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2008 Ball State

12–⁠2 (8–⁠0 Mid-American Conference), coached by Brady Hoke, then Stan Parrish (interim, bowl game).

Schedule and results

Ball State in 2008, game by game: won vs. Northeastern 48–14; won vs. Navy 35–23; won at Akron 41–24; won at Indiana 42–20; won vs. Kent State 41–20; won at Toledo 31–0; won at Western Kentucky 24–7; won vs. Eastern Michigan 38–16; won vs. Northern Illinois 45–14; won at Miami (OH) 31–16; won at Central Michigan 31–24; won vs. Western Michigan 45–22; lost vs. Buffalo 24–42; lost vs. Tulsa 13–45+34−32Won 48–14 vs. Northeastern+34NortheasternWon 35–23 vs. Navy+12NavyWon 41–24 at Akron+17AkronWon 42–20 at Indiana+22IndianaWon 41–20 vs. Kent State+21Kent StateWon 31–0 at Toledo+31ToledoWon 24–7 at Western Kentucky+17Western KentuckyWon 38–16 vs. Eastern Michigan+22Eastern MichiganWon 45–14 vs. Northern Illinois+31Northern Illino…Won 31–16 at Miami (OH)+15Miami (OH)Won 31–24 at Central Michigan+7Central MichiganWon 45–22 vs. Western Michigan+23Western MichiganLost 24–42 vs. Buffalo-18BuffaloLost 13–45 vs. Tulsa-32Tulsa
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vsNortheasternW 48–⁠1482%
Sep 5vsNavyW 35–⁠2352%
Sep 13atAkronW 41–⁠2456%
Sep 20atIndianaW 42–⁠2048%
Sep 27vsKent StateW 41–⁠2083%
Oct 4atToledoW 31–⁠069%
Oct 11atWestern KentuckyW 24–⁠774%
Oct 25vsEastern MichiganW 38–⁠1690%
Nov 5vsNorthern IllinoisW 45–⁠1477%
Nov 11atMiami (OH)W 31–⁠1683%
Nov 19atCentral MichiganW 31–⁠2452%
Nov 25vsWestern MichiganW 45–⁠2271%
Dec 5vsBuffaloMid-American Championship GameL 24–⁠4277%
Jan 6Bowls & playoffvsTulsaGMAC BowlL 13–⁠4556%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Tulsa 45–⁠13 in the GMAC Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; first in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 5th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 7: 25
  2. Wk 8: 24
  3. Wk 9: 20
  4. Wk 10: 18
  5. Wk 11: 16
  6. Wk 12: 14
  7. Wk 13: 14
  8. Wk 14: 15
  9. Wk 15: 12

MAC West champions8–⁠0 in the conference

Led the nationMiQuale Lewis: rushing touchdowns (22 TD)

Record
12–⁠2
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 12
Points
489–⁠287
Coach
Brady Hoke, then Stan Parrish (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1595 +112 this season
SP+ rating
14.3 No. 24 of 120; offense No. 15, defense No. 69, special teams No. 16
SRS
4.9 No. 40 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 106
Offensive coordinator
Stan Parrish
Defensive coordinator
Mark Smith

How good, play by play

  • Offense8th of 120
  • Defense82nd of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted16th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted92nd of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1448%0.988th of 120
Defense0.0743%1.0482nd of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.08 off
0.06 def		45% off
43% def		—16th off
92nd 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-0.1own 322% allowed
Defense-0.3own 293% 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

Briggs Orsbon WR★★★No. 933
Kyle Hoke OLB★★★No. 1207
Austin Holtz OT★★No. 1406
Joshua Smith S★★No. 1554
James Cravens RB★★No. 1565

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs32.00.750
Receivers42.30.746
Offensive line42.00.752
Defensive line32.00.716
Linebackers22.50.759
Defensive backs22.00.743
Athletes and specialists22.00.733
Whole class202.10.743

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 3Robert Brewster OTDallas Cowboys
Rd 5Nate Davis QBSan Francisco 49ers

2008 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ball State8–⁠012–⁠2
Western Michigan6–⁠29–⁠4
Central Michigan6–⁠28–⁠5
Buffalo5–⁠38–⁠6
Northern Illinois5–⁠36–⁠7
Bowling Green4–⁠46–⁠6
Temple4–⁠45–⁠7
Akron3–⁠55–⁠7
Kent State3–⁠54–⁠8
Ohio3–⁠54–⁠8
Eastern Michigan2–⁠63–⁠9
Toledo2–⁠63–⁠9
Miami (OH)1–⁠72–⁠10

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