CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Minnesota

7–⁠6 (3–⁠5 Big Ten), coached by Tim Brewster.

Schedule and results

Minnesota in 2008, game by game: won vs. Northern Illinois 31–27; won at Bowling Green 42–17; won vs. Montana State 35–23; won vs. Florida Atlantic 37–3; lost at No. 14 Ohio State 21–34; won vs. Indiana 16–7; won at Illinois 27–20; won at Purdue 17–6; lost vs. Northwestern 17–24; lost vs. Michigan 6–29; lost at Wisconsin 32–35; lost vs. Iowa 0–55; lost vs. Kansas 21–42+34−55Won 31–27 vs. Northern Illinois+4Northern Illino…Won 42–17 at Bowling Green+25Bowling GreenWon 35–23 vs. Montana State+12Montana StateWon 37–3 vs. Florida Atlantic+34Florida AtlanticLost 21–34 at No. 14 Ohio State-13No. 14 Ohio StateWon 16–7 vs. Indiana+9IndianaWon 27–20 at Illinois+7IllinoisWon 17–6 at Purdue+11PurdueLost 17–24 vs. Northwestern-7NorthwesternLost 6–29 vs. Michigan-23MichiganLost 32–35 at Wisconsin-3WisconsinLost 0–55 vs. Iowa-55IowaLost 21–42 vs. Kansas-21Kansas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsNorthern IllinoisW 31–⁠2759%
Sep 6atBowling GreenW 42–⁠1732%
Sep 13vsMontana StateW 35–⁠2378%
Sep 20vsFlorida AtlanticW 37–⁠360%
Sep 27at14Ohio StateL 21–⁠3421%
Oct 4vsIndianaW 16–⁠765%
Oct 11atIllinoisW 27–⁠2034%
Oct 25atPurdueW 17–⁠654%
Nov 1vsNorthwesternL 17–⁠2463%
Nov 8vsMichiganL 6–⁠2968%
Nov 15atWisconsinL 32–⁠3529%
Nov 22vsIowaL 0–⁠5545%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsKansasInsight BowlL 21–⁠4231%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Kansas 42–⁠21 in the Insight Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 112th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 9: 25
  2. Wk 10: 20
Record
7–⁠6
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 6th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 20
Points
302–⁠322
Coach
Tim Brewster
Elo
1438 +20 this season
SP+ rating
3.0 No. 56 of 120; offense No. 58, defense No. 60, special teams No. 23
SRS
−0.7 No. 66 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 26
Offensive coordinator
Mike Dunbar
Defensive coordinator
Ted Roof
Captains
Steve Davis, Eric Decker, William VanDