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2018 Syracuse

10–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Dino Babers, finished No. 15 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Syracuse in 2018, game by game: won at Western Michigan 55–42; won vs. Wagner 62–10; won vs. Florida State 30–7; won vs. UConn 51–21; lost at No. 3 Clemson 23–27; lost at Pittsburgh 37–44; won vs. North Carolina 40–37; won vs. No. 22 NC State 51–41; won at Wake Forest 41–24; won vs. Louisville 54–23; lost vs. No. 3 Notre Dame 3–36; won at Boston College 42–21; won vs. No. 15 West Virginia 34–18+52−33Won 55–42 at Western Michigan+13Western MichiganWon 62–10 vs. Wagner+52WagnerWon 30–7 vs. Florida State+23Florida StateWon 51–21 vs. UConn+30UConnLost 23–27 at No. 3 Clemson-4No. 3 ClemsonLost 37–44 at Pittsburgh-7PittsburghWon 40–37 vs. North Carolina+3North CarolinaWon 51–41 vs. No. 22 NC State+10No. 22 NC StateWon 41–24 at Wake Forest+17Wake ForestWon 54–23 vs. Louisville+31LouisvilleLost 3–36 vs. No. 3 Notre Dame-33No. 3 Notre DameWon 42–21 at Boston College+21Boston CollegeWon 34–18 vs. No. 15 West Virginia+16No. 15 West Virginia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31atWestern MichiganW 55–⁠4228%
Sep 8vsWagnerW 62–⁠1081%
Sep 15vsFlorida StateW 30–⁠746%
Sep 22vsUConnW 51–⁠2178%
Sep 29at3ClemsonL 23–⁠2716%
Oct 6atPittsburghL 37–⁠4447%
Oct 20vsNorth CarolinaW 40–⁠3769%
Oct 27vs22NC StateW 51–⁠4138%
Nov 3atWake ForestW 41–⁠2446%
Nov 9vsLouisvilleW 54–⁠2377%
Nov 17vs3Notre DameL 3–⁠3625%
Nov 24atBoston CollegeW 42–⁠2138%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvs15West VirginiaCamping World BowlW 34–⁠1850%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat West Virginia 34–⁠18 in the Camping World Bowl; No. 15 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 21st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 10: 22
  2. Wk 11: 13
  3. Wk 12: 12
  4. Wk 13: 19
  5. Wk 14: 18
  6. Wk 15: 17
  7. Final: 15

Lou Groza AwardAndre Szmyt, K

Consensus All-AmericanAndre Szmyt, K

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 15 peak No. 12
Points
523–⁠351
Coach
Dino Babers
Elo
1646 +217 this season
SP+ rating
7.5 No. 40 of 130; offense No. 44, defense No. 60, special teams No. 2
SRS
12.4 No. 19 of 130 in FBS
Returning
56% of last season’s EPA, No. 84 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 51 roster talent No. 54 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mike Lynch
Defensive coordinator
Brian Ward
Offense
Veer and shoot
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense52nd of 130
  • Defense42nd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted63rd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted38th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1245%1.0552nd of 130
Defense0.0542%1.2842nd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.10 off
0.05 def		45% off
41% def		—63rd off
38th 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
Offense3.9own 3512% allowed
Defense3.3own 2616% caused

CORE rating 1.9, 52nd of 130 (offense -2.3, defense -4.3).

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 yardsEric Dungey QB2,862 yds
Passing touchdownsEric Dungey QB18 TD
Rushing yardsMoe Neal RB865 yds
Rushing touchdownsEric Dungey QB15 TD
Receiving yardsJamal Custis WR906 yds
Receiving touchdownsJamal Custis WR6 TD
TacklesRyan Guthrie LB95 tkl
SacksAlton Robinson DL10 sacks
InterceptionsAndre Cisco DB7 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Trill Williams ATH★★★★No. 356
Qadir White OT★★★No. 401
Ed Hendrix WR★★★No. 463
Cam Jonas S★★★No. 653
Jawhar Jordan APB★★★No. 709

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.857
Running backs42.80.836
Receivers52.80.838
Offensive line43.00.855
Defensive line13.00.833
Linebackers23.00.854
Defensive backs23.00.862
Athletes and specialists14.00.892
Whole class203.00.848

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 7Chris Slayton DTNew York Giants

Roster 96

The 2018 roster

96 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster

2018 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson8–⁠015–⁠01
Syracuse6–⁠210–⁠315
Pittsburgh6–⁠27–⁠7
NC State5–⁠39–⁠4
Georgia Tech5–⁠37–⁠6
Virginia4–⁠48–⁠5
Boston College4–⁠47–⁠5
Miami4–⁠47–⁠6
Virginia Tech4–⁠46–⁠7
Duke3–⁠58–⁠5
Wake Forest3–⁠57–⁠6
Florida State3–⁠55–⁠7
North Carolina1–⁠72–⁠9
Louisville0–⁠82–⁠10

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