CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 UNLV

5–⁠7 (4–⁠4 Mountain West Conference), coached by Tony Sanchez.

Schedule and results

UNLV in 2017, game by game: lost vs. Howard 40–43; won at Idaho 44–16; lost at No. 10 Ohio State 21–54; won vs. San José State 41–13; lost vs. No. 19 San Diego State 10–41; lost at Air Force 30–34; lost vs. Utah State 28–52; won at Fresno State 26–16; won vs. Hawai’i 31–23; lost vs. BYU 21–31; won at New Mexico 38–35; lost at Nevada 16–23+28−33Lost 40–43 vs. Howard-3HowardWon 44–16 at Idaho+28IdahoLost 21–54 at No. 10 Ohio State-33No. 10 Ohio StateWon 41–13 vs. San José State+28San José StateLost 10–41 vs. No. 19 San Diego State-31No. 19 San Diego StateLost 30–34 at Air Force-4Air ForceLost 28–52 vs. Utah State-24Utah StateWon 26–16 at Fresno State+10Fresno StateWon 31–23 vs. Hawai’i+8Hawai’iLost 21–31 vs. BYU-10BYUWon 38–35 at New Mexico+3New MexicoLost 16–23 at Nevada-7Nevada
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsHowardL 40–⁠4382%
Sep 9atIdahoW 44–⁠1624%
Sep 23at10Ohio StateL 21–⁠5412%
Sep 30vsSan José StateW 41–⁠1367%
Oct 7vs19San Diego StateL 10–⁠4126%
Oct 14atAir ForceL 30–⁠3429%
Oct 21vsUtah StateL 28–⁠5252%
Oct 28atFresno StateW 26–⁠1624%
Nov 4vsHawai’iW 31–⁠2363%
Nov 10vsBYUL 21–⁠3158%
Nov 17atNew MexicoW 38–⁠3541%
Nov 25atNevadaL 16–⁠2348%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Nevada 23–⁠16; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 20th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 56 on file).

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Mountain West Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
346–⁠381
Coach
Tony Sanchez
Elo
1391 +10 this season
SP+ rating
-14.5 No. 113 of 128; offense No. 82, defense No. 119, special teams No. 94
SRS
−10.4 No. 102 of 130 in FBS
Returning
68% of last season’s EPA, No. 47 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 117 roster talent No. 109 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Barney Cotton
Defensive coordinator
Kent Baer
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense49th of 130
  • Defense89th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted81st of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted108th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1244%1.1749th of 130
Defense0.1551%1.0189th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.17 def		41% off
52% def		—81st off
108th 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
Offense3.1own 3014% allowed
Defense4.0own 3412% caused

CORE rating -13.6, 112th of 130 (offense 1.4, defense 14.9).

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 yardsArmani Rogers QB1,471 yds
Passing touchdownsArmani Rogers QB6 TD
Rushing yardsLexington Thomas RB1,336 yds
Rushing touchdownsLexington Thomas RB17 TD
Receiving yardsDevonte Boyd WR612 yds
Receiving touchdownsBrandon Presley WR3 TD
TacklesDalton Baker DB98 tkl
SacksMike Hughes Jr. DL8 sacks
InterceptionsChauncey Scissum DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Tariq Hollandsworth RB★★★No. 1607
Greg Francis S★★★No. 1678
Noah Bean WR★★★No. 1759
Marckell Grayson DUAL★★★No. 1916
Drew Tejchman WR★★★No. 1950

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

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.808
Running backs13.00.822
Receivers42.50.795
Offensive line32.00.789
Defensive line12.00.775
Linebackers22.50.784
Defensive backs22.50.789
Whole class142.40.793

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 113

The 2017 roster

113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 52 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 Mountain West Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Boise State7–⁠111–⁠322
Fresno State7–⁠110–⁠4
San Diego State6–⁠210–⁠3
Wyoming5–⁠38–⁠5
Colorado State5–⁠37–⁠6
Utah State4–⁠46–⁠7
UNLV4–⁠45–⁠7
Air Force4–⁠45–⁠7
Nevada3–⁠53–⁠9
Hawai’i1–⁠73–⁠9
New Mexico1–⁠73–⁠9
San José State1–⁠72–⁠11

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