CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Michigan

3–⁠9 (2–⁠6 Big Ten), coached by Rich Rodriguez.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 2008, game by game: lost vs. Utah 23–25; won vs. Miami (OH) 16–6; lost at Notre Dame 17–35; won vs. No. 9 Wisconsin 27–25; lost vs. Illinois 20–45; lost vs. Toledo 10–13; lost at No. 3 Penn State 17–46; lost vs. Michigan State 21–35; lost at Purdue 42–48; won at Minnesota 29–6; lost vs. Northwestern 14–21; lost at No. 10 Ohio State 7–42+23−35Lost 23–25 vs. Utah-2UtahWon 16–6 vs. Miami (OH)+10Miami (OH)Lost 17–35 at Notre Dame-18Notre DameWon 27–25 vs. No. 9 Wisconsin+2No. 9 WisconsinLost 20–45 vs. Illinois-25IllinoisLost 10–13 vs. Toledo-3ToledoLost 17–46 at No. 3 Penn State-29No. 3 Penn StateLost 21–35 vs. Michigan State-14Michigan StateLost 42–48 at Purdue-6PurdueWon 29–6 at Minnesota+23MinnesotaLost 14–21 vs. Northwestern-7NorthwesternLost 7–42 at No. 10 Ohio State-35No. 10 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsUtahL 23–⁠2562%
Sep 6vsMiami (OH)W 16–⁠683%
Sep 13atNotre DameL 17–⁠3559%
Sep 27vs9WisconsinW 27–⁠2548%
Oct 4vsIllinoisL 20–⁠4565%
Oct 11vsToledoL 10–⁠1379%
Oct 18at3Penn StateL 17–⁠4618%
Oct 25vsMichigan StateL 21–⁠3544%
Nov 1atPurdueL 42–⁠4848%
Nov 8atMinnesotaW 29–⁠632%
Nov 15vsNorthwesternL 14–⁠2154%
Nov 22at10Ohio StateL 7–⁠4213%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ohio State 42–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 125th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

Record
3–⁠9
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 9th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
243–⁠347
Coach
Rich Rodriguez
Elo
1484 −138 this season
SP+ rating
1.6 No. 62 of 120; offense No. 90, defense No. 32, special teams No. 50
SRS
−6.1 No. 81 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 11
Offensive coordinator
Calvin Magee
Defensive coordinator
Scott Shafer
Captains
Mike Massey, Tim Jamison, Will Johnson and Terrance Taylor
Most valuable player
Brandon Graham
Offense
Spread option
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense109th of 120
  • Defense37th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted120th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted34th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0533%1.02109th of 120
Defense0.0036%1.0337th of 120
Opponent-adjusted-0.02 off
0.01 def		34% off
35% def		—120th off
34th 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-0.1own 292% allowed
Defense-0.1own 343% 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

Darryl Stonum WR★★★★No. 48
Dann O’Neill OT★★★★No. 72
J.B. Fitzgerald OLB★★★★No. 112
Brandon Moore TE★★★★No. 116
Boubacar Cissoko CB★★★★No. 128
Brandon Smith S★★★★No. 177
Sam McGuffie RB★★★★No. 181
Michael Shaw RB★★★★No. 194

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs24.00.921
Receivers44.00.937
Offensive line43.50.888
Defensive line14.00.915
Linebackers24.00.927
Defensive backs33.70.904
Athletes and specialists13.00.878
Whole class173.80.912

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 4Terrance Taylor DTIndianapolis Colts
Rd 6Morgan Trent CBCincinnati Bengals

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 1 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.