CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Central Michigan

8–⁠5 (6–⁠2 Mid-American Conference), coached by Butch Jones.

Schedule and results

Central Michigan in 2008, game by game: won vs. Eastern Illinois 31–12; lost at No. 2 Georgia 17–56; won at Ohio 31–28; lost at Purdue 25–32; won vs. Buffalo 27–25; won vs. Temple 24–14; won vs. Western Michigan 38–28; won at Toledo 24–23; won at Indiana 37–34; won at Northern Illinois 33–30; lost vs. No. 14 Ball State 24–31; lost at Eastern Michigan 52–56; lost vs. Florida Atlantic 21–24+19−39Won 31–12 vs. Eastern Illinois+19Eastern IllinoisLost 17–56 at No. 2 Georgia-39No. 2 GeorgiaWon 31–28 at Ohio+3OhioLost 25–32 at Purdue-7PurdueWon 27–25 vs. Buffalo+2BuffaloWon 24–14 vs. Temple+10TempleWon 38–28 vs. Western Michigan+10Western MichiganWon 24–23 at Toledo+1ToledoWon 37–34 at Indiana+3IndianaWon 33–30 at Northern Illinois+3Northern Illino…Lost 24–31 vs. No. 14 Ball State-7No. 14 Ball StateLost 52–56 at Eastern Michigan-4Eastern MichiganLost 21–24 vs. Florida Atlantic-3Florida Atlantic
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vsEastern IllinoisW 31–⁠1278%
Sep 6at2GeorgiaL 17–⁠5624%
Sep 13atOhioW 31–⁠2852%
Sep 20atPurdueL 25–⁠3244%
Sep 27vsBuffaloW 27–⁠2570%
Oct 11vsTempleW 24–⁠1473%
Oct 18vsWestern MichiganW 38–⁠2856%
Oct 25atToledoW 24–⁠2368%
Nov 1atIndianaW 37–⁠3464%
Nov 12atNorthern IllinoisW 33–⁠3058%
Nov 19vs14Ball StateL 24–⁠3148%
Nov 28atEastern MichiganL 52–⁠5679%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsFlorida AtlanticMotor City BowlL 21–⁠2461%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Florida Atlantic 24–⁠21 in the Motor City Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 19th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 68 on file).

Led the nationAntonio Brown: punt return average (20.5)

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
384–⁠393
Coach
Butch Jones
Elo
1514 −10 this season
SP+ rating
-5.6 No. 83 of 120; offense No. 39, defense No. 107, special teams No. 38
SRS
−6.4 No. 82 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 101
Offensive coordinator
Mike Bajakian
Defensive coordinator
Tim Banks

How good, play by play

  • Offense21st of 120
  • Defense87th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted23rd of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted98th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0942%1.0521st of 120
Defense0.0841%0.9787th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.06 def		41% off
42% def		—23rd off
98th 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 322% allowed
Defense0.0own 291% 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

Jahleel Addae APB★★★No. 877
Ryan Radcliff PRO★★★No. 988
Bryan Schroeder RB★★★No. 1231
LaVarus Williams CB★★★No. 1247
Valtorrey Showers WR★★No. 1436

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.836
Running backs32.70.801
Receivers42.00.756
Offensive line32.00.759
Defensive line52.00.755
Linebackers12.00.722
Defensive backs52.20.762
Whole class222.20.766

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.