106
The 2018 roster106 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 62 have a stat line. See the roster
2018 American Athletic Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| UCF | 8–0 | 12–1 | 11 |
| Temple | 7–1 | 8–5 | |
| Cincinnati | 6–2 | 11–2 | 24 |
| Houston | 5–3 | 8–5 | |
 Memphis | 5–3 | 8–6 | |
| Tulane | 5–3 | 7–6 | |
 SMU | 4–4 | 5–7 | |
 South Florida | 3–5 | 7–6 | |
| Tulsa | 2–6 | 3–9 | |
 Navy | 2–6 | 3–10 | |
| East Carolina | 1–7 | 3–9 | |
| UConn | 0–8 | 1–11 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.