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2008 Bowling Green

6–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Mid-American Conference), coached by Gregg Brandon.

Schedule and results

Bowling Green in 2008, game by game: won at No. 25 Pittsburgh 27–17; lost vs. Minnesota 17–42; lost at Boise State 7–20; won at Wyoming 45–16; lost vs. Eastern Michigan 21–24; won at Akron 37–33; lost vs. Miami (OH) 20–27; lost at Northern Illinois 13–16; won vs. Kent State 45–30; won at Ohio 28–3; lost vs. Buffalo 34–40; won at Toledo 38–10+29−25Won 27–17 at No. 25 Pittsburgh+10No. 25 PittsburghLost 17–42 vs. Minnesota-25MinnesotaLost 7–20 at Boise State-13Boise StateWon 45–16 at Wyoming+29WyomingLost 21–24 vs. Eastern Michigan-3Eastern MichiganWon 37–33 at Akron+4AkronLost 20–27 vs. Miami (OH)-7Miami (OH)Lost 13–16 at Northern Illinois-3Northern Illino…Won 45–30 vs. Kent State+15Kent StateWon 28–3 at Ohio+25OhioLost 34–40 vs. Buffalo-6BuffaloWon 38–10 at Toledo+28Toledo
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30at25PittsburghW 27–⁠1740%
Sep 6vsMinnesotaL 17–⁠4268%
Sep 13atBoise StateL 7–⁠2022%
Sep 27atWyomingW 45–⁠1645%
Oct 4vsEastern MichiganL 21–⁠2480%
Oct 11atAkronW 37–⁠3346%
Oct 18vsMiami (OH)L 20–⁠2775%
Oct 25atNorthern IllinoisL 13–⁠1640%
Nov 1vsKent StateW 45–⁠3067%
Nov 8atOhioW 28–⁠351%
Nov 21vsBuffaloL 34–⁠4059%
Nov 28atToledoW 38–⁠1056%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Toledo 38–⁠10; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 35th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 73 on file).

Record
6–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
332–⁠278
Coach
Gregg Brandon
Elo
1488 +12 this season
SP+ rating
2.4 No. 57 of 120; offense No. 44, defense No. 67, special teams No. 91
SRS
−2.2 No. 72 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 112
Offensive coordinators
Troy Rothenbuhler and Matt Campbell
Defensive coordinator
Mike Ward
Offense
Spread

How good, play by play

  • Offense43rd of 120
  • Defense68th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted50th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted72nd of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0542%0.9143rd of 120
Defense0.0444%0.8068th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.04 def		41% off
43% def		—50th off
72nd 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 332% allowed
Defense0.0own 302% 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

Blaec Walker OT★★★No. 1237
Marc Stevens OT★★★No. 1378
Aaron Pankratz PRO★★No. 1436
Keith Morgan ATH★★No. 1602
Winston Etheridge SDE★★No. 1602

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.789
Receivers12.00.767
Offensive line42.50.776
Defensive line22.00.733
Linebackers12.00.700
Defensive backs42.00.719
Athletes and specialists22.00.756
Whole class152.10.748

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 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.