CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Memphis

6–⁠7 (4–⁠4 Conference USA), coached by Tommy West.

Schedule and results

Memphis in 2008, game by game: lost at Ole Miss 24–41; lost vs. Rice 35–42; lost at Marshall 16–17; won vs. Nicholls 31–10; won vs. Arkansas State 29–17; won at UAB 33–30; lost vs. Louisville 28–35; lost at East Carolina 10–30; won vs. Southern Miss 36–30; won at SMU 31–26; lost vs. UCF 21–28; won vs. Tulane 45–6; lost vs. South Florida 14–41+39−27Lost 24–41 at Ole Miss-17Ole MissLost 35–42 vs. Rice-7RiceLost 16–17 at Marshall-1MarshallWon 31–10 vs. Nicholls+21NichollsWon 29–17 vs. Arkansas State+12Arkansas StateWon 33–30 at UAB+3UABLost 28–35 vs. Louisville-7LouisvilleLost 10–30 at East Carolina-20East CarolinaWon 36–30 vs. Southern Miss+6Southern MissWon 31–26 at SMU+5SMULost 21–28 vs. UCF-7UCFWon 45–6 vs. Tulane+39TulaneLost 14–41 vs. South Florida-27South Florida
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atOle MissL 24–⁠4145%
Sep 6vsRiceL 35–⁠4256%
Sep 13atMarshallL 16–⁠1734%
Sep 20vsNichollsW 31–⁠1067%
Sep 27vsArkansas StateW 29–⁠1748%
Oct 2atUABW 33–⁠3056%
Oct 10vsLouisvilleL 28–⁠3543%
Oct 18atEast CarolinaL 10–⁠3031%
Oct 25vsSouthern MissW 36–⁠3051%
Nov 8atSMUW 31–⁠2660%
Nov 22vsUCFL 21–⁠2856%
Nov 29vsTulaneW 45–⁠675%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffvsSouth FloridaSt. Petersburg BowlL 14–⁠4133%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to South Florida 41–⁠14 in the St. Petersburg Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 50th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 84 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 5th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
353–⁠353
Coach
Tommy West
Elo
1403 −25 this season
SP+ rating
-3.4 No. 79 of 120; offense No. 47, defense No. 85, special teams No. 85
SRS
−7.9 No. 90 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 65
Offensive coordinator
Clay Helton
Defensive coordinator
Tim Walton
Offense
Spread
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense54th of 120
  • Defense79th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted66th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted97th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0443%0.8754th of 120
Defense0.0740%1.0279th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.03 off
0.06 def		43% off
40% def		—66th off
97th 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 302% allowed
Defense-0.1own 322% 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

Marcus Rucker WR★★★No. 901
Dontari Poe DT★★★No. 988
Maurice Holloway OT★★★No. 1019
Brandon Ross RB★★★No. 1247
Tyler Bass DUAL★★★No. 1247

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.811
Running backs13.00.811
Receivers42.30.747
Offensive line13.00.833
Defensive line22.50.768
Linebackers12.00.756
Defensive backs12.00.700
Whole class112.50.767

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 7Clinton McDonald DTCincinnati Bengals

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.