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2008 Georgia

10–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Southeastern Conference), coached by Mark Richt, finished No. 13 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Georgia in 2008, game by game: won vs. Georgia Southern 45–21; won vs. Central Michigan 56–17; won at South Carolina 14–7; won at Arizona State 27–10; lost vs. No. 8 Alabama 30–41; won vs. Tennessee 26–14; won vs. No. 22 Vanderbilt 24–14; won at No. 11 LSU 52–38; lost vs. No. 5 Florida 10–49; won at Kentucky 42–38; won at Auburn 17–13; lost vs. No. 18 Georgia Tech 42–45; won vs. No. 21 Michigan State 24–12+39−39Won 45–21 vs. Georgia Southern+24Georgia SouthernWon 56–17 vs. Central Michigan+39Central MichiganWon 14–7 at South Carolina+7South CarolinaWon 27–10 at Arizona State+17Arizona StateLost 30–41 vs. No. 8 Alabama-11No. 8 AlabamaWon 26–14 vs. Tennessee+12TennesseeWon 24–14 vs. No. 22 Vanderbilt+10No. 22 VanderbiltWon 52–38 at No. 11 LSU+14No. 11 LSULost 10–49 vs. No. 5 Florida-39No. 5 FloridaWon 42–38 at Kentucky+4KentuckyWon 17–13 at Auburn+4AuburnLost 42–45 vs. No. 18 Georgia Tech-3No. 18 Georgia TechWon 24–12 vs. No. 21 Michigan State+12No. 21 Michigan State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsGeorgia SouthernW 45–⁠2191%
Sep 6vsCentral MichiganW 56–⁠1776%
Sep 13atSouth CarolinaW 14–⁠766%
Sep 20atArizona StateW 27–⁠1062%
Sep 27vs8AlabamaL 30–⁠4172%
Oct 11vsTennesseeW 26–⁠1473%
Oct 18vs22VanderbiltW 24–⁠1478%
Oct 25at11LSUW 52–⁠3841%
Nov 1vs5FloridaL 10–⁠4947%
Nov 8atKentuckyW 42–⁠3862%
Nov 15atAuburnW 17–⁠1366%
Nov 29vs18Georgia TechL 42–⁠4575%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs21Michigan StateCapital One BowlW 24–⁠1262%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Michigan State 24–⁠12 in the Capital One Bowl; No. 13 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 20th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 1
  2. Wk 2: 2
  3. Wk 3: 2
  4. Wk 4: 3
  5. Wk 5: 3
  6. Wk 6: 11
  7. Wk 7: 10
  8. Wk 8: 10
  9. Wk 9: 9
  10. Wk 10: 8
  11. Wk 11: 14
  12. Wk 12: 13
  13. Wk 13: 13
  14. Wk 14: 13
  15. Wk 15: 17
  16. Final: 13
Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 3rd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 13 peak No. 1
Points
409–⁠319
Coach
Mark Richt
Elo
1733 +57 this season
SP+ rating
20.9 No. 12 of 120; offense No. 13, defense No. 24, special teams No. 52
SRS
11.3 No. 18 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 7
Offensive coordinator
Mike Bobo
Defensive coordinator
Willie Martinez
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense11th of 120
  • Defense13th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted4th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted12th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1243%1.0411th of 120
Defense-0.0438%0.9313th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.13 off
-0.02 def		44% off
38% def		—4th off
12th 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 302% allowed
Defense0.0own 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

A.J. Green WR★★★★★No. 7
Richard Samuel RB★★★★★No. 18
DeAngelo Tyson DT★★★★★No. 28
A.J. Harmon OT★★★★No. 79
Toby Jackson SDE★★★★No. 81
Tavarres King WR★★★★No. 96
Carlton Thomas RB★★★★No. 141
Marcus Dowtin OLB★★★★No. 158

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs34.30.951
Receivers34.00.932
Offensive line43.80.917
Defensive line34.00.934
Linebackers43.80.911
Defensive backs23.50.890
Athletes and specialists14.00.897
Whole class203.90.922

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 1Matthew Stafford QBDetroit Lions
Rd 1Knowshon Moreno RBDenver Broncos
Rd 2Mohamed Massaquoi WRCleveland Browns
Rd 3Asher Allen CBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 3Corvey Irvin DTCarolina Panthers
Rd 6Jarius Wynn DEGreen Bay Packers

All-SEC

5 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2008 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2008 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama8–⁠012–⁠26
Florida7–⁠113–⁠11
Georgia6–⁠210–⁠313
Ole Miss5–⁠39–⁠414
South Carolina4–⁠47–⁠6
Vanderbilt4–⁠47–⁠6
LSU3–⁠58–⁠5
Tennessee3–⁠55–⁠7
Kentucky2–⁠67–⁠6
Auburn2–⁠65–⁠7
Arkansas2–⁠65–⁠7
Mississippi State2–⁠64–⁠8

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