2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season

2018 NCAA Division I FBS season
Number of teams 129 + 1 transitional
Duration August 25, 2018 – December 8, 2018
Preseason AP No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide
Post-season
Duration December 15, 2018 – January 7, 2019
Bowl games 40
AP Poll No. 1 TBD
Coaches Poll No. 1 TBD
College Football Playoff
2019 College Football Playoff National Championship
Site Levi's Stadium
Santa Clara, California
Division I FBS football seasons
← 2017
 

The 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season is the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 25, 2018 and is scheduled to end on December 8, 2018. The postseason will conclude on January 7, 2019 with the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

Rule changes

Game rules

The following rule changes were approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel for the 2018 season:[1]

  • Allow players to fair catch the ball inside the 25 yard line on a kickoff and be awarded a touchback, placing the ball at the 25 yard line.
  • Offensive players cannot block below the waist more than five yards past the line of scrimmage and, with the exception of interior linemen, all blocks below the waist must be from the front.
  • The play clock will be set to 40 seconds between a touchdown and the PAT or two-point conversion and after a kickoff.
  • Mirroring the NFL rule adopted in the 2010 season, a 10-second runoff will be applied within the final minute of each half if a replay review overturns the call on the field, and the correct ruling would not have stopped the game clock. As with any other 10 second runoff, teams can take a time out (if available) to avoid the runoff.
  • Extending the "no leaping" rule on PATs and field goals adopted in the 2017 season to include the "shield" on a punt.
  • Allowing penalties incurred on successful field goals to be enforced on the ensuing kickoff, which matches the rule for successful extra point attempts.
  • Continuing the experiment of a collaborative instant replay decision making model not confined to the press box.

Eligibility rules

Major changes to redshirt rules in Division I football (both FBS and FCS) took effect from this season forward after having been approved by the NCAA Division I Council on June 13, 2018. Players can now participate in as many as four games in a season while still retaining redshirt status. This new rule does not apply to players who enroll at a school midyear and participate in postseason competition taking place during or before their first academic term at that school.[2]

Conference realignment

Membership changes

School Former conference New conference
Idaho Vandals Sun Belt Big Sky (FCS)
New Mexico State Aggies Sun Belt FBS independent
Liberty Flames Big South (FCS) FBS independent

New Mexico State left the Sun Belt Conference following the 2017 season and will compete as an FBS independent. Idaho also left the Sun Belt, dropping its football program from the FBS to FCS level, where it will compete in the Big Sky Conference.

Liberty began a two-year transition from FCS in 2017. The Flames will be counted as an FBS independent for scheduling purposes in 2018, but will not be fully bowl-eligible until completing the 2019 season. However, they may participate in a bowl in 2018 if they have at least six eligible wins and there are not enough bowl-eligible teams to fill all the spots.

Other headlines

  • July 13 – Following reports that Papa John's Pizza founder John Schnatter had said the "n-word" in an internal conference call, which led to his resignation both as company chairman and member of the University of Louisville board of trustees, University president Neeli Bendapudi announced that the company's name would be removed from the Cardinal Stadium name effective immediately.[3]
  • August 1 – Ohio State administrators placed head coach Urban Meyer on paid administrative leave while the school announced it was launching an investigation into claims that Meyer knew of former assistant coach Zach Smith's involvement in a 2015 domestic violence incident against his ex-wife Courtney Smith. Zach Smith had been fired on July 23 after the allegations were made public.[4]
    • August 22 – Following the investigation, Ohio State announced that Meyer would be suspended for the first three games of the 2018 season. In addition, athletic director Gene Smith was suspended from August 31 to December 16.[5]
  • August 11 – Maryland placed head coach D. J. Durkin on paid administrative leave during the school's investigation into the death of player Jordan McNair from heatstroke following an offseason practice, in addition to allegations of abuse and disparagement by coaches within the program. This announcement came the day after the school had placed two trainers and the team's strength coach on administrative leave.[6]
    • August 14 – Maryland president Wallace Loh announced that the school "accepts legal and moral responsibility for the mistakes" that led to McNair's death. The university also parted ways with Rick Court, the strength coach widely blamed for establishing the alleged culture of abuse revealed in recent news reports. Court had resigned the previous day, and reached a financial settlement with the university shortly before Loh made his announcement.[7]
  • September 8 – Two of the longest futility streaks of their types in FBS history ended:
    • First, in an afternoon game in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, Kansas defeated Central Michigan 31–7, ending the longest road losing streak in FBS history at 46 games. The only longer such streak in college football history was the 48-game streak of FCS Idaho State, which ended in 2014.[8]
    • In a night game, Kentucky defeated Florida 27–16 for the Wildcats' first win over the Gators since 1986 and ending the longest current losing streak in an uninterrupted series at 31 games. This streak was the fourth-longest of its type in NCAA history. This also marked Kentucky's first win in Gainesville since 1979.[9]

