2008 Akron

5–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Mid-American Conference), coached by J.D. Brookhart. Share

Schedule and results

Biggest winBeat Army 22–⁠3Sep 20
By 19 points, its widest win.

Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.

Date	Opponent	Result
Aug 30	at13Wisconsin	L 17–⁠38	18%
Sep 6	atSyracuse	W 42–⁠28	47%
Sep 13	vsBall State	L 24–⁠41	44%
Sep 20	atArmy	W 22–⁠3	57%
Sep 27	vsCincinnati	L 15–⁠17	32%
Oct 4	atKent State	W 30–⁠27	53%
Oct 11	vsBowling Green	L 33–⁠37	54%
Oct 18	atEastern Michigan	W 42–⁠35	57%
Nov 5	vsToledo	W 47–⁠30	67%
Nov 13	vsBuffalo	L 40–⁠43	56%
Nov 22	atOhio	L 42–⁠49	53%
Nov 28	atTemple	L 6–⁠27	45%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Temple 27–⁠6; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 64 on file).

Record: 5–⁠7
Conference: 3–⁠5 tied for 8th in Mid-American Conference
AP final: Unranked
Points: 360–⁠375
Coach: J.D. Brookhart
Elo: 1385 −22 this season
SP+ rating: -6.7 No. 85 of 120; offense No. 46, defense No. 102, special teams No. 91
SRS: −7.0 No. 85 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class: No. 97

Offensive coordinator: Joe Moorhead
Defensive coordinator: Jim Fleming
Offense: Multiple
Defense: 3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

Offense41st of 120
Defense97th of 120
Offense, opponent-adjusted54th of 120
Defense, opponent-adjusted102nd of 120

	Success	Explosiveness	FBS rank
Offense	0.05	46%	0.76	41st of 120
Defense	0.09	45%	0.85	97th of 120
Opponent-adjusted	0.04 off 0.06 def	44% off 44% def	—	54th off 102nd 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 40	Average start	Havoc
Offense		0.0	own 34	3% allowed
Defense		-0.2	own 31	2% caused

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. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2008 class

Will Fleming S	★★★	No. 938
Mitch Straight OT	★★★	No. 1247
Jordan Miller PRO	★★★	No. 1247
Norman Shuford APB	★★★	No. 1340
Josh Richmond CB	★★★	No. 1391

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

The 2008 class by position

	Signed	Stars	Rating
Quarterbacks	1	3.0	0.811
Running backs	2	2.5	0.787
Receivers	4	2.0	0.736
Offensive line	3	2.3	0.774
Defensive line	1	2.0	0.789
Linebackers	2	2.0	0.756
Defensive backs	5	2.4	0.761
Athletes and specialists	1	2.0	0.767
Whole class	19	2.3	0.765

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.

2008 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page

Team	Conf.	Overall
Ball State	8–⁠0	12–⁠2
Western Michigan	6–⁠2	9–⁠4
Central Michigan	6–⁠2	8–⁠5
Buffalo	5–⁠3	8–⁠6
Northern Illinois	5–⁠3	6–⁠7
Bowling Green	4–⁠4	6–⁠6
Temple	4–⁠4	5–⁠7
Akron	3–⁠5	5–⁠7
Kent State	3–⁠5	4–⁠8
Ohio	3–⁠5	4–⁠8
Eastern Michigan	2–⁠6	3–⁠9
Toledo	2–⁠6	3–⁠9
Miami (OH)	1–⁠7	2–⁠10

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