CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Florida State

9–⁠4 (5–⁠3 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Bobby Bowden, finished No. 21 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Florida State in 2008, game by game: won vs. Western Carolina 69–0; won vs. Chattanooga 46–7; lost vs. No. 18 Wake Forest 3–12; won vs. Colorado 39–21; won at Miami 41–39; won at NC State 26–17; won vs. Virginia Tech 30–20; lost at Georgia Tech 28–31; won vs. Clemson 41–27; lost vs. Boston College 17–27; won at No. 22 Maryland 37–3; lost vs. No. 2 Florida 15–45; won vs. Wisconsin 42–13+69−30Won 69–0 vs. Western Carolina+69Western CarolinaWon 46–7 vs. Chattanooga+39ChattanoogaLost 3–12 vs. No. 18 Wake Forest-9No. 18 Wake ForestWon 39–21 vs. Colorado+18ColoradoWon 41–39 at Miami+2MiamiWon 26–17 at NC State+9NC StateWon 30–20 vs. Virginia Tech+10Virginia TechLost 28–31 at Georgia Tech-3Georgia TechWon 41–27 vs. Clemson+14ClemsonLost 17–27 vs. Boston College-10Boston CollegeWon 37–3 at No. 22 Maryland+34No. 22 MarylandLost 15–45 vs. No. 2 Florida-30No. 2 FloridaWon 42–13 vs. Wisconsin+29Wisconsin
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vsWestern CarolinaW 69–⁠090%
Sep 13vsChattanoogaW 46–⁠790%
Sep 20vs18Wake ForestL 3–⁠1248%
Sep 27vsColoradoW 39–⁠2150%
Oct 4atMiamiW 41–⁠3950%
Oct 16atNC StateW 26–⁠1763%
Oct 25vsVirginia TechW 30–⁠2047%
Nov 1atGeorgia TechL 28–⁠3147%
Nov 8vsClemsonW 41–⁠2761%
Nov 15vsBoston CollegeL 17–⁠2759%
Nov 22at22MarylandW 37–⁠346%
Nov 29vs2FloridaL 15–⁠4531%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsWisconsinChamps Sports BowlW 42–⁠1351%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Wisconsin 42–⁠13 in the Champs Sports Bowl; No. 21 in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 39th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 78 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 24
  2. Wk 9: 24
  3. Wk 10: 16
  4. Wk 11: 24
  5. Wk 12: 20
  6. Wk 14: 23
  7. Final: 21

ACC Atlantic champions5–⁠3 in the conference, shared with Boston College

Lou Groza AwardGraham Gano, K

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 shared first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 21 peak No. 16
Points
434–⁠262
Coach
Bobby Bowden
Elo
1649 +105 this season
SP+ rating
18.7 No. 18 of 120; offense No. 25, defense No. 21, special teams No. 1
SRS
11.7 No. 17 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 12
Offensive coordinator
Jimbo Fisher
Defensive coordinator
Mickey Andrews
Captains
Antone Smith, Tony Carter and Benjamin Lampkin
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense42nd of 120
  • Defense18th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted35th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted29th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0544%0.9342nd of 120
Defense-0.0236%0.9618th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.06 off
0.00 def		44% off
38% def		—35th off
29th 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-0.2own 352% 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

Nigel Bradham OLB★★★★★No. 19
E.J. Manuel DUAL★★★★★No. 26
Nigel Carr ILB★★★★No. 68
Jarmon Fortson ATH★★★★No. 155
Terrance Parks S★★★★No. 185
Zebrie Sanders OT★★★★No. 218
A.J. Alexander ATH★★★★No. 221
Vince Williams ILB★★★★No. 265

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks15.00.985
Running backs23.50.855
Receivers22.50.799
Offensive line42.80.818
Defensive line33.30.854
Linebackers34.30.954
Defensive backs33.70.885
Athletes and specialists24.00.922
Whole class203.50.875

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 2Everette Brown DECarolina Panthers

2008 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Virginia Tech5–⁠310–⁠415
Georgia Tech5–⁠39–⁠422
Florida State5–⁠39–⁠421
Boston College5–⁠39–⁠5
Maryland4–⁠48–⁠5
North Carolina4–⁠48–⁠5
Wake Forest4–⁠48–⁠5
Miami4–⁠47–⁠6
Clemson4–⁠47–⁠6
NC State4–⁠46–⁠7
Virginia3–⁠55–⁠7
Duke1–⁠74–⁠8

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