CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Maryland

8–⁠5 (4–⁠4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Ralph Friedgen.

Schedule and results

Maryland in 2008, game by game: won vs. Delaware 14–7; lost at Middle Tennessee 14–24; won vs. No. 23 California 35–27; won vs. Eastern Michigan 51–24; won at No. 20 Clemson 20–17; lost at Virginia 0–31; won vs. No. 21 Wake Forest 26–0; won vs. NC State 27–24; lost at Virginia Tech 13–23; won vs. No. 17 North Carolina 17–15; lost vs. Florida State 3–37; lost at No. 20 Boston College 21–28; won vs. Nevada 42–35+27−34Won 14–7 vs. Delaware+7DelawareLost 14–24 at Middle Tennessee-10Middle TennesseeWon 35–27 vs. No. 23 California+8No. 23 CaliforniaWon 51–24 vs. Eastern Michigan+27Eastern MichiganWon 20–17 at No. 20 Clemson+3No. 20 ClemsonLost 0–31 at Virginia-31VirginiaWon 26–0 vs. No. 21 Wake Forest+26No. 21 Wake ForestWon 27–24 vs. NC State+3NC StateLost 13–23 at Virginia Tech-10Virginia TechWon 17–15 vs. No. 17 North Carolina+2No. 17 North CarolinaLost 3–37 vs. Florida State-34Florida StateLost 21–28 at No. 20 Boston College-7No. 20 Boston CollegeWon 42–35 vs. Nevada+7Nevada
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsDelawareW 14–⁠769%
Sep 6atMiddle TennesseeL 14–⁠2458%
Sep 13vs23CaliforniaW 35–⁠2746%
Sep 20vsEastern MichiganW 51–⁠2481%
Sep 27at20ClemsonW 20–⁠1736%
Oct 4atVirginiaL 0–⁠3156%
Oct 18vs21Wake ForestW 26–⁠044%
Oct 25vsNC StateW 27–⁠2478%
Nov 6atVirginia TechL 13–⁠2333%
Nov 15vs17North CarolinaW 17–⁠1549%
Nov 22vsFlorida StateL 3–⁠3754%
Nov 29at20Boston CollegeL 21–⁠2826%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsNevadaHumanitarian BowlW 42–⁠3546%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Nevada 42–⁠35 in the Humanitarian Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 35th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 120 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 10: 25
  2. Wk 11: 23
  3. Wk 13: 22
Record
8–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 5th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 22
Points
283–⁠292
Coach
Ralph Friedgen
Elo
1546 +11 this season
SP+ rating
7.6 No. 40 of 120; offense No. 48, defense No. 47, special teams No. 49
SRS
1.1 No. 58 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 41
Offensive coordinator
James Franklin
Defensive coordinators
Chris Cosh and Al Seamonson
Offense
West Coast
Defense
“Terp” (3–⁠3–⁠5 variant)

How good, play by play

  • Offense70th of 120
  • Defense75th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted59th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted95th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0139%1.0870th of 120
Defense0.0540%0.9975th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.03 off
0.06 def		40% off
42% def		—59th off
95th 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 333% allowed
Defense-0.1own 303% 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

Kenny Tate ILB★★★★No. 99
Kevin Dorsey WR★★★★No. 190
Kerry Boykins WR★★★★No. 235
Masengo Kabongo DT★★★★No. 321
Cameron Chism CB★★★★No. 344

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs23.00.843
Receivers33.70.903
Offensive line33.00.844
Defensive line23.50.865
Linebackers23.00.859
Defensive backs14.00.893
Whole class133.30.867

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 1Darrius Heyward-Bey WROakland Raiders
Rd 3Kevin Barnes CBWashington Redskins
Rd 7Moise Fokou OLBPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 7Jaimie Thomas OGIndianapolis Colts
Rd 7Dan Gronkowski TEDetroit Lions

2008 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Virginia Tech5–⁠310–⁠415
Georgia Tech5–⁠39–⁠422
Florida State5–⁠39–⁠421
Boston College5–⁠39–⁠5
Maryland4–⁠48–⁠5
North Carolina4–⁠48–⁠5
Wake Forest4–⁠48–⁠5
Miami4–⁠47–⁠6
Clemson4–⁠47–⁠6
NC State4–⁠46–⁠7
Virginia3–⁠55–⁠7
Duke1–⁠74–⁠8

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