CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2018 Texas

10–⁠4 (7–⁠2 Big 12), coached by Tom Herman, finished No. 9 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Texas in 2018, game by game: lost vs. Maryland 29–34; won vs. Tulsa 28–21; won vs. No. 22 USC 37–14; won vs. No. 17 TCU 31–16; won at Kansas State 19–14; won vs. No. 7 Oklahoma 48–45; won vs. Baylor 23–17; lost at Oklahoma State 35–38; lost vs. No. 12 West Virginia 41–42; won at Texas Tech 41–34; won vs. No. 18 Iowa State 24–10; won at Kansas 24–17; lost vs. No. 5 Oklahoma 27–39; won vs. No. 6 Georgia 28–21+23−12Lost 29–34 vs. Maryland-5MarylandWon 28–21 vs. Tulsa+7TulsaWon 37–14 vs. No. 22 USC+23No. 22 USCWon 31–16 vs. No. 17 TCU+15No. 17 TCUWon 19–14 at Kansas State+5Kansas StateWon 48–45 vs. No. 7 Oklahoma+3No. 7 OklahomaWon 23–17 vs. Baylor+6BaylorLost 35–38 at Oklahoma State-3Oklahoma StateLost 41–42 vs. No. 12 West Virginia-1No. 12 West VirginiaWon 41–34 at Texas Tech+7Texas TechWon 24–10 vs. No. 18 Iowa State+14No. 18 Iowa StateWon 24–17 at Kansas+7KansasLost 27–39 vs. No. 5 Oklahoma-12No. 5 OklahomaWon 28–21 vs. No. 6 Georgia+7No. 6 Georgia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsMarylandL 29–⁠3467%
Sep 8vsTulsaW 28–⁠2166%
Sep 15vs22USCW 37–⁠1444%
Sep 22vs17TCUW 31–⁠1650%
Sep 29atKansas StateW 19–⁠1453%
Oct 6vs7OklahomaW 48–⁠4532%
Oct 13vsBaylorW 23–⁠1779%
Oct 27atOklahoma StateL 35–⁠3854%
Nov 3vs12West VirginiaL 41–⁠4261%
Nov 10atTexas TechW 41–⁠3454%
Nov 17vs18Iowa StateW 24–⁠1060%
Nov 23atKansasW 24–⁠1783%
Dec 1vs5OklahomaBig 12 Championship GameL 27–⁠3933%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs6GeorgiaSugar BowlW 28–⁠2131%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Georgia 28–⁠21 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 9 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Big 12.

In program history: The 38th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 126 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 23
  2. Wk 5: 18
  3. Wk 6: 19
  4. Wk 7: 9
  5. Wk 8: 7
  6. Wk 9: 6
  7. Wk 10: 15
  8. Wk 11: 15
  9. Wk 12: 13
  10. Wk 13: 11
  11. Wk 14: 9
  12. Wk 15: 14
  13. Final: 9
Record
10–⁠4
Conference
7–⁠2 2nd in Big 12
AP final
No. 9 peak No. 6
Points
435–⁠362
Coach
Tom Herman
Elo
1689 +133 this season
SP+ rating
11.3 No. 31 of 130; offense No. 27, defense No. 44, special teams No. 54
SRS
10.0 No. 25 of 130 in FBS
Returning
65% of last season’s EPA, No. 61 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 3 roster talent No. 9 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Tim Beck and Herb Hand
Defensive coordinator
Todd Orlando
Captains
Andrew Beck, Breckyn Hager, Chris Nelson, Elijah Rodriguez and Anthony Wheeler
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense20th of 130
  • Defense71st of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted22nd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted45th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1946%1.1220th of 130
Defense0.1245%1.2071st of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.18 off
0.06 def		46% off
42% def		—22nd off
45th 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
Offense4.1own 2913% allowed
Defense3.8own 2918% caused

CORE rating 6.5, 32nd of 130 (offense 4.3, defense -2.2).

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 yardsSam Ehlinger QB3,294 yds
Passing touchdownsSam Ehlinger QB25 TD
Rushing yardsTre Watson RB777 yds
Rushing touchdownsSam Ehlinger QB16 TD
Receiving yardsLil’Jordan Humphrey WR1,176 yds
Receiving touchdownsLil’Jordan Humphrey WR9 TD
TacklesGary Johnson LB90 tkl
SacksCharles Omenihu DL9.5 sacks
InterceptionsCaden Sterns DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Caden Sterns S★★★★★No. 19
B.J. Foster S★★★★★No. 24
Jalen Green CB★★★★No. 47
DeMarvion Overshown S★★★★No. 52
Brennan Eagles WR★★★★No. 61
Anthony Cook CB★★★★No. 64
Joshua Moore WR★★★★No. 96
Al’vonte Woodard WR★★★★No. 104

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks24.00.906
Running backs14.00.932
Receivers44.00.948
Offensive line43.80.902
Defensive line43.50.909
Linebackers33.30.885
Defensive backs64.30.974
Athletes and specialists43.00.839
Whole class283.70.915

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 5Charles Omenihu DEHouston Texans
Rd 7Kris Boyd CBMinnesota Vikings

Roster 103

The 2018 roster

103 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 51 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big 12

5 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2018 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2018 Big 12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma8–⁠112–⁠24
Texas7–⁠210–⁠49
West Virginia6–⁠38–⁠420
Iowa State6–⁠38–⁠5
TCU4–⁠57–⁠6
Baylor4–⁠57–⁠6
Oklahoma State3–⁠67–⁠6
Texas Tech3–⁠65–⁠7
Kansas State3–⁠65–⁠7
Kansas1–⁠83–⁠9

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