CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2018 Vanderbilt

6–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Southeastern Conference), coached by Derek Mason.

Schedule and results

Vanderbilt in 2018, game by game: won vs. Middle Tennessee 35–7; won vs. Nevada 41–10; lost at No. 8 Notre Dame 17–22; lost vs. South Carolina 14–37; won vs. Tennessee State 31–27; lost at No. 2 Georgia 13–41; lost vs. No. 14 Florida 27–37; lost at No. 14 Kentucky 7–14; won at Arkansas 45–31; lost at Missouri 28–33; won vs. Ole Miss 36–29; won vs. Tennessee 38–13; lost vs. Baylor 38–45+31−28Won 35–7 vs. Middle Tennessee+28Middle TennesseeWon 41–10 vs. Nevada+31NevadaLost 17–22 at No. 8 Notre Dame-5No. 8 Notre DameLost 14–37 vs. South Carolina-23South CarolinaWon 31–27 vs. Tennessee State+4Tennessee StateLost 13–41 at No. 2 Georgia-28No. 2 GeorgiaLost 27–37 vs. No. 14 Florida-10No. 14 FloridaLost 7–14 at No. 14 Kentucky-7No. 14 KentuckyWon 45–31 at Arkansas+14ArkansasLost 28–33 at Missouri-5MissouriWon 36–29 vs. Ole Miss+7Ole MissWon 38–13 vs. Tennessee+25TennesseeLost 38–45 vs. Baylor-7Baylor
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsMiddle TennesseeW 35–⁠756%
Sep 8vsNevadaW 41–⁠1067%
Sep 15at8Notre DameL 17–⁠2226%
Sep 22vsSouth CarolinaL 14–⁠3753%
Sep 29vsTennessee StateW 31–⁠2776%
Oct 6at2GeorgiaL 13–⁠4113%
Oct 13vs14FloridaL 27–⁠3740%
Oct 20at14KentuckyL 7–⁠1425%
Oct 27atArkansasW 45–⁠3149%
Nov 10atMissouriL 28–⁠3326%
Nov 17vsOle MissW 36–⁠2955%
Nov 24vsTennesseeW 38–⁠1362%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsBaylorTexas BowlL 38–⁠4557%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Baylor 45–⁠38 in the Texas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 10th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 58th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 10th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
370–⁠346
Coach
Derek Mason
Elo
1496 +17 this season
SP+ rating
7.6 No. 39 of 130; offense No. 24, defense No. 57, special teams No. 100
SRS
5.9 No. 41 of 130 in FBS
Returning
62% of last season’s EPA, No. 70 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 41 roster talent No. 43 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Andy Ludwig
Defensive coordinator
Jason Tarver
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense24th of 130
  • Defense104th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted18th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted91st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1845%1.2424th of 130
Defense0.1848%1.17104th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.19 off
0.13 def		47% off
45% def		—18th off
91st 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
Offense3.4own 2916% allowed
Defense3.8own 2616% caused

CORE rating 0.2, 61st of 130 (offense 6.3, defense 6.1).

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 yardsKyle Shurmur QB3,130 yds
Passing touchdownsKyle Shurmur QB24 TD
Rushing yardsKe’Shawn Vaughn RB1,244 yds
Rushing touchdownsKe’Shawn Vaughn RB12 TD
Receiving yardsKalija Lipscomb WR916 yds
Receiving touchdownsKalija Lipscomb WR9 TD
TacklesJordan Griffin LB119 tkl
SacksKenny Hebert LB4 sacks
InterceptionsJoejuan Williams CB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Alston Orji ILB★★★★No. 245
Cam Johnson WR★★★★No. 264
Brendon Harris S★★★★No. 371
Salua Masina OLB★★★No. 414
Tre Douglas CB★★★No. 443

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.878
Running backs13.00.849
Receivers63.20.865
Offensive line33.00.856
Defensive line22.50.826
Linebackers23.50.898
Defensive backs43.30.875
Athletes and specialists13.00.808
Whole class203.10.862

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 2Joejuan Williams CBNew England Patriots
Rd 6Justin Skule OTSan Francisco 49ers

Roster 105

The 2018 roster

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

All-SEC

4 second team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2018 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2018 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama8–⁠014–⁠12
Georgia7–⁠111–⁠37
Kentucky5–⁠310–⁠312
Florida5–⁠310–⁠37
LSU5–⁠310–⁠36
Texas A&M5–⁠39–⁠416
Missouri4–⁠48–⁠5
Mississippi State4–⁠48–⁠5
South Carolina4–⁠47–⁠6
Auburn3–⁠58–⁠5
Vanderbilt3–⁠56–⁠7
Tennessee2–⁠65–⁠7
Ole Miss1–⁠75–⁠7
Arkansas0–⁠82–⁠10

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