2018 USC
5–7 (4–5 Pac-12), coached by Clay Helton. Share
Schedule and results
- Best winBeat No. 19 Colorado 31–20Oct 13
Over the best-ranked team it beat, at home.
- Most excitingBeat Washington State 39–36Sep 21
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1 | vs UNLV | W 43–21 | 84% |
| Sep 8 | at 10Stanford | L 3–17 | 44% |
| Sep 15 | at Texas | L 14–37 | 56% |
| Sep 21 | vs Washington State | W 39–36 | 57% |
| Sep 29 | at Arizona | W 24–20 | 59% |
| Oct 13 | vs 19Colorado | W 31–20 | 64% |
| Oct 20 | at Utah | L 28–41 | 45% |
| Oct 27 | vs Arizona State | L 35–38 | 72% |
| Nov 3 | at Oregon State | W 38–21 | 76% |
| Nov 10 | vs California | L 14–15 | 75% |
| Nov 17 | at UCLA | L 27–34 | 68% |
| Nov 24 | vs 3Notre Dame | L 17–24 | 27% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Notre Dame 24–17; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Pac-12.
In program history: The 86th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 1: 15
- Wk 2: 17
- Wk 3: 22
- Record
- 5–7
- Conference
- 4–5 tied for 7th in Pac-12
- AP final
- Unranked peak No. 15
- Points
- 313–324
- Coach
- Clay Helton
- Elo
- 1563 −93 this season
- SP+ rating
- 9.7 No. 34 of 130; offense No. 46, defense No. 34, special teams No. 49
- SRS
- 1.8 No. 58 of 130 in FBS
- Returning
- 29% of last season’s EPA, No. 117 of 130
- Recruiting class
- No. 4 roster talent No. 4 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Tee Martin
- Defensive coordinator
- Clancy Pendergast
- Captains
- Toa Lobendahn, Porter Gustin, [[Cameron Smith and Marvell Tell III
- Offense
- Multiple
- Defense
- 5–2
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.10 | 43% | 1.20 | 69th of 130 |
| Defense | 0.11 | 39% | 1.29 | 70th of 130 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.09 off 0.10 def | 43% off 39% def | — | 72nd off 71st 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.1 | own 29 | 19% allowed |
| Defense | 3.3 | own 29 | 18% caused |
CORE rating -0.4, 69th of 130 (offense -3.2, defense -2.7).
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 yards | J.T. Daniels QB | 2,661 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | J.T. Daniels QB | 14 TD |
| Rushing yards | Aca’Cedric Ware | 797 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Vavae Malepeai RB | 8 TD |
| Receiving yards | Amon-Ra St. Brown WR | 750 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Michael Pittman Jr. WR | 6 TD |
| Tackles | Cameron Smith ILB | 69 tkl |
| Sacks | Porter Gustin OLB | 7 sacks |
| Interceptions | Ajene Harris CB | 1 INT |
Top recruits in the 2018 class
| Amon-Ra St. Brown WR | ★★★★★ | No. 11 |
| Palaie Gaoteote IV ILB | ★★★★★ | No. 15 |
| J.T. Daniels PRO | ★★★★★ | No. 16 |
| Olaijah Griffin CB | ★★★★★ | No. 28 |
| Isaac Taylor-Stuart CB | ★★★★ | No. 32 |
| Devon Williams WR | ★★★★ | No. 40 |
| Solomon Tuliaupupu ILB | ★★★★ | No. 86 |
| Talanoa Hufanga ATH | ★★★★ | No. 88 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2018 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 5.0 | 0.992 |
| Running backs | 1 | 4.0 | 0.899 |
| Receivers | 3 | 4.0 | 0.949 |
| Offensive line | 2 | 3.5 | 0.915 |
| Defensive line | 2 | 4.0 | 0.913 |
| Linebackers | 5 | 4.2 | 0.935 |
| Defensive backs | 3 | 4.3 | 0.970 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 3.0 | 0.848 |
| Whole class | 19 | 4.0 | 0.930 |
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 3 | Chuma Edoga OT | New York Jets |
| Rd 4 | Iman Marshall CB | Baltimore Ravens |
| Rd 5 | Marvell Tell III S | Indianapolis Colts |
| Rd 5 | Cameron Smith ILB | Minnesota Vikings |
Roster 99
The 2018 roster99 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 55 have a stat line. See the roster
2018 Pac-12 standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington State | 7–2 | 11–2 | 10 |
 Washington | 7–2 | 10–4 | 13 |
| Stanford | 6–3 | 9–4 | |
| Utah | 6–3 | 9–5 | |
 Oregon | 5–4 | 9–4 | |
| Arizona State | 5–4 | 7–6 | |
| California | 4–5 | 7–6 | |
 USC | 4–5 | 5–7 | |
| Arizona | 4–5 | 5–7 | |
| UCLA | 3–6 | 3–9 | |
| Colorado | 2–7 | 5–7 | |
| Oregon State | 1–8 | 2–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.