CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 California

9–⁠4 (6–⁠3 Pac-10), coached by Jeff Tedford.

Schedule and results

California in 2008, game by game: won vs. Michigan State 38–31; won at Washington State 66–3; lost at Maryland 27–35; won vs. Colorado State 42–7; won vs. Arizona State 24–14; lost at Arizona 27–42; won vs. UCLA 41–20; won vs. No. 23 Oregon 26–16; lost at No. 7 USC 3–17; lost at No. 23 Oregon State 21–34; won vs. Stanford 37–16; won vs. Washington 48–7; won vs. Miami 24–17+63−15Won 38–31 vs. Michigan State+7Michigan StateWon 66–3 at Washington State+63Washington StateLost 27–35 at Maryland-8MarylandWon 42–7 vs. Colorado State+35Colorado StateWon 24–14 vs. Arizona State+10Arizona StateLost 27–42 at Arizona-15ArizonaWon 41–20 vs. UCLA+21UCLAWon 26–16 vs. No. 23 Oregon+10No. 23 OregonLost 3–17 at No. 7 USC-14No. 7 USCLost 21–34 at No. 23 Oregon State-13No. 23 Oregon StateWon 37–16 vs. Stanford+21StanfordWon 48–7 vs. Washington+41WashingtonWon 24–17 vs. Miami+7Miami
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsMichigan StateW 38–⁠3160%
Sep 6atWashington StateW 66–⁠357%
Sep 13atMarylandL 27–⁠3554%
Sep 27vsColorado StateW 42–⁠777%
Oct 4vsArizona StateW 24–⁠1463%
Oct 18atArizonaL 27–⁠4247%
Oct 25vsUCLAW 41–⁠2070%
Nov 1vs23OregonW 26–⁠1649%
Nov 8at7USCL 3–⁠1722%
Nov 15at23Oregon StateL 21–⁠3437%
Nov 22vsStanfordW 37–⁠1676%
Dec 6vsWashingtonW 48–⁠790%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsMiamiEmerald BowlW 24–⁠1760%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Miami 24–⁠17 in the Emerald Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 4th in the Pac-10.

In program history: The 18th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 23
  2. Wk 8: 25
  3. Wk 11: 21

William V. Campbell TrophyAlex Mack, OL

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠3 4th in Pac-10
AP final
Unranked peak No. 21
Points
424–⁠259
Coach
Jeff Tedford
Elo
1634 +83 this season
SP+ rating
18.0 No. 20 of 120; offense No. 30, defense No. 13, special teams No. 69
SRS
10.8 No. 19 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 29
Offensive coordinator
Frank Cignetti Jr.
Defensive coordinator
Bob Gregory
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense86th of 120
  • Defense7th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted96th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted10th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0137%0.9886th of 120
Defense-0.0536%0.907th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.01 off
-0.03 def		38% off
37% def		—96th off
10th 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 332% allowed
Defense0.0own 322% 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

Marvin Jones WR★★★★No. 178
Spencer Ladner TE★★★★No. 276
Tyler Rigsbee OT★★★★No. 282
Anthony Miller TE★★★No. 452
Beau Sweeney PRO★★★No. 452

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.879
Receivers53.20.874
Offensive line14.00.901
Defensive line23.00.822
Linebackers23.00.876
Defensive backs13.00.829
Athletes and specialists12.00.767
Whole class133.10.857

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 1Alex Mack CCleveland Browns
Rd 7Zack Follett OLBDetroit Lions
Rd 7Cameron Morrah TESeattle Seahawks

All-Pac-10

5 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second 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 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC8–⁠112–⁠13
Oregon7–⁠210–⁠310
Oregon State7–⁠29–⁠418
California6–⁠39–⁠4
Arizona5–⁠48–⁠5
Arizona State4–⁠55–⁠7
Stanford4–⁠55–⁠7
UCLA3–⁠64–⁠8
Washington State1–⁠82–⁠11
Washington0–⁠90–⁠12

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