CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Boise State

12–⁠1 (8–⁠0 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Chris Petersen, finished No. 11 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Boise State in 2008, game by game: won vs. Idaho State 49–7; won vs. Bowling Green 20–7; won at No. 17 Oregon 37–32; won vs. Louisiana Tech 38–3; won at Southern Miss 24–7; won vs. Hawai’i 27–7; won at San José State 33–16; won at New Mexico State 49–0; won vs. Utah State 49–14; won at Idaho 45–10; won at Nevada 41–34; won vs. Fresno State 61–10; lost vs. No. 11 TCU 16–17+51−1Won 49–7 vs. Idaho State+42Idaho StateWon 20–7 vs. Bowling Green+13Bowling GreenWon 37–32 at No. 17 Oregon+5No. 17 OregonWon 38–3 vs. Louisiana Tech+35Louisiana TechWon 24–7 at Southern Miss+17Southern MissWon 27–7 vs. Hawai’i+20Hawai’iWon 33–16 at San José State+17San José StateWon 49–0 at New Mexico State+49New Mexico StateWon 49–14 vs. Utah State+35Utah StateWon 45–10 at Idaho+35IdahoWon 41–34 at Nevada+7NevadaWon 61–10 vs. Fresno State+51Fresno StateLost 16–17 vs. No. 11 TCU-1No. 11 TCU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsIdaho StateW 49–⁠794%
Sep 13vsBowling GreenW 20–⁠778%
Sep 20at17OregonW 37–⁠3241%
Oct 1vsLouisiana TechW 38–⁠382%
Oct 11atSouthern MissW 24–⁠768%
Oct 17vsHawai’iW 27–⁠773%
Oct 24atSan José StateW 33–⁠1669%
Nov 1atNew Mexico StateW 49–⁠087%
Nov 8vsUtah StateW 49–⁠1492%
Nov 15atIdahoW 45–⁠1092%
Nov 22atNevadaW 41–⁠3468%
Nov 28vsFresno StateW 61–⁠1080%
Dec 23Bowls & playoffvs11TCUPoinsettia BowlL 16–⁠1758%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to TCU 17–⁠16 in the Poinsettia Bowl; No. 11 in the final AP poll; Western Athletic Conference champions.

In program history: The 7th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 56 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 19
  2. Wk 6: 17
  3. Wk 7: 15
  4. Wk 8: 15
  5. Wk 9: 13
  6. Wk 10: 11
  7. Wk 11: 9
  8. Wk 12: 9
  9. Wk 13: 9
  10. Wk 14: 9
  11. Wk 15: 9
  12. Final: 11

Western Athletic Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference

Record
12–⁠1
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
No. 11 peak No. 9
Points
489–⁠164
Coach
Chris Petersen
Elo
1753 +133 this season
SP+ rating
19.8 No. 14 of 120; offense No. 25, defense No. 14, special teams No. 27
SRS
13.1 No. 13 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 87
Offensive coordinator
Bryan Harsin
Defensive coordinator
Justin Wilcox
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense19th of 120
  • Defense9th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted19th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted7th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1044%0.9319th of 120
Defense-0.0533%1.029th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.08 off
-0.03 def		44% off
35% def		—19th off
7th 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 342% allowed
Defense0.0own 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

Tyler Jackson CB★★★No. 901
Chandler Koch TE★★★No. 951
Byron Hout OLB★★★No. 984
Chris Potter ATH★★★No. 1013
Jamar Taylor CB★★★No. 1019

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs13.00.812
Receivers32.30.764
Offensive line62.00.756
Defensive line13.00.813
Linebackers22.50.768
Defensive backs23.00.838
Athletes and specialists22.50.801
Whole class172.40.780

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 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Boise State8–⁠012–⁠111
Louisiana Tech5–⁠38–⁠5
Nevada5–⁠37–⁠6
Hawai’i5–⁠37–⁠7
Fresno State4–⁠47–⁠6
San José State4–⁠46–⁠6
Utah State3–⁠53–⁠9
New Mexico State1–⁠73–⁠9
Idaho1–⁠72–⁠10

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