CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2018 Troy

10–⁠3 (7–⁠1 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Neal Brown.

Schedule and results

Troy in 2018, game by game: lost vs. No. 22 Boise State 20–56; won vs. Florida A&M 59–7; won at Nebraska 24–19; won at UL Monroe 35–27; won vs. Coastal Carolina 45–21; won vs. Georgia State 37–20; lost at Liberty 16–22; won at South Alabama 38–17; won vs. Louisiana 26–16; won at Georgia Southern 35–21; won vs. Texas State 12–7; lost at App State 10–21; won vs. Buffalo 42–32+52−36Lost 20–56 vs. No. 22 Boise State-36No. 22 Boise StateWon 59–7 vs. Florida A&M+52Florida A&MWon 24–19 at Nebraska+5NebraskaWon 35–27 at UL Monroe+8UL MonroeWon 45–21 vs. Coastal Carolina+24Coastal CarolinaWon 37–20 vs. Georgia State+17Georgia StateLost 16–22 at Liberty-6LibertyWon 38–17 at South Alabama+21South AlabamaWon 26–16 vs. Louisiana+10LouisianaWon 35–21 at Georgia Southern+14Georgia SouthernWon 12–7 vs. Texas State+5Texas StateLost 10–21 at App State-11App StateWon 42–32 vs. Buffalo+10Buffalo
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vs22Boise StateL 20–⁠5652%
Sep 8vsFlorida A&MW 59–⁠789%
Sep 15atNebraskaW 24–⁠1957%
Sep 22atUL MonroeW 35–⁠2764%
Sep 29vsCoastal CarolinaW 45–⁠2174%
Oct 4vsGeorgia StateW 37–⁠2078%
Oct 13atLibertyL 16–⁠2275%
Oct 23atSouth AlabamaW 38–⁠1770%
Nov 3vsLouisianaW 26–⁠1673%
Nov 10atGeorgia SouthernW 35–⁠2156%
Nov 17vsTexas StateW 12–⁠790%
Nov 24atApp StateL 10–⁠2140%
Dec 22Bowls & playoffvsBuffaloDollar General BowlW 42–⁠3256%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Buffalo 42–⁠32 in the Dollar General Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Sun Belt Conference.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 35 on file).

SBC East champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with App State

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Sun Belt Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
399–⁠286
Coach
Neal Brown
Elo
1631 +53 this season
SP+ rating
2.6 No. 62 of 130; offense No. 89, defense No. 48, special teams No. 8
SRS
1.5 No. 59 of 130 in FBS
Returning
42% of last season’s EPA, No. 101 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 98 roster talent No. 113 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Matt Moore and Sean Reagan
Defensive coordinator
Vic Koenning
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense68th of 130
  • Defense46th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted85th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted43rd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1041%1.2368th of 130
Defense0.0641%1.2446th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.06 def		39% off
42% def		—85th off
43rd 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
Offense3.6own 3216% allowed
Defense3.5own 2820% caused

CORE rating 0.1, 64th of 130 (offense -3.9, defense -4.0).

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 yardsSawyer Smith QB1,669 yds
Passing touchdownsSawyer Smith QB14 TD
Rushing yardsB.J. Smith RB1,183 yds
Rushing touchdownsB.J. Smith RB13 TD
Receiving yardsDamion Willis WR876 yds
Receiving touchdownsDamion Willis WR10 TD
TacklesTron Folsom OLB81 tkl
SacksHunter Reese LB7.5 sacks
InterceptionsCedarius Rookard S5 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Demontrez Brown WR★★★No. 1072
K.J. Robertson OLB★★★No. 1132
Jake Andrews OT★★★No. 1131
Will Choloh DT★★★No. 1326
Gunnar Watson PRO★★★No. 1409

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.838
Receivers23.00.839
Offensive line32.30.806
Defensive line23.00.824
Linebackers23.00.832
Defensive backs32.30.802
Whole class132.70.819

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 112

The 2018 roster

112 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 63 have a stat line. See the roster

2018 Sun Belt Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
App State7–⁠111–⁠2
Troy7–⁠110–⁠3
Georgia Southern6–⁠210–⁠3
Arkansas State5–⁠38–⁠5
Louisiana5–⁠37–⁠7
UL Monroe4–⁠46–⁠6
Coastal Carolina2–⁠65–⁠7
South Alabama2–⁠63–⁠9
Texas State1–⁠73–⁠9
Georgia State1–⁠72–⁠10

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