CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2018 UTEP

1–⁠11 (1–⁠7 Conference USA), coached by Dana Dimel.

Schedule and results

UTEP in 2018, game by game: lost vs. Northern Arizona 10–30; lost at UNLV 24–52; lost at Tennessee 0–24; lost vs. New Mexico State 20–27; lost at UTSA 21–30; lost vs. North Texas 24–27; lost at Louisiana Tech 24–31; lost vs. UAB 0–19; won at Rice 34–26; lost vs. Middle Tennessee 32–48; lost at Western Kentucky 16–40; lost vs. Southern Miss 7–39+8−32Lost 10–30 vs. Northern Arizona-20Northern ArizonaLost 24–52 at UNLV-28UNLVLost 0–24 at Tennessee-24TennesseeLost 20–27 vs. New Mexico State-7New Mexico StateLost 21–30 at UTSA-9UTSALost 24–27 vs. North Texas-3North TexasLost 24–31 at Louisiana Tech-7Louisiana TechLost 0–19 vs. UAB-19UABWon 34–26 at Rice+8RiceLost 32–48 vs. Middle Tennessee-16Middle TennesseeLost 16–40 at Western Kentucky-24Western KentuckyLost 7–39 vs. Southern Miss-32Southern Miss
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsNorthern ArizonaL 10–⁠3052%
Sep 8atUNLVL 24–⁠5224%
Sep 15atTennesseeL 0–⁠2419%
Sep 22vsNew Mexico StateL 20–⁠2744%
Sep 29atUTSAL 21–⁠3020%
Oct 6vsNorth TexasL 24–⁠2717%
Oct 20atLouisiana TechL 24–⁠3110%
Oct 27vsUABL 0–⁠1915%
Nov 3atRiceW 34–⁠2637%
Nov 10vsMiddle TennesseeL 32–⁠4818%
Nov 17atWestern KentuckyL 16–⁠4027%
Nov 24vsSouthern MissL 7–⁠3923%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Southern Miss 39–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 13th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 90th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 94 on file).

Record
1–⁠11
Conference
1–⁠7 tied for 13th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
212–⁠393
Coach
Dana Dimel
Elo
1191 −111 this season
SP+ rating
-26.6 No. 130 of 130; offense No. 127, defense No. 111, special teams No. 110
SRS
−25.0 No. 130 of 130 in FBS
Returning
27% of last season’s EPA, No. 120 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 129 roster talent No. 118 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mike Canales
Defensive coordinator
Mike Cox
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense125th of 130
  • Defense83rd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted129th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted116th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0737%1.30125th of 130
Defense0.1443%1.2383rd of 130
Opponent-adjusted-0.05 off
0.18 def		37% off
45% def		—129th off
116th 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 2621% allowed
Defense3.6own 3315% caused

CORE rating -19.0, 126th of 130 (offense -13.5, defense 5.5).

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 yardsKai Locksley QB937 yds
Passing touchdownsBrandon Jones QB4 TD
Rushing yardsQuadraiz Wadley RB627 yds
Rushing touchdownsQuadraiz Wadley RB7 TD
Receiving yardsWarren Redix WR442 yds
Receiving touchdownsTerry Juniel WR3 TD
TacklesA.J. Hotchkins LB126 tkl
SacksA.J. Hotchkins LB7 sacks
InterceptionsKalon Beverly DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Andrew Nwachukwu WR★★★No. 2022
Ray Walters ATH★★No. 2429
Ryan Warren ATH★★No. 2577
Cameron Cooper OT★★No. 2841
Solomon Polk OT★★No. 2909

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers32.30.772
Offensive line72.00.763
Defensive line32.00.760
Linebackers12.00.770
Athletes and specialists42.00.763
Whole class182.10.765

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 116

The 2018 roster

116 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 56 have a stat line. See the roster

2018 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UAB7–⁠111–⁠3
Middle Tennessee7–⁠18–⁠6
Marshall6–⁠29–⁠4
Florida International6–⁠29–⁠4
North Texas5–⁠39–⁠4
Louisiana Tech5–⁠38–⁠5
Southern Miss5–⁠36–⁠5
Charlotte4–⁠45–⁠7
Florida Atlantic3–⁠55–⁠7
Old Dominion2–⁠64–⁠8
UTSA2–⁠63–⁠9
Western Kentucky2–⁠63–⁠9
Rice1–⁠72–⁠11
UTEP1–⁠71–⁠11

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