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2008 Michigan State

9–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Mark Dantonio, finished No. 24 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 2008, game by game: lost at California 31–38; won vs. Eastern Michigan 42–10; won vs. Florida Atlantic 17–0; won vs. Notre Dame 23–7; won at Indiana 42–29; won vs. Iowa 16–13; won at Northwestern 37–20; lost vs. No. 12 Ohio State 7–45; won at Michigan 35–21; won vs. Wisconsin 25–24; won vs. Purdue 21–7; lost at No. 7 Penn State 18–49; lost vs. No. 17 Georgia 12–24+32−38Lost 31–38 at California-7CaliforniaWon 42–10 vs. Eastern Michigan+32Eastern MichiganWon 17–0 vs. Florida Atlantic+17Florida AtlanticWon 23–7 vs. Notre Dame+16Notre DameWon 42–29 at Indiana+13IndianaWon 16–13 vs. Iowa+3IowaWon 37–20 at Northwestern+17NorthwesternLost 7–45 vs. No. 12 Ohio State-38No. 12 Ohio StateWon 35–21 at Michigan+14MichiganWon 25–24 vs. Wisconsin+1WisconsinWon 21–7 vs. Purdue+14PurdueLost 18–49 at No. 7 Penn State-31No. 7 Penn StateLost 12–24 vs. No. 17 Georgia-12No. 17 Georgia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atCaliforniaL 31–⁠3840%
Sep 6vsEastern MichiganW 42–⁠1074%
Sep 13vsFlorida AtlanticW 17–⁠064%
Sep 20vsNotre DameW 23–⁠761%
Sep 27atIndianaW 42–⁠2957%
Oct 4vsIowaW 16–⁠1369%
Oct 11atNorthwesternW 37–⁠2049%
Oct 18vs12Ohio StateL 7–⁠4546%
Oct 25atMichiganW 35–⁠2156%
Nov 1vsWisconsinW 25–⁠2465%
Nov 8vsPurdueW 21–⁠779%
Nov 22at7Penn StateL 18–⁠4927%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs17GeorgiaCapital One BowlL 12–⁠2438%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Georgia 24–⁠12 in the Capital One Bowl; No. 24 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 35th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 7: 23
  2. Wk 8: 20
  3. Wk 10: 22
  4. Wk 11: 18
  5. Wk 12: 18
  6. Wk 13: 17
  7. Wk 14: 22
  8. Wk 15: 21
  9. Final: 24

Led the nationJavon Ringer: rushing touchdowns (22 TD)

Consensus All-AmericanJavon Ringer, RB

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 24 peak No. 17
Points
326–⁠287
Coach
Mark Dantonio
Elo
1608 +71 this season
SP+ rating
6.6 No. 44 of 120; offense No. 68, defense No. 39, special teams No. 16
SRS
6.4 No. 33 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 42
Offensive coordinator
Don Treadwell
Defensive coordinator
Pat Narduzzi

How good, play by play

  • Offense79th of 120
  • Defense29th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted80th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted28th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0039%0.8879th of 120
Defense-0.0136%1.0529th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.02 off
0.00 def		40% off
36% def		—80th off
28th 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 342% allowed
Defense-0.2own 292% 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

Fred Smith WR★★★★No. 200
Antonio Jeremiah DT★★★★No. 270
Johnny Adams CB★★★No. 452
Ethan Ruhland OG★★★No. 473
Glenn Winston ATH★★★No. 792

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.811
Receivers23.50.860
Offensive line62.70.823
Defensive line23.00.835
Linebackers23.00.813
Defensive backs33.00.849
Athletes and specialists13.00.853
Whole class172.90.833

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 5Javon Ringer RBTennessee Titans

All-Big Ten

3 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2008 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2008 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Penn State7–⁠111–⁠28
Ohio State7–⁠110–⁠39
Michigan State6–⁠29–⁠424
Northwestern5–⁠39–⁠4
Iowa5–⁠39–⁠420
Wisconsin3–⁠57–⁠6
Minnesota3–⁠57–⁠6
Illinois3–⁠55–⁠7
Purdue2–⁠64–⁠8
Michigan2–⁠63–⁠9
Indiana1–⁠73–⁠9

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