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2018 Wake Forest

7–⁠6 (3–⁠5 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Dave Clawson.

Schedule and results

Wake Forest in 2018, game by game: won at Tulane 23–17; won vs. Towson 51–20; lost vs. Boston College 34–41; lost vs. No. 8 Notre Dame 27–56; won vs. Rice 56–24; lost vs. No. 4 Clemson 3–63; lost at Florida State 17–38; won at Louisville 56–35; lost vs. No. 22 Syracuse 24–41; won at No. 22 NC State 27–23; lost vs. Pittsburgh 13–34; won at Duke 59–7; won vs. Memphis 37–34+52−60Won 23–17 at Tulane+6TulaneWon 51–20 vs. Towson+31TowsonLost 34–41 vs. Boston College-7Boston CollegeLost 27–56 vs. No. 8 Notre Dame-29No. 8 Notre DameWon 56–24 vs. Rice+32RiceLost 3–63 vs. No. 4 Clemson-60No. 4 ClemsonLost 17–38 at Florida State-21Florida StateWon 56–35 at Louisville+21LouisvilleLost 24–41 vs. No. 22 Syracuse-17No. 22 SyracuseWon 27–23 at No. 22 NC State+4No. 22 NC StateLost 13–34 vs. Pittsburgh-21PittsburghWon 59–7 at Duke+52DukeWon 37–34 vs. Memphis+3Memphis
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atTulaneW 23–⁠1753%
Sep 8vsTowsonW 51–⁠2085%
Sep 13vsBoston CollegeL 34–⁠4158%
Sep 22vs8Notre DameL 27–⁠5641%
Sep 29vsRiceW 56–⁠2482%
Oct 6vs4ClemsonL 3–⁠6326%
Oct 20atFlorida StateL 17–⁠3835%
Oct 27atLouisvilleW 56–⁠3546%
Nov 3vs22SyracuseL 24–⁠4154%
Nov 8at22NC StateW 27–⁠2323%
Nov 17vsPittsburghL 13–⁠3447%
Nov 24atDukeW 59–⁠729%
Dec 22Bowls & playoffvsMemphisBirmingham BowlW 37–⁠3441%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Memphis 37–⁠34 in the Birmingham Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 10th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 15th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 119 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 10th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
427–⁠433
Coach
Dave Clawson
Elo
1567 +23 this season
SP+ rating
3.6 No. 57 of 130; offense No. 48, defense No. 64, special teams No. 49
SRS
2.1 No. 57 of 130 in FBS
Returning
36% of last season’s EPA, No. 107 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 64 roster talent No. 70 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Warren Ruggiero
Defensive coordinators
Jay Sawvel and Lyle Hemphill
Captains
Ryan Anderson, Phil Haynes, Cade Carney, Cameron Glenn, Chuck Wade Jr. and Willie Yarbury
Offense
Slow mesh
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense70th of 130
  • Defense89th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted54th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted99th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0941%1.2170th of 130
Defense0.1542%1.3389th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.12 off
0.15 def		43% off
42% def		—54th off
99th 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
Offense4.0own 2815% allowed
Defense4.2own 2815% caused

CORE rating -0.6, 70th of 130 (offense -0.7, defense -0.0).

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 yardsSam Hartman QB1,984 yds
Passing touchdownsSam Hartman QB16 TD
Rushing yardsCade Carney RB1,005 yds
Rushing touchdownsCade Carney RB8 TD
Receiving yardsGreg Dortch WR1,078 yds
Receiving touchdownsGreg Dortch WR8 TD
TacklesJustin Strnad LB105 tkl
SacksWillie Yarbary DL5.5 sacks
InterceptionsChuck Wade WR1 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Mike Edwards OT★★★No. 486
Kenneth Dicks III CB★★★No. 747
Sam Hartman PRO★★★No. 767
Kelijiha Brown DT★★★No. 775
Michael Jurgens OG★★★No. 964

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.863
Running backs13.00.848
Receivers53.00.829
Offensive line43.00.851
Defensive line43.00.842
Linebackers23.00.847
Defensive backs43.00.849
Athletes and specialists13.00.824
Whole class223.00.843

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 4Phil Haynes OGSeattle Seahawks

Roster 92

The 2018 roster

92 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2018 line; 58 have a stat line. See the roster

2018 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson8–⁠015–⁠01
Syracuse6–⁠210–⁠315
Pittsburgh6–⁠27–⁠7
NC State5–⁠39–⁠4
Georgia Tech5–⁠37–⁠6
Virginia4–⁠48–⁠5
Boston College4–⁠47–⁠5
Miami4–⁠47–⁠6
Virginia Tech4–⁠46–⁠7
Duke3–⁠58–⁠5
Wake Forest3–⁠57–⁠6
Florida State3–⁠55–⁠7
North Carolina1–⁠72–⁠9
Louisville0–⁠82–⁠10

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