CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Fresno State

7–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Pat Hill.

Schedule and results

Fresno State in 2008, game by game: won at Rutgers 24–7; lost vs. No. 10 Wisconsin 10–13; won at Toledo 55–54; won at UCLA 36–31; lost vs. Hawai’i 29–32; won vs. Idaho 45–32; won at Utah State 30–28; lost at Louisiana Tech 35–38; lost vs. Nevada 28–41; won vs. New Mexico State 24–17; won at San José State 24–10; lost at No. 9 Boise State 10–61; lost vs. Colorado State 35–40+17−51Won 24–7 at Rutgers+17RutgersLost 10–13 vs. No. 10 Wisconsin-3No. 10 WisconsinWon 55–54 at Toledo+1ToledoWon 36–31 at UCLA+5UCLALost 29–32 vs. Hawai’i-3Hawai’iWon 45–32 vs. Idaho+13IdahoWon 30–28 at Utah State+2Utah StateLost 35–38 at Louisiana Tech-3Louisiana TechLost 28–41 vs. Nevada-13NevadaWon 24–17 vs. New Mexico State+7New Mexico StateWon 24–10 at San José State+14San José StateLost 10–61 at No. 9 Boise State-51No. 9 Boise StateLost 35–40 vs. Colorado State-5Colorado State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1atRutgersW 24–⁠741%
Sep 13vs10WisconsinL 10–⁠1351%
Sep 20atToledoW 55–⁠5460%
Sep 27atUCLAW 36–⁠3155%
Oct 4vsHawai’iL 29–⁠3265%
Oct 11vsIdahoW 45–⁠3290%
Oct 25atUtah StateW 30–⁠2878%
Nov 1atLouisiana TechL 35–⁠3867%
Nov 7vsNevadaL 28–⁠4168%
Nov 15vsNew Mexico StateW 24–⁠1783%
Nov 21atSan José StateW 24–⁠1057%
Nov 28at9Boise StateL 10–⁠6120%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffvsColorado StateNew Mexico BowlL 35–⁠4062%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Colorado State 40–⁠35 in the New Mexico Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Western Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 31st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 97 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 2: 21
  2. Wk 3: 21
  3. Wk 4: 25
  4. Wk 5: 25
  5. Wk 6: 22
Record
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 5th in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 21
Points
385–⁠404
Coach
Pat Hill
Elo
1521 −33 this season
SP+ rating
-3.5 No. 80 of 120; offense No. 42, defense No. 96, special teams No. 45
SRS
−5.8 No. 79 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 70
Offensive coordinator
Doug Nussmeier
Defensive coordinator
Dan Brown
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense20th of 120
  • Defense81st of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted17th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted88th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1044%0.9620th of 120
Defense0.0743%0.8981st of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.08 off
0.05 def		43% off
42% def		—17th off
88th 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-0.5own 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

Ebahn Feathers DUAL★★★No. 901
Logan Harrell SDE★★★No. 901
Matt Akers WDE★★★No. 938
L.J. Jones CB★★★No. 1019
Trevor Richter OT★★★No. 1019

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.843
Running backs22.50.789
Receivers42.00.779
Offensive line62.30.784
Defensive line42.50.799
Linebackers13.00.828
Defensive backs13.00.833
Whole class192.40.795

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 6Tom Brandstater QBDenver Broncos
Rd 6Bear Pascoe TESan Francisco 49ers

2008 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Boise State8–⁠012–⁠111
Louisiana Tech5–⁠38–⁠5
Nevada5–⁠37–⁠6
Hawai’i5–⁠37–⁠7
Fresno State4–⁠47–⁠6
San José State4–⁠46–⁠6
Utah State3–⁠53–⁠9
New Mexico State1–⁠73–⁠9
Idaho1–⁠72–⁠10

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