CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Louisiana Tech

8–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Derek Dooley.

Schedule and results

Louisiana Tech in 2008, game by game: won vs. Mississippi State 22–14; lost at No. 14 Kansas 0–29; won vs. SE Louisiana 41–26; lost at No. 17 Boise State 3–38; lost at Hawai’i 14–24; won vs. Idaho 46–14; lost at Army 7–14; won vs. Fresno State 38–35; won at San José State 21–0; won vs. Utah State 45–38; won at New Mexico State 35–31; lost vs. Nevada 31–35; won vs. Northern Illinois 17–10+32−35Won 22–14 vs. Mississippi State+8Mississippi Sta…Lost 0–29 at No. 14 Kansas-29No. 14 KansasWon 41–26 vs. SE Louisiana+15SE LouisianaLost 3–38 at No. 17 Boise State-35No. 17 Boise StateLost 14–24 at Hawai’i-10Hawai’iWon 46–14 vs. Idaho+32IdahoLost 7–14 at Army-7ArmyWon 38–35 vs. Fresno State+3Fresno StateWon 21–0 at San José State+21San José StateWon 45–38 vs. Utah State+7Utah StateWon 35–31 at New Mexico State+4New Mexico StateLost 31–35 vs. Nevada-4NevadaWon 17–10 vs. Northern Illinois+7Northern Illino…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsMississippi StateW 22–⁠1443%
Sep 6at14KansasL 0–⁠2919%
Sep 20vsSE LouisianaW 41–⁠2680%
Oct 1at17Boise StateL 3–⁠3818%
Oct 12atHawai’iL 14–⁠2426%
Oct 18vsIdahoW 46–⁠1480%
Oct 25atArmyL 7–⁠1457%
Nov 1vsFresno StateW 38–⁠3533%
Nov 8atSan José StateW 21–⁠033%
Nov 15vsUtah StateW 45–⁠3874%
Nov 22atNew Mexico StateW 35–⁠3168%
Nov 29vsNevadaL 31–⁠3552%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsNorthern IllinoisIndependence BowlW 17–⁠1055%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Northern Illinois 17–⁠10 in the Independence Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Western Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 23rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 94 on file).

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 2nd in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
320–⁠308
Coach
Derek Dooley
Elo
1496 +74 this season
SP+ rating
-9.7 No. 95 of 120; offense No. 92, defense No. 77, special teams No. 64
SRS
−7.2 No. 87 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 82
Offensive coordinator
Frank Scelfo
Defensive coordinator
Tommy Spangler
Captains
Weldon Brown, Quin Harris and Daniel Porter
Offense
Multiple pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense106th of 120
  • Defense48th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted124th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted58th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0439%0.94106th of 120
Defense0.0138%0.9248th of 120
Opponent-adjusted-0.03 off
0.03 def		39% off
40% def		—124th off
58th 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
Defense-0.1own 283% 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

Darrius Terry CB★★★No. 473
Chandler Spence TE★★★No. 877
Kevin Saia OG★★★No. 988
Houston Tuminello WR★★★No. 988
Philip Longino DT★★★No. 1247

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.744
Running backs12.00.700
Receivers32.70.808
Offensive line32.30.805
Defensive line23.00.811
Linebackers22.00.767
Defensive backs32.30.811
Athletes and specialists12.00.722
Whole class162.40.787

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.

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.