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2018 Washington State

11–⁠2 (7–⁠2 Pac-12), coached by Mike Leach, finished No. 10 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Washington State in 2018, game by game: won at Wyoming 41–19; won vs. San José State 31–0; won vs. Eastern Washington 59–24; lost at USC 36–39; won vs. Utah 28–24; won at Oregon State 56–37; won vs. No. 12 Oregon 34–20; won at No. 24 Stanford 41–38; won vs. California 19–13; won at Colorado 31–7; won vs. Arizona 69–28; lost vs. No. 16 Washington 15–28; won vs. No. 25 Iowa State 28–26+41−13Won 41–19 at Wyoming+22WyomingWon 31–0 vs. San José State+31San José StateWon 59–24 vs. Eastern Washington+35Eastern Washing…Lost 36–39 at USC-3USCWon 28–24 vs. Utah+4UtahWon 56–37 at Oregon State+19Oregon StateWon 34–20 vs. No. 12 Oregon+14No. 12 OregonWon 41–38 at No. 24 Stanford+3No. 24 StanfordWon 19–13 vs. California+6CaliforniaWon 31–7 at Colorado+24ColoradoWon 69–28 vs. Arizona+41ArizonaLost 15–28 vs. No. 16 Washington-13No. 16 WashingtonWon 28–26 vs. No. 25 Iowa State+2No. 25 Iowa State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1atWyomingW 41–⁠1943%
Sep 8vsSan José StateW 31–⁠088%
Sep 15vsEastern WashingtonW 59–⁠2479%
Sep 21atUSCL 36–⁠3943%
Sep 29vsUtahW 28–⁠2462%
Oct 6atOregon StateW 56–⁠3777%
Oct 20vs12OregonW 34–⁠2062%
Oct 27at24StanfordW 41–⁠3843%
Nov 3vsCaliforniaW 19–⁠1379%
Nov 10atColoradoW 31–⁠767%
Nov 17vsArizonaW 69–⁠2877%
Nov 23vs16WashingtonL 15–⁠2860%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvs25Iowa StateAlamo BowlW 28–⁠2657%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Iowa State 28–⁠26 in the Alamo Bowl; No. 10 in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 111 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 8: 25
  2. Wk 9: 14
  3. Wk 10: 10
  4. Wk 11: 10
  5. Wk 12: 8
  6. Wk 13: 7
  7. Wk 14: 12
  8. Wk 15: 12
  9. Final: 10

Pac-12 North champions7–⁠2 in the conference, shared with Washington

Heisman voteGardner Minshew, fifth

Johnny Unitas Golden Arm AwardGardner Minshew, QB

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠2 shared first in Pac-12
AP final
No. 10 peak No. 7
Points
488–⁠303
Coach
Mike Leach
Elo
1683 +127 this season
SP+ rating
11.3 No. 31 of 130; offense No. 13, defense No. 59, special teams No. 73
SRS
13.8 No. 14 of 130 in FBS
Returning
49% of last season’s EPA, No. 94 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 46 roster talent No. 61 in FBS
Defensive coordinator
Tracy Claeys
Offense
Air raid
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense13th of 130
  • Defense68th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted8th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted83rd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2248%1.2113th of 130
Defense0.1142%1.2568th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.21 off
0.12 def		49% off
42% def		—8th off
83rd 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
Offense4.6own 3011% allowed
Defense3.2own 2817% caused

CORE rating 3.9, 42nd of 130 (offense 6.7, defense 2.8).

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 yardsGardner Minshew QB4,776 yds
Passing touchdownsGardner Minshew QB38 TD
Rushing yardsJames Williams RB563 yds
Rushing touchdownsJames Williams RB12 TD
Receiving yardsDezmon Patmon WR816 yds
Receiving touchdownsDavontavean Martin WR8 TD
TacklesPeyton Pelluer LB81 tkl
SacksDominick Silvels RB4.5 sacks
InterceptionsMarcus Strong CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2018 class

Rodrick Fisher WR★★★★No. 338
Cammon Cooper PRO★★★★No. 363
Drue Jackson WR★★★No. 537
Max Borghi APB★★★No. 586
Ron Stone Jr. SDE★★★No. 661

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

The 2018 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.892
Running backs13.00.873
Receivers63.00.845
Offensive line53.00.841
Defensive line33.00.856
Linebackers32.70.812
Defensive backs53.00.842
Athletes and specialists13.00.807
Whole class253.00.843

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 1Andre Dillard OTPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 6Gardner Minshew QBJacksonville Jaguars

Roster 103

The 2018 roster

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

2018 Pac-12 standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Washington State7–⁠211–⁠210
Washington7–⁠210–⁠413
Stanford6–⁠39–⁠4
Utah6–⁠39–⁠5
Oregon5–⁠49–⁠4
Arizona State5–⁠47–⁠6
California4–⁠57–⁠6
USC4–⁠55–⁠7
Arizona4–⁠55–⁠7
UCLA3–⁠63–⁠9
Colorado2–⁠75–⁠7
Oregon State1–⁠82–⁠10

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