CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Alabama

12–⁠2 (8–⁠0 Southeastern Conference), coached by Nick Saban, finished No. 6 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 2008, game by game: won vs. No. 9 Clemson 34–10; won vs. Tulane 20–6; won vs. Western Kentucky 41–7; won at Arkansas 49–14; won at No. 3 Georgia 41–30; won vs. Kentucky 17–14; won vs. Ole Miss 24–20; won at Tennessee 29–9; won vs. Arkansas State 35–0; won at No. 15 LSU 27–21; won vs. Mississippi State 32–7; won vs. Auburn 36–0; lost vs. No. 2 Florida 20–31; lost vs. No. 7 Utah 17–31+36−14Won 34–10 vs. No. 9 Clemson+24No. 9 ClemsonWon 20–6 vs. Tulane+14TulaneWon 41–7 vs. Western Kentucky+34Western KentuckyWon 49–14 at Arkansas+35ArkansasWon 41–30 at No. 3 Georgia+11No. 3 GeorgiaWon 17–14 vs. Kentucky+3KentuckyWon 24–20 vs. Ole Miss+4Ole MissWon 29–9 at Tennessee+20TennesseeWon 35–0 vs. Arkansas State+35Arkansas StateWon 27–21 at No. 15 LSU+6No. 15 LSUWon 32–7 vs. Mississippi State+25Mississippi Sta…Won 36–0 vs. Auburn+36AuburnLost 20–31 vs. No. 2 Florida-11No. 2 FloridaLost 17–31 vs. No. 7 Utah-14No. 7 Utah
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vs9ClemsonW 34–⁠1039%
Sep 6vsTulaneW 20–⁠677%
Sep 13vsWestern KentuckyW 41–⁠780%
Sep 20atArkansasW 49–⁠1444%
Sep 27at3GeorgiaW 41–⁠3029%
Oct 4vsKentuckyW 17–⁠1464%
Oct 18vsOle MissW 24–⁠2085%
Oct 25atTennesseeW 29–⁠956%
Nov 1vsArkansas StateW 35–⁠086%
Nov 8at15LSUW 27–⁠2145%
Nov 15vsMississippi StateW 32–⁠786%
Nov 29vsAuburnW 36–⁠081%
Dec 6vs2FloridaSEC Championship GameL 20–⁠3137%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs7UtahSugar BowlL 17–⁠3150%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Utah 31–⁠17 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 6 in the final AP poll; first in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 49th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 24
  2. Wk 2: 13
  3. Wk 3: 11
  4. Wk 4: 9
  5. Wk 5: 8
  6. Wk 6: 2
  7. Wk 7: 2
  8. Wk 8: 2
  9. Wk 9: 2
  10. Wk 10: 2
  11. Wk 11: 1
  12. Wk 12: 1
  13. Wk 13: 1
  14. Wk 14: 1
  15. Wk 15: 1
  16. Final: 6

SEC West champions8–⁠0 in the conference

Outland TrophyAndre Smith, OT

3 consensus All-AmericansAndre Smith, OT; Antoine Caldwell, C; Terrence Cody, DT

Eddie Robinson Coach of the YearNick Saban, coach; also the Walter Camp Coach

Record
12–⁠2
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 6 peak No. 1
Points
422–⁠200
Coach
Nick Saban
Elo
1713 +191 this season
SP+ rating
23.0 No. 9 of 120; offense No. 23, defense No. 4, special teams No. 64
SRS
16.1 No. 7 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 3
Offensive coordinator
Jim McElwain
Defensive coordinator
Kirby Smart
Captains
Antoine Caldwell, Rashad Johnson and John Parker Wilson
Offense
Multiple pro-style
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense34th of 120
  • Defense8th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted21st of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted9th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0645%0.8034th of 120
Defense-0.0535%0.928th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
-0.03 def		45% off
36% def		—21st off
9th 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
Offense-0.3own 332% allowed
Defense-0.1own 283% 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

Julio Jones WR★★★★★No. 3
Tyler Love OT★★★★★No. 23
B.J. Scott CB★★★★★No. 27
Jerrell Harris OLB★★★★No. 52
Mark Barron S★★★★No. 71
Courtney Upshaw OLB★★★★No. 102
Alonzo Lawrence CB★★★★No. 105
Mark Ingram RB★★★★No. 114

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.919
Running backs33.70.909
Receivers54.00.918
Offensive line34.30.942
Defensive line44.00.907
Linebackers44.00.932
Defensive backs54.00.930
Athletes and specialists33.70.893
Whole class284.00.920

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 2009

The 2009 draft
Rd 1Andre Smith OTCincinnati Bengals
Rd 3Glen Coffee RBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 3Antoine Caldwell CHouston Texans
Rd 3Rashad Johnson SArizona Cardinals

All-SEC

6 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2008 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2008 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama8–⁠012–⁠26
Florida7–⁠113–⁠11
Georgia6–⁠210–⁠313
Ole Miss5–⁠39–⁠414
South Carolina4–⁠47–⁠6
Vanderbilt4–⁠47–⁠6
LSU3–⁠58–⁠5
Tennessee3–⁠55–⁠7
Kentucky2–⁠67–⁠6
Auburn2–⁠65–⁠7
Arkansas2–⁠65–⁠7
Mississippi State2–⁠64–⁠8

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