Updated stadiums

  • Arizona State will complete its four-phase renovation of Sun Devil Stadium. The fourth and final phase, scheduled for completion prior to the 2018 season, includes reconstruction of the east sideline. The new capacity will be 55,000, down from 71,706 just prior to the renovation.[10]
  • Arkansas will debut its $160 million expansion of the north end zone of Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. The expansion will add 4,800 seats and new premium seating to the north end zone, boosting the capacity of the stadium to 80,800.
  • Georgia will debut its $63 million new west end zone project at Sanford Stadium, which will relocate the locker room from the east side to the west side, as well as the addition of a new plaza and recruiting pavilion. The project will increase the stadium's capacity by 500 seats.
  • Indiana will debut its $50 million south end zone complex at Memorial Stadium. The project will include a new rehabilitation and treatment facility for athletes, additional academic and life skills support facilities, a multi-use outdoor terrace on the roof of the structure, and an entry plaza and green space at the south end of the stadium. A new 42 x 91.3 ft. video board will be installed for the 2018 season in the completed south end zone.
  • Iowa is currently rebuilding the north end zone of Kinnick Stadium. The $89.9 million upgrade will feature the addition of box seating, outdoor club seating and a new scoreboard. Some seating will open for the 2018 season, while the entire project is scheduled to be complete in 2019.
  • Louisville will debut an expansion of the venue now known as Cardinal Stadium, specifically the filling in of the north end zone. Two new video scoreboards are also set to be installed. While Louisville had long publicized the most recent expansion project as adding 10,000 seats, bringing the capacity to 65,000,[11] it acknowledged in February 2018 that the final capacity would instead be about 61,000.[12]

Renamed stadiums

Colorado State announced on April 19, 2018 that an area financial institution, Public Service Credit Union, had paid $37.7 million over 15 years to place its name on the venue then known as Colorado State Stadium. The new stadium name was not revealed at that time because PSCU was in the process of changing its name, with the new name expected to be announced in June 2018. The deal did not affect the playing surface, which continues to be named after former Rams head coach Sonny Lubick.[13] On June 5, the former PSCU announced its new name of Canvas Credit Union, with the CSU venue becoming Canvas Stadium.[14]

Kansas renamed their stadium to David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium in honor of alumnus David Booth who donated $50 million to the school for renovations to the stadium.[15]

As noted above, Louisville removed the Papa John's name from Cardinal Stadium in the wake of the controversy over founder John Schnatter.[3]

Kickoff games

"Week Zero"

The regular season began with four games on Saturday, August 25:

Week 1

The vast majority of FBS teams opened the season on Labor Day weekend. Five neutral-site "kickoff" games were held (rankings reflect the Week 1 AP Poll):

Regular Season Top 10 Matchups

Rankings reflect the AP Poll.

Cancelled and rescheduled games

Week 1

Two games were cancelled due to thunderstorms:

Week 3

Five games were cancelled due to Hurricane Florence:

Five games were moved forward in anticipation of Florence:

One game was moved to a neutral site in anticipation of Florence:

One game was rescheduled in anticipation of Florence:

