2008 Louisville
5–7 (1–6 Big East), coached by Steve Kragthorpe. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest upsetBeat No. 14 South Florida 24–20Oct 25
South Florida was ranked No. 14, above it.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 31 | vs Kentucky | L 2–27 | 60% |
| Sep 6 | vs Tennessee Tech | W 51–10 | 86% |
| Sep 17 | vs Kansas State | W 38–29 | 62% |
| Sep 26 | vs UConn | L 21–26 | 52% |
| Oct 10 | at Memphis | W 35–28 | 57% |
| Oct 18 | vs Middle Tennessee | W 42–23 | 75% |
| Oct 25 | vs 14South Florida | W 24–20 | 49% |
| Nov 1 | at Syracuse | L 21–28 | 78% |
| Nov 8 | at 25Pittsburgh | L 7–41 | 42% |
| Nov 14 | vs 22Cincinnati | L 20–28 | 39% |
| Nov 22 | vs West Virginia | L 21–35 | 32% |
| Dec 4 | at Rutgers | L 14–63 | 28% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Rutgers 63–14; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Big East.
In program history: The 44th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 82 on file).
- Record
- 5–7
- Conference
- 1–6 tied for 7th in Big East
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 296–358
- Coach
- Steve Kragthorpe
- Elo
- 1465 −104 this season
- SP+ rating
- -3.0 No. 76 of 120; offense No. 69, defense No. 62, special teams No. 116
- SRS
- −7.3 No. 89 of 120 in FBS
- Recruiting class
- No. 46
- Offensive coordinator
- Jeff Brohm
- Defensive coordinator
- Ron English
- Offense
- Multiple
- Defense
- 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.03 | 41% | 0.88 | 64th of 120 |
| Defense | 0.03 | 36% | 1.08 | 62nd of 120 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.03 off 0.05 def | 41% off 37% def | — | 65th off 83rd 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.2 | own 31 | 2% allowed |
| Defense | -0.4 | own 32 | 2% 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
| Damion Dixon WR | ★★★ | No. 713 |
| Jacques Caldwell ATH | ★★★ | No. 951 |
| Greg Scruggs SDE | ★★★ | No. 951 |
| Chris Philpott K | ★★★ | No. 1019 |
| Nate Nord TE | ★★★ | No. 1247 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2008 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receivers | 3 | 2.7 | 0.815 |
| Offensive line | 1 | 2.0 | 0.700 |
| Defensive line | 1 | 3.0 | 0.839 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 3.0 | 0.836 |
| Whole class | 7 | 2.7 | 0.808 |
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 1 | Eric Wood C | Buffalo Bills |
| Rd 5 | George Bussey OT | New England Patriots |
2008 Big East standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati | 6–1 | 11–3 | 17 |
| Pittsburgh | 5–2 | 9–4 | |
| West Virginia | 5–2 | 9–4 | 23 |
| Rutgers | 5–2 | 8–5 | |
| UConn | 3–4 | 8–5 | |
| South Florida | 2–5 | 8–5 | |
 Louisville | 1–6 | 5–7 | |
| Syracuse | 1–6 | 3–9 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.