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2018 Southern Miss

6–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Conference USA), coached by Jay Hopson.

Schedule and results

Southern Miss in 2018, game by game: won vs. Jackson State 55–7; lost vs. UL Monroe 20–21; won vs. Rice 40–22; lost at No. 10 Auburn 13–24; lost at North Texas 7–30; won vs. UTSA 27–17; lost at Charlotte 17–20; won vs. Marshall 26–24; lost at UAB 23–26; won vs. Louisiana Tech 21–20; won at UTEP 39–7+48−23Won 55–7 vs. Jackson State+48Jackson StateLost 20–21 vs. UL Monroe-1UL MonroeWon 40–22 vs. Rice+18RiceLost 13–24 at No. 10 Auburn-11No. 10 AuburnLost 7–30 at North Texas-23North TexasWon 27–17 vs. UTSA+10UTSALost 17–20 at Charlotte-3CharlotteWon 26–24 vs. Marshall+2MarshallLost 23–26 at UAB-3UABWon 21–20 vs. Louisiana Tech+1Louisiana TechWon 39–7 at UTEP+32UTEP
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsJackson StateW 55–⁠787%
Sep 8vsUL MonroeL 20–⁠2168%
Sep 22vsRiceW 40–⁠2278%
Sep 29at10AuburnL 13–⁠2420%
Oct 13atNorth TexasL 7–⁠3033%
Oct 20vsUTSAW 27–⁠1765%
Oct 27atCharlotteL 17–⁠2062%
Nov 3vsMarshallW 26–⁠2445%
Nov 10atUABL 23–⁠2628%
Nov 17vsLouisiana TechW 21–⁠2045%
Nov 24atUTEPW 39–⁠777%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat UTEP 39–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 43rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 90 on file).

Record
6–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 5th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
288–⁠218
Coach
Jay Hopson
Elo
1487 +8 this season
SP+ rating
-5.0 No. 92 of 130; offense No. 122, defense No. 27, special teams No. 76
SRS
−5.7 No. 91 of 130 in FBS
Returning
44% of last season’s EPA, No. 100 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 80 roster talent No. 101 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Shannon Dawson
Defensive coordinators
Tim Billings and Derek Nicholson
Offense
Spread
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense110th of 130
  • Defense8th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted118th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted23rd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0039%1.26110th of 130
Defense-0.0634%1.248th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.01 off
0.02 def		40% off
37% def		—118th off
23rd 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
Offense3.0own 2920% allowed
Defense2.7own 3117% caused

CORE rating -1.1, 75th of 130 (offense -11.3, defense -10.2).

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 yardsJack Abraham QB2,347 yds
Passing touchdownsJack Abraham QB15 TD
Rushing yardsTrivenskey Mosley RB500 yds
Rushing touchdownsSteven Anderson RB6 TD
Receiving yardsQuez Watkins WR896 yds
Receiving touchdownsQuez Watkins WR9 TD
TacklesKy’el Hemby DB46 tkl
SacksJacques Turner DL5 sacks
InterceptionsKy’el Hemby DB6 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Deuntra Hyman WDE★★★No. 534
Jemaurian Jones CB★★★No. 861
Don Ragsdale RB★★★No. 1267
Curry Benn CB★★★No. 1428
Ethan Edmondson SDE★★★No. 1736

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.815
Running backs23.00.829
Offensive line22.50.809
Defensive line42.80.822
Linebackers22.50.801
Defensive backs42.50.812
Athletes and specialists12.00.740
Whole class162.60.811

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.

Roster 115

The 2018 roster

115 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 60 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.