CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Colorado State

7–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Mountain West Conference), coached by Steve Fairchild.

Schedule and results

Colorado State in 2008, game by game: lost vs. Colorado 17–38; won vs. Sacramento State 23–20; won vs. Houston 28–25; lost at California 7–42; won vs. UNLV 41–28; lost vs. TCU 7–13; lost at No. 14 Utah 16–49; won at San Diego State 38–34; lost vs. No. 17 BYU 42–45; lost at Air Force 17–38; won vs. New Mexico 20–6; won at Wyoming 31–20; won vs. Fresno State 40–35+14−35Lost 17–38 vs. Colorado-21ColoradoWon 23–20 vs. Sacramento State+3Sacramento StateWon 28–25 vs. Houston+3HoustonLost 7–42 at California-35CaliforniaWon 41–28 vs. UNLV+13UNLVLost 7–13 vs. TCU-6TCULost 16–49 at No. 14 Utah-33No. 14 UtahWon 38–34 at San Diego State+4San Diego StateLost 42–45 vs. No. 17 BYU-3No. 17 BYULost 17–38 at Air Force-21Air ForceWon 20–6 vs. New Mexico+14New MexicoWon 31–20 at Wyoming+11WyomingWon 40–35 vs. Fresno State+5Fresno State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsColoradoL 17–⁠3843%
Sep 6vsSacramento StateW 23–⁠2077%
Sep 20vsHoustonW 28–⁠2544%
Sep 27atCaliforniaL 7–⁠4223%
Oct 4vsUNLVW 41–⁠2863%
Oct 11vsTCUL 7–⁠1329%
Oct 18at14UtahL 16–⁠4914%
Oct 25atSan Diego StateW 38–⁠3452%
Nov 1vs17BYUL 42–⁠4524%
Nov 8atAir ForceL 17–⁠3821%
Nov 15vsNew MexicoW 20–⁠649%
Nov 22atWyomingW 31–⁠2049%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffvsFresno StateNew Mexico BowlW 40–⁠3538%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Fresno State 40–⁠35 in the New Mexico Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 5th in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 45th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 5th in Mountain West Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
327–⁠393
Coach
Steve Fairchild
Elo
1485 +53 this season
SP+ rating
-3.3 No. 78 of 120; offense No. 40, defense No. 98, special teams No. 36
SRS
−6.7 No. 84 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 91
Offensive coordinator
Greg Peterson
Defensive coordinator
Larry Kerr

How good, play by play

  • Offense37th of 120
  • Defense109th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted39th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted117th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0643%0.9137th of 120
Defense0.1147%0.86109th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.05 off
0.08 def		43% off
46% def		—39th off
117th 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 292% allowed
Defense-0.1own 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

Marquise Law WR★★★No. 1247
Alex Kelly PRO★★No. 1418
Ben Tedford WDE★★No. 1428
Chris Gipson ILB★★No. 1436
Ja’Rodd Watson FB★★No. 1571

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.793
Running backs22.00.775
Receivers22.50.789
Offensive line22.00.767
Defensive line52.00.767
Linebackers12.00.789
Defensive backs32.00.767
Athletes and specialists22.00.756
Whole class182.10.772

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 4Gartrell Johnson RBSan Diego Chargers

2008 Mountain West Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Utah8–⁠013–⁠02
TCU7–⁠111–⁠27
BYU6–⁠210–⁠325
Air Force5–⁠38–⁠5
Colorado State4–⁠47–⁠6
UNLV2–⁠65–⁠7
New Mexico2–⁠64–⁠8
Wyoming1–⁠74–⁠8
San Diego State1–⁠72–⁠10

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