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2018 Utah State

11–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Mountain West Conference), coached by Matt Wells, then Frank Maile (interim, bowl game), finished No. 22 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Utah State in 2018, game by game: lost at No. 11 Michigan State 31–38; won vs. New Mexico State 60–13; won vs. Tennessee Tech 73–12; won vs. Air Force 42–32; won at BYU 45–20; won vs. UNLV 59–28; won at Wyoming 24–16; won vs. New Mexico 61–19; won at Hawai’i 56–17; won vs. San José State 62–24; won at Colorado State 29–24; lost at No. 21 Boise State 24–33; won vs. North Texas 52–13+61−9Lost 31–38 at No. 11 Michigan State-7No. 11 Michigan StateWon 60–13 vs. New Mexico State+47New Mexico StateWon 73–12 vs. Tennessee Tech+61Tennessee TechWon 42–32 vs. Air Force+10Air ForceWon 45–20 at BYU+25BYUWon 59–28 vs. UNLV+31UNLVWon 24–16 at Wyoming+8WyomingWon 61–19 vs. New Mexico+42New MexicoWon 56–17 at Hawai’i+39Hawai’iWon 62–24 vs. San José State+38San José StateWon 29–24 at Colorado State+5Colorado StateLost 24–33 at No. 21 Boise State-9No. 21 Boise StateWon 52–13 vs. North Texas+39North Texas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31at11Michigan StateL 31–⁠3827%
Sep 8vsNew Mexico StateW 60–⁠1367%
Sep 13vsTennessee TechW 73–⁠1290%
Sep 22vsAir ForceW 42–⁠3257%
Oct 5atBYUW 45–⁠2044%
Oct 13vsUNLVW 59–⁠2878%
Oct 20atWyomingW 24–⁠1659%
Oct 27vsNew MexicoW 61–⁠1977%
Nov 3atHawai’iW 56–⁠1769%
Nov 10vsSan José StateW 62–⁠2491%
Nov 17atColorado StateW 29–⁠2477%
Nov 24at21Boise StateL 24–⁠3333%
Dec 15Bowls & playoffvsNorth TexasNew Mexico BowlW 52–⁠1359%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat North Texas 52–⁠13 in the New Mexico Bowl; No. 22 in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 5th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 120 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 10: 18
  2. Wk 11: 14
  3. Wk 12: 14
  4. Wk 13: 14
  5. Final: 22

Led the nationSavon Scarver: kickoff return average (33.7)

Consensus All-AmericanSavon Scarver, APB

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Mountain West Conference
AP final
No. 22 peak No. 14
Points
618–⁠289
Coach
Matt Wells, then Frank Maile (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1651 +175 this season
SP+ rating
14.2 No. 21 of 130; offense No. 22, defense No. 34, special teams No. 54
SRS
11.6 No. 23 of 130 in FBS
Returning
69% of last season’s EPA, No. 54 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 109 roster talent No. 102 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
David Yost
Defensive coordinators
Frank Maile and Keith Patterson
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense9th of 130
  • Defense5th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted10th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted12th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2548%1.269th of 130
Defense-0.0737%1.295th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.21 off
-0.02 def		46% off
39% def		—10th off
12th 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
Offense4.5own 3313% allowed
Defense2.5own 2918% caused

CORE rating 18.8, 7th of 130 (offense 9.0, defense -9.8).

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 yardsJordan Love QB3,552 yds
Passing touchdownsJordan Love QB32 TD
Rushing yardsDarwin Thompson RB1,044 yds
Rushing touchdownsDarwin Thompson RB14 TD
Receiving yardsRon’quavion Tarver WR709 yds
Receiving touchdownsRon’quavion Tarver WR8 TD
TacklesDavid Woodward LB93 tkl
SacksTipa Galeai DE8.5 sacks
InterceptionsAaron Wade S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Andy Koch SDE★★★No. 1226
Hale Motu’apuaka OLB★★★No. 1800
Seni Tuiaki SDE★★★No. 2122
Johnson Hansen ILB★★★No. 2191
Karter Shaw OG★★No. 2459

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.00.771
Running backs12.00.760
Offensive line42.00.764
Defensive line23.00.825
Linebackers42.50.795
Defensive backs32.00.753
Athletes and specialists12.00.775
Whole class172.20.778

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 6Darwin Thompson RBKansas City Chiefs

Roster 110

The 2018 roster

110 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 66 have a stat line. See the roster

2018 Mountain West Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Fresno State7–⁠112–⁠218
Utah State7–⁠111–⁠222
Boise State7–⁠110–⁠323
Nevada5–⁠38–⁠5
Hawai’i5–⁠38–⁠6
San Diego State4–⁠47–⁠6
Wyoming4–⁠46–⁠6
Air Force3–⁠55–⁠7
UNLV2–⁠64–⁠8
Colorado State2–⁠63–⁠9
New Mexico1–⁠73–⁠9
San José State1–⁠71–⁠11

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