CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Florida Atlantic

7–⁠6 (4–⁠3 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Howard Schnellenberger.

Schedule and results

Florida Atlantic in 2008, game by game: lost at No. 11 Texas 10–52; won vs. UAB 49–34; lost at Michigan State 0–17; lost at Minnesota 3–37; lost at Middle Tennessee 13–14; lost vs. Troy 17–30; won at Western Kentucky 24–20; won at UL Monroe 29–28; won vs. North Texas 46–13; won vs. Louisiana 40–29; lost at Arkansas State 14–28; won vs. Florida International 57–50; won vs. Central Michigan 24–21+33−42Lost 10–52 at No. 11 Texas-42No. 11 TexasWon 49–34 vs. UAB+15UABLost 0–17 at Michigan State-17Michigan StateLost 3–37 at Minnesota-34MinnesotaLost 13–14 at Middle Tennessee-1Middle TennesseeLost 17–30 vs. Troy-13TroyWon 24–20 at Western Kentucky+4Western KentuckyWon 29–28 at UL Monroe+1UL MonroeWon 46–13 vs. North Texas+33North TexasWon 40–29 vs. Louisiana+11LouisianaLost 14–28 at Arkansas State-14Arkansas StateWon 57–50 vs. Florida International+7Florida Interna…Won 24–21 vs. Central Michigan+3Central Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30at11TexasL 10–⁠5225%
Sep 6vsUABW 49–⁠3477%
Sep 13atMichigan StateL 0–⁠1736%
Sep 20atMinnesotaL 3–⁠3740%
Sep 30atMiddle TennesseeL 13–⁠1444%
Oct 7vsTroyL 17–⁠3045%
Oct 18atWestern KentuckyW 24–⁠2050%
Oct 25atUL MonroeW 29–⁠2846%
Nov 8vsNorth TexasW 46–⁠1381%
Nov 15vsLouisianaW 40–⁠2960%
Nov 22atArkansas StateL 14–⁠2849%
Nov 29vsFlorida InternationalW 57–⁠5070%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsCentral MichiganMotor City BowlW 24–⁠2139%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Central Michigan 24–⁠21 in the Motor City Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Sun Belt Conference.

In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 25 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Sun Belt Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
326–⁠373
Coach
Howard Schnellenberger
Elo
1474 −25 this season
SP+ rating
-8.5 No. 89 of 120; offense No. 65, defense No. 97, special teams No. 69
SRS
−8.3 No. 93 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Gary Nord
Defensive coordinator
Kirk Hoza
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense52nd of 120
  • Defense76th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted60th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted75th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0441%1.0152nd of 120
Defense0.0544%0.8576th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.03 off
0.04 def		40% off
44% def		—60th off
75th 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 313% allowed
Defense-0.1own 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.

2008 Sun Belt Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Troy6–⁠18–⁠5
Louisiana5–⁠26–⁠6
Florida Atlantic4–⁠37–⁠6
Arkansas State4–⁠36–⁠6
Florida International3–⁠45–⁠7
Middle Tennessee3–⁠45–⁠7
UL Monroe3–⁠44–⁠8
North Texas0–⁠71–⁠11

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