CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Buffalo

8–⁠6 (5–⁠3 Mid-American Conference), coached by Turner Gill.

Schedule and results

Buffalo in 2008, game by game: won vs. UTEP 42–17; lost at Pittsburgh 16–27; won vs. Temple 30–28; lost at No. 5 Missouri 21–42; lost at Central Michigan 25–27; lost vs. Western Michigan 28–34; won vs. Army 27–24; won at Ohio 32–19; won vs. Miami (OH) 37–17; won at Akron 43–40; won at Bowling Green 40–34; lost vs. Kent State 21–24; won vs. No. 12 Ball State 42–24; lost vs. UConn 20–38+25−21Won 42–17 vs. UTEP+25UTEPLost 16–27 at Pittsburgh-11PittsburghWon 30–28 vs. Temple+2TempleLost 21–42 at No. 5 Missouri-21No. 5 MissouriLost 25–27 at Central Michigan-2Central MichiganLost 28–34 vs. Western Michigan-6Western MichiganWon 27–24 vs. Army+3ArmyWon 32–19 at Ohio+13OhioWon 37–17 vs. Miami (OH)+20Miami (OH)Won 43–40 at Akron+3AkronWon 40–34 at Bowling Green+6Bowling GreenLost 21–24 vs. Kent State-3Kent StateWon 42–24 vs. No. 12 Ball State+18No. 12 Ball StateLost 20–38 vs. UConn-18UConn
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vsUTEPW 42–⁠1762%
Sep 6atPittsburghL 16–⁠2740%
Sep 13vsTempleW 30–⁠2861%
Sep 20at5MissouriL 21–⁠4214%
Sep 27atCentral MichiganL 25–⁠2730%
Oct 11vsWestern MichiganL 28–⁠3442%
Oct 18vsArmyW 27–⁠2467%
Oct 28atOhioW 32–⁠1941%
Nov 4vsMiami (OH)W 37–⁠1773%
Nov 13atAkronW 43–⁠4044%
Nov 21atBowling GreenW 40–⁠3441%
Nov 28vsKent StateL 21–⁠2479%
Dec 5vs12Ball StateMid-American Championship GameW 42–⁠2423%
Jan 3Bowls & playoffvsUConnInternational BowlL 20–⁠3849%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to UConn 38–⁠20 in the International Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Mid-American Conference champions.

In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 54 on file).

Mid-American Conference champions5–⁠3 in the conference, won the Mid-American Championship Game

Record
8–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
424–⁠395
Coach
Turner Gill
Elo
1497 +76 this season
SP+ rating
-14.4 No. 101 of 120; offense No. 62, defense No. 114, special teams No. 97
SRS
−1.8 No. 69 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 114
Offensive coordinator
Turner Gill
Captains
Ronald Hilaire, Jeff Niedermier, Mike Newton and Drew Willy

How good, play by play

  • Offense30th of 120
  • Defense92nd of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted37th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted106th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0742%0.9230th of 120
Defense0.0849%0.8192nd of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.05 off
0.07 def		40% off
47% def		—37th off
106th 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 302% allowed
Defense0.0own 342% 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

Joel Wilson DT★★★No. 1211
Jerry Davis PRO★★★No. 1247
Ray Anthony Long S★★★No. 1247
Dalonte Wallace WDE★★★No. 1355
Dustin Tait ILB★★No. 1575

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.811
Running backs12.00.764
Offensive line42.00.711
Defensive line52.40.758
Linebackers42.00.720
Defensive backs22.50.772
Whole class172.20.743

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.

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.