Conference standings

2018 American Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
No. 10 UCF  3 –0     6 –0  
No. 20 Cincinnati  2 –0     6 –0  
No. 21 South Florida  2 –0     6 –0  
Temple  2 –0     3 –3  
East Carolina  0 –2     2 –3  
Connecticut  0 –3     1 –5  
West Division
Houston  1 –0     4 –1  
SMU  1 –1     2 –4  
Tulane  1 –1     2 –4  
Navy  1 –2     2 –4  
Memphis  1 –2     4 –2  
Tulsa  0 –3     1 –5  
Championship: December 1, 2018
As of October 16, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll.
2018 ACC football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Atlantic Division
No. 3 Clemson  3 –0     6 –0  
No. 16 NC State  2 –0     5 –0  
Boston College  2 –1     5 –2  
Syracuse  1 –2     4 –2  
Florida State  1 –3     3 –3  
Wake Forest  0 –2     3 –3  
Louisville  0 –4     2 –5  
Coastal Division
Virginia Tech  3 –0     4 –2  
Miami  2 –1     5 –2  
Virginia  2 –1     4 –2  
Pittsburgh  2 –1     3 –4  
Duke  1 –1     5 –1  
North Carolina  1 –2     1 –4  
Georgia Tech  1 –3     3 –4  
Championship: December 1, 2018
As of October 16, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018 Big Ten football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
No. 2 Ohio State  4 –0     7 –0  
No. 6 Michigan  4 –0     6 –1  
No. 24 Michigan State  2 –1     4 –2  
Maryland  2 –1     4 –2  
No. 18 Penn State  1 –2     4 –2  
Indiana  1 –3     4 –3  
Rutgers  0 –4     1 –6  
West Division
Northwestern  3 –1     3 –3  
No. 23 Wisconsin  2 –1     4 –2  
Purdue  2 –1     3 –3  
No. 19 Iowa  2 –1     5 –1  
Illinois  1 –2     3 –3  
Minnesota  0 –3     3 –3  
Nebraska  0 –4     0 –6  
Championship: December 1, 2018
As of October 16, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018 Big 12 football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 7 Texas  4 –0     6 –1  
No. 13 West Virginia  3 –1     5 –1  
No. 9 Oklahoma  2 –1     5 –1  
Texas Tech  2 –1     4 –2  
Baylor  2 –2     4 –3  
Iowa State  2 –2     3 –3  
TCU  1 –2     3 –3  
Kansas State  1 –3     3 –4  
Oklahoma State  1 –3     4 –3  
Kansas  0 –3     2 –4  
Championship: December 1, 2018
As of October 16, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018 Conference USA football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
FIU  2 –0     4 –2  
Middle Tennessee  2 –1     3 –3  
Marshall  2 –1     4 –2  
Charlotte  2 –1     3 –3  
Florida Atlantic  1 –1     3 –3  
Western Kentucky  0 –2     1 –5  
Old Dominion  0 –4     1 –6  
West Division
UAB  3 –0     5 –1  
Louisiana Tech  2 –1     4 –2  
North Texas  2 –1     6 –1  
UTSA  2 –1     3 –4  
Southern Miss  1 –1     2 –3  
UTEP  0 –2     0 –6  
Rice  0 –3     1 –6  
Championship: December 1, 2018
As of October 16, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
Buffalo  3 –0     6 –1  
Miami  3 –1     3 –4  
Ohio  1 –1     3 –3  
Akron  0 –2     2 –3  
Bowling Green  0 –3     1 –6  
Kent State  0 –3     1 –6  
West Division
Northern Illinois  4 –0     4 –3  
Western Michigan  3 –0     5 –2  
Ball State  2 –1     3 –4  
Toledo  1 –1     3 –3  
Eastern Michigan  1 –3     3 –4  
Central Michigan  0 –3     1 –6  
Championship: November 30, 2018
As of October 16, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018 Mountain West football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Mountain Division
Utah State  2 –0     5 –1  
Boise State  2 –1     4 –2  
Colorado State  2 –1     3 –4  
New Mexico  1 –1     3 –3  
Air Force  0 –3     2 –4  
Wyoming  0 –3     2 –5  
West Division
Hawaii  3 –0     6 –2  
Fresno State  2 –0     5 –1  
San Diego State  2 –0     5 –1  
Nevada  1 –2     3 –4  
UNLV  0 –2     2 –4  
San Jose State  0 –3     0 –6  
Championship: December 1, 2018
As of October 16, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018 Pac-12 football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
North Division
No. 15 Washington  3 –1     5 –2  
No. 25 Washington State  2 –1     5 –1  
No. 12 Oregon  2 –1     5 –1  
Stanford  2 –1     4 –2  
California  0 –3     3 –3  
Oregon State  0 –3     1 –5  
South Division
USC  3 –1     4 –2  
Colorado  2 –1     5 –1  
Utah  2 –2     4 –2  
Arizona  2 –2     3 –4  
Arizona State  1 –2     3 –3  
UCLA  1 –2     1 –5  
Championship: November 30, 2018
As of October 16, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018 SEC football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
No. 11 Florida  4 –1     6 –1  
No. 8 Georgia  4 –1     6 –1  
No. 14 Kentucky  3 –1     5 –1  
South Carolina  2 –3     3 –3  
Tennessee  1 –2     3 –3  
Missouri  0 –3     3 –3  
Vanderbilt  0 –3     3 –4  
West Division
No. 1 Alabama  4 –0     7 –0  
No. 5 LSU  3 –1     6 –1  
No. 17 Texas A&M  3 –1     5 –2  
Ole Miss  1 –2     5 –2  
No. 22 Mississippi State  1 –2     4 –2  
Auburn  1 –3     4 –3  
Arkansas  0 –4     1 –6  
Championship: December 1, 2018
  • Ole Miss ineligible for postseason due to NCAA sanctions
As of October 16, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018 Sun Belt football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
Georgia Southern  3 –0     5 –1  
Troy  3 –0     5 –1  
Appalachian State  2 –0     4 –1  
Georgia State  1 –1     2 –4  
Coastal Carolina  1 –2     3 –3  
West Division
Louisiana  1 –1     3 –3  
Louisiana–Monroe  1 –2     3 –4  
South Alabama  1 –2     2 –5  
Arkansas State  0 –2     3 –3  
Texas State  0 –3     1 –5  
Championship: December 1, 2018
As of October 16, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll
2018 Division I FBS independents football records
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 4 Notre Dame    –      7 –0  
Army    –      4 –2  
BYU    –      4 –3  
Liberty*    –      3 –3  
UMass    –      2 –5  
New Mexico State    –      2 –5  
  • * – Ineligible for postseason play due to FCS-to-FBS transition rules
As of October 16, 2018; Rankings from AP Poll

