CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Houston

8–⁠5 (6–⁠2 Conference USA), coached by Kevin Sumlin.

Schedule and results

Houston in 2008, game by game: won vs. Southern 55–3; lost at Oklahoma State 37–56; lost vs. Air Force 28–31; lost at Colorado State 25–28; won at No. 23 East Carolina 41–24; won vs. UAB 45–20; won at SMU 44–38; lost at Marshall 23–37; won vs. Tulane 42–14; won vs. No. 25 Tulsa 70–30; won vs. UTEP 42–37; lost at Rice 42–56; won vs. Air Force 34–28+52−19Won 55–3 vs. Southern+52SouthernLost 37–56 at Oklahoma State-19Oklahoma StateLost 28–31 vs. Air Force-3Air ForceLost 25–28 at Colorado State-3Colorado StateWon 41–24 at No. 23 East Carolina+17No. 23 East CarolinaWon 45–20 vs. UAB+25UABWon 44–38 at SMU+6SMULost 23–37 at Marshall-14MarshallWon 42–14 vs. Tulane+28TulaneWon 70–30 vs. No. 25 Tulsa+40No. 25 TulsaWon 42–37 vs. UTEP+5UTEPLost 42–56 at Rice-14RiceWon 34–28 vs. Air Force+6Air Force
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsSouthernW 55–⁠379%
Sep 6atOklahoma StateL 37–⁠5636%
Sep 13vsAir ForceL 28–⁠3151%
Sep 20atColorado StateL 25–⁠2856%
Sep 27at23East CarolinaW 41–⁠2432%
Oct 9vsUABW 45–⁠2083%
Oct 18atSMUW 44–⁠3874%
Oct 28atMarshallL 23–⁠3760%
Nov 8vsTulaneW 42–⁠1480%
Nov 15vs25TulsaW 70–⁠3042%
Nov 22vsUTEPW 42–⁠3773%
Nov 29atRiceL 42–⁠5652%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsAir ForceArmed Forces BowlW 34–⁠2849%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Air Force 34–⁠28 in the Armed Forces Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 32nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 81 on file).

Led the nationCase Keenum: total offense (5,241 yds), total offense per game (403.2)

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
528–⁠402
Coach
Kevin Sumlin
Elo
1574 +48 this season
SP+ rating
6.4 No. 45 of 120; offense No. 13, defense No. 85, special teams No. 101
SRS
3.3 No. 46 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 77
Offensive coordinators
Dana Holgorsen and Jason Phillips
Defensive coordinator
John Skladany
Captains
Ken Fontenette, Mark Hafner, Phillip Hunt, Case Keenum and SirVincent Rogers
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense2nd of 120
  • Defense61st of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted2nd of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted55th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2050%0.962nd of 120
Defense0.0344%0.8961st of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.13 off
0.03 def		47% off
43% def		—2nd off
55th 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 311% allowed
Defense-0.1own 333% 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

Jarvis Smith OLB★★★No. 543
Jackie Hinton ATH★★★No. 857
Isiah Sweeney WR★★★No. 1005
Bryce Beall S★★★No. 1174
Doran Guillory SDE★★★No. 1231

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs12.00.789
Receivers32.30.789
Offensive line32.00.763
Defensive line32.70.805
Linebackers22.50.833
Defensive backs32.30.799
Athletes and specialists32.70.808
Whole class182.40.797

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 2Sebastian Vollmer OTNew England Patriots

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.