CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Boston College

9–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Jeff Jagodzinski.

Schedule and results

Boston College in 2008, game by game: won vs. Kent State 21–0; lost vs. Georgia Tech 16–19; won vs. UCF 34–7; won vs. Rhode Island 42–0; won at NC State 38–31; won vs. No. 17 Virginia Tech 28–23; lost at North Carolina 24–45; lost vs. Clemson 21–27; won vs. Notre Dame 17–0; won at No. 20 Florida State 27–17; won at Wake Forest 24–21; won vs. Maryland 28–21; lost vs. Virginia Tech 12–30; lost vs. Vanderbilt 14–16+42−21Won 21–0 vs. Kent State+21Kent StateLost 16–19 vs. Georgia Tech-3Georgia TechWon 34–7 vs. UCF+27UCFWon 42–0 vs. Rhode Island+42Rhode IslandWon 38–31 at NC State+7NC StateWon 28–23 vs. No. 17 Virginia Tech+5No. 17 Virginia TechLost 24–45 at North Carolina-21North CarolinaLost 21–27 vs. Clemson-6ClemsonWon 17–0 vs. Notre Dame+17Notre DameWon 27–17 at No. 20 Florida State+10No. 20 Florida StateWon 24–21 at Wake Forest+3Wake ForestWon 28–21 vs. Maryland+7MarylandLost 12–30 vs. Virginia Tech-18Virginia TechLost 14–16 vs. Vanderbilt-2Vanderbilt
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsKent StateW 21–⁠080%
Sep 6vsGeorgia TechL 16–⁠1970%
Sep 20vsUCFW 34–⁠767%
Sep 27vsRhode IslandW 42–⁠094%
Oct 4atNC StateW 38–⁠3169%
Oct 18vs17Virginia TechW 28–⁠2352%
Oct 25atNorth CarolinaL 24–⁠4556%
Nov 1vsClemsonL 21–⁠2768%
Nov 8vsNotre DameW 17–⁠066%
Nov 15at20Florida StateW 27–⁠1741%
Nov 22atWake ForestW 24–⁠2153%
Nov 29vsMarylandW 28–⁠2174%
Dec 6vsVirginia TechACC Championship GameL 12–⁠3051%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsVanderbiltMusic City BowlL 14–⁠1671%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Vanderbilt 16–⁠14 in the Music City Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 14th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 116 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 9: 23
  2. Wk 14: 20
  3. Wk 15: 18

ACC Atlantic champions5–⁠3 in the conference, shared with Florida State

Record
9–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 shared first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 18
Points
346–⁠257
Coach
Jeff Jagodzinski
Elo
1623 +5 this season
SP+ rating
11.0 No. 29 of 120; offense No. 78, defense No. 3, special teams No. 111
SRS
6.8 No. 32 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 38
Offensive coordinator
Steve Logan
Defensive coordinator
Frank Spaziani
Captains
Chris Crane and Mike McLaughlin
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense91st of 120
  • Defense3rd of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted99th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted5th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0239%0.8191st of 120
Defense-0.0935%0.933rd of 120
Opponent-adjusted-0.00 off
-0.04 def		40% off
37% def		—99th off
5th 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-0.2own 323% allowed
Defense-0.3own 344% 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

Josh Haden RB★★★★No. 205
Okechuckwu Okoroha S★★★★No. 287
Mike Goodman OT★★★★No. 337
Justin Tuggle PRO★★★No. 850
Max Holloway SDE★★★No. 901

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.849
Running backs43.30.844
Receivers33.00.836
Offensive line14.00.895
Defensive line23.00.833
Linebackers13.00.843
Defensive backs23.50.857
Athletes and specialists22.50.800
Whole class163.10.840

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 1B.J. Raji DTGreen Bay Packers
Rd 2Ron Brace DTNew England Patriots

2008 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Virginia Tech5–⁠310–⁠415
Georgia Tech5–⁠39–⁠422
Florida State5–⁠39–⁠421
Boston College5–⁠39–⁠5
Maryland4–⁠48–⁠5
North Carolina4–⁠48–⁠5
Wake Forest4–⁠48–⁠5
Miami4–⁠47–⁠6
Clemson4–⁠47–⁠6
NC State4–⁠46–⁠7
Virginia3–⁠55–⁠7
Duke1–⁠74–⁠8

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