Bowl eligibility

There were 40 post-season bowl games not including the CFP National Championship game. Normally, a team is required to have a .500 minimum winning percentage during the regular season to become bowl eligible. If there are not enough winning teams to fulfill all open bowl slots, teams with losing records may be chosen to fill all 78 bowl slots. Additionally, on the rare occasion in which a conference champion does not meet eligibility requirements, they are usually still chosen for bowl games via tie-ins for their conference. For the 2017 season, no team with a losing record was chosen for a bowl game. Three bowl-eligible teams, including one with a winning record, were denied bowl bids.

Bowl eligible teams

An asterisk (*) indicates the team did not receive a bowl bid.

Total: 7

Bowl ineligible teams

  • The American (0):
  • ACC (0):
  • Big Ten (0):
  • Big 12 (0):
  • Conference USA (0):
  • Independent (1): Liberty – not bowl eligible until 2019, due to their transition from FCS to FBS unless they have at least 6 eligible wins and there are not enough bowl-eligible teams to fill all the spots.[16]
  • MAC (0):
  • Mountain West (0):
  • Pac-12 (0):
  • SEC (1): Ole Miss – not bowl eligible until 2019 due to the two year bowl ban.
  • Sun Belt (0):

Total: 2

Postseason

NCAA CFB Playoff bracket

Since the 2014–15 postseason, six College Football Playoff (CFP) bowl games have hosted two semifinal playoff games on a rotating basis. For this season, the Orange Bowl and the Cotton Bowl Classic hosted the semifinal games, with the winners advancing to the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California.

Semifinals Championship
December 29 – Orange Bowl
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
     
      January 7 – National Championship
Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara
 
       
December 29 – Cotton Bowl
AT&T Stadium, Arlington		      
 
   
     

Conference summaries

Power 5 Conferences

Conference Champion Runner-up Score Offensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Coach of the Year
ACC
Big 12
Big Ten
Pac-12
SEC

Group of Five Conferences

Note: Records are regular-season only, and do not include playoff games.

