CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 East Carolina

9–⁠5 (6–⁠2 Conference USA), coached by Skip Holtz.

Schedule and results

East Carolina in 2008, game by game: won vs. No. 17 Virginia Tech 27–22; won vs. No. 8 West Virginia 24–3; won at Tulane 28–24; lost at NC State 24–30; lost vs. Houston 24–41; lost at Virginia 20–35; won vs. Memphis 30–10; won at UCF 13–10; won vs. Marshall 19–16; lost at Southern Miss 3–21; won at UAB 17–13; won vs. UTEP 53–21; won at Tulsa 27–24; lost vs. Kentucky 19–25+32−18Won 27–22 vs. No. 17 Virginia Tech+5No. 17 Virginia TechWon 24–3 vs. No. 8 West Virginia+21No. 8 West VirginiaWon 28–24 at Tulane+4TulaneLost 24–30 at NC State-6NC StateLost 24–41 vs. Houston-17HoustonLost 20–35 at Virginia-15VirginiaWon 30–10 vs. Memphis+20MemphisWon 13–10 at UCF+3UCFWon 19–16 vs. Marshall+3MarshallLost 3–21 at Southern Miss-18Southern MissWon 17–13 at UAB+4UABWon 53–21 vs. UTEP+32UTEPWon 27–24 at Tulsa+3TulsaLost 19–25 vs. Kentucky-6Kentucky
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vs17Virginia TechW 27–⁠2228%
Sep 6vs8West VirginiaW 24–⁠336%
Sep 13atTulaneW 28–⁠2468%
Sep 20atNC StateL 24–⁠3064%
Sep 27vsHoustonL 24–⁠4168%
Oct 11atVirginiaL 20–⁠3544%
Oct 18vsMemphisW 30–⁠1069%
Nov 2atUCFW 13–⁠1052%
Nov 8vsMarshallW 19–⁠1668%
Nov 15atSouthern MissL 3–⁠2151%
Nov 22atUABW 17–⁠1367%
Nov 28vsUTEPW 53–⁠2168%
Dec 6atTulsaConference USA Championship GameW 27–⁠2433%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvsKentuckyLiberty BowlL 19–⁠2557%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Kentucky 25–⁠19 in the Liberty Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Conference USA champions.

In program history: The 20th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 70 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 14
  2. Wk 4: 15
  3. Wk 5: 23

Conference USA champions6–⁠2 in the conference, won the Conference USA Championship Game

Record
9–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked peak No. 14
Points
328–⁠295
Coach
Skip Holtz
Elo
1537 +25 this season
SP+ rating
1.3 No. 64 of 120; offense No. 86, defense No. 41, special teams No. 64
SRS
0.2 No. 63 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 86
Offensive coordinators
Steve Shankweiler and Todd Fitch
Defensive coordinator
Greg Hudson
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense72nd of 120
  • Defense15th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted89th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted11th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0140%0.9372nd of 120
Defense-0.0336%0.9115th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.01 off
-0.02 def		39% off
37% def		—89th off
11th 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
Offense0.1own 322% allowed
Defense-0.1own 332% 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

Dalton Faulds OG★★★No. 877
Marquan Brown RB★★★No. 891
Dayon Arrington WR★★★No. 1206
Rahkeem Morgan CB★★★No. 1247
Josh Jordan PRO★★★No. 1349

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.809
Running backs13.00.844
Receivers22.50.760
Offensive line52.20.756
Defensive line32.30.776
Defensive backs42.30.775
Athletes and specialists22.00.767
Whole class182.30.773

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 5Davon Drew TEBaltimore Ravens

2008 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Tulsa7–⁠111–⁠3
Rice7–⁠110–⁠3
East Carolina6–⁠29–⁠5
Houston6–⁠28–⁠5
Southern Miss4–⁠47–⁠6
Memphis4–⁠46–⁠7
UTEP4–⁠45–⁠7
UAB3–⁠54–⁠8
UCF3–⁠54–⁠8
Marshall3–⁠54–⁠8
Tulane1–⁠72–⁠10
SMU0–⁠81–⁠11

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