CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Baylor

4–⁠8 (2–⁠6 Big 12), coached by Art Briles.

Schedule and results

Baylor in 2008, game by game: lost vs. No. 23 Wake Forest 13–41; won vs. Northwestern State 51–6; won vs. Washington State 45–17; lost at UConn 28–31; lost vs. No. 1 Oklahoma 17–49; won vs. Iowa State 38–10; lost at No. 8 Oklahoma State 6–34; lost at Nebraska 20–32; lost vs. No. 14 Missouri 28–31; lost at No. 5 Texas 21–45; won vs. Texas A&M 41–21; lost at No. 7 Texas Tech 28–35+45−32Lost 13–41 vs. No. 23 Wake Forest-28No. 23 Wake ForestWon 51–6 vs. Northwestern State+45Northwestern St…Won 45–17 vs. Washington State+28Washington StateLost 28–31 at UConn-3UConnLost 17–49 vs. No. 1 Oklahoma-32No. 1 OklahomaWon 38–10 vs. Iowa State+28Iowa StateLost 6–34 at No. 8 Oklahoma State-28No. 8 Oklahoma StateLost 20–32 at Nebraska-12NebraskaLost 28–31 vs. No. 14 Missouri-3No. 14 MissouriLost 21–45 at No. 5 Texas-24No. 5 TexasWon 41–21 vs. Texas A&M+20Texas A&MLost 28–35 at No. 7 Texas Tech-7No. 7 Texas Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vs23Wake ForestL 13–⁠4129%
Sep 6vsNorthwestern StateW 51–⁠673%
Sep 12vsWashington StateW 45–⁠1753%
Sep 19atUConnL 28–⁠3122%
Oct 4vs1OklahomaL 17–⁠4919%
Oct 11vsIowa StateW 38–⁠1054%
Oct 18at8Oklahoma StateL 6–⁠3416%
Oct 25atNebraskaL 20–⁠3228%
Nov 1vs14MissouriL 28–⁠3122%
Nov 8at5TexasL 21–⁠459%
Nov 15vsTexas A&MW 41–⁠2149%
Nov 29at7Texas TechL 28–⁠3511%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Texas Tech 35–⁠28; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Big 12.

In program history: The 88th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 121 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 8th in Big 12
AP final
Unranked
Points
336–⁠352
Coach
Art Briles
Elo
1434 +39 this season
SP+ rating
4.0 No. 53 of 120; offense No. 32, defense No. 73, special teams No. 89
SRS
4.8 No. 42 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 58
Offensive coordinators
Randy Clements and Philip Montgomery
Defensive coordinator
Brian Norwood
Offense
Veer and shoot
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense24th of 120
  • Defense95th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted30th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted80th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0939%1.1724th of 120
Defense0.0947%0.8495th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.06 off
0.05 def		39% off
44% def		—30th off
80th 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
Offense0.0own 292% allowed
Defense0.0own 332% 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

Kendall Wright ATH★★★★No. 249
Robert Griffin III DUAL★★★★No. 311
Lanear Sampson WR★★★No. 502
Mike Williams CB★★★No. 976
Jake Jackson OG★★★No. 988

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.898
Running backs13.00.822
Receivers23.00.850
Offensive line32.70.807
Defensive line32.30.786
Linebackers22.00.744
Defensive backs22.50.813
Athletes and specialists23.00.838
Whole class162.70.812

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 1Jason Smith OTSt. Louis Rams

All-Big 12

3 first team

First 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 Big 12 standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas7–⁠112–⁠14
Oklahoma7–⁠112–⁠25
Texas Tech7–⁠111–⁠212
Missouri5–⁠310–⁠419
Nebraska5–⁠39–⁠4
Oklahoma State5–⁠39–⁠416
Kansas4–⁠48–⁠5
Colorado2–⁠65–⁠7
Kansas State2–⁠65–⁠7
Baylor2–⁠64–⁠8
Texas A&M2–⁠64–⁠8
Iowa State0–⁠82–⁠10

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