Conference Champion Runner Up Score Offensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Coach of the Year
AAC
C-USA
MAC
MW
Sun Belt

CFP College Football Playoff participant

Rankings

Coaching changes

Preseason and in-season

This is restricted to coaching coaches taking place on or after May 1, 2018. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2018, see 2017 NCAA Division I FBS end-of-season coaching changes.

School Outgoing Coach Date Reason Replacement

    End of season

    This list includes coaching changes around during the season that did not take effect until the end of the season.

    School Outgoing Coach Date Reason Replacement

      Television viewers and ratings

      Most watched regular season games

      RankDateMatchupNetworkViewers (millions)TV Rating[17]Significance
      1 September 29, 7:30 ET #4 Ohio State 27 #9 Penn State 26 ABC 9.14 5.3 Rivalry/College GameDay
      2 September 15, 8:00 ET #4 Ohio State 40 #15 TCU 28 7.23 4.25 College GameDay
      3 September 1, 7:30 ET #14 Michigan 17 #12 Notre Dame 24 NBC 7.09 4.0 Rivalry/College GameDay
      4 September 2, 7:30 ET #8 Miami (FL) 17 #25 LSU 33 ABC 6.56 3.8 Advocare Classic
      5 September 15, 3:30 ET #12 LSU 22 #7 Auburn 21 CBS 5.94 3.5 Rivalry
      6 September 22, 3:30 ET #22 Texas A&M 23 #1 Alabama 45 5.65 3.4
      7 October 6, 12:00 ET #19 Texas 48 #7 Oklahoma 45 Fox 5.61 3.5 Red River Showdown/College GameDay
      8 September 29, 12:00 ET Syracuse 23 #3 Clemson 27 ABC 4.62 3.0
      9 October 6, 3:30 ET #5 LSU 19 #22 Florida 27 CBS 4.70 2.9 Rivalry
      10 September 8, 7:00 ET #2 Clemson 28 Texas A&M 26 ESPN 4.49 2.6 College GameDay

      See also

      Notes

        References

        1. ↑ ncaa.org (March 2, 2018). "Changes to football's kickoff rule recommended". ncaa.org. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
        2. ↑ "DI football to offer more participation opportunities" (Press release). NCAA. June 13, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
        3. 1 2 Adelson, Andrea (July 13, 2018). "Louisville's football stadium now known as Cardinal Stadium". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
        4. ↑ "Ohio State puts Urban Meyer on administrative leave". ESPN.com. August 1, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
        5. ↑ Murphy, Dan (August 23, 2018). "Ohio State suspends coach Urban Meyer, AD Gene Smith". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
        6. ↑ Rittenberg, Adam (August 1, 2018). "Maryland head coach DJ Durkin placed on administrative leave". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
        7. ↑ Dinich, Heather (August 14, 2018). "Maryland accepts responsibility in death of Jordan McNair, parts with Rick Court". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 14, 2018.
        8. ↑ "Kansas routs Central Michigan, snaps 46-game road skid". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 8, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
        9. ↑ "Kentucky stuns No. 25 Florida; first win over Gators since '86". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 8, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
        10. ↑ "Final Phase of Construction Begins at Sun Devil Stadium". www.constructionequipmentguide.com. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
        11. ↑ Jones, Steve (August 17, 2017). "'Stunning' Papa John's Cardinal Stadium expansion pace, Tom Jurich says". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
        12. ↑ Lourim, Jake (May 23, 2018). "Papa John's Cardinal Stadium won't get as many new seats as you think". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
        13. ↑ Lyell, Kelly (April 19, 2018). "CSU's on-campus stadium naming rights sell for $37.7 million". Coloradoan. Fort Collins, CO. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
        14. ↑ "Canvas Stadium is new name for Colorado State University's multipurpose stadium" (Press release). Colorado State Rams. June 5, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
        15. ↑ Hancock, Peter. "KU football stadium to be renamed after donor David Booth". KU Sports. Retrieved 20 December 2017.
        16. ↑ McGuire, Kevin (July 1, 2018). "It's July 1, so Liberty is now officially college football's newest FBS program; Idaho drops to FCS". NBC Sports. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
        17. ↑ "College Football TV Ratings". SportsMediaWatch.com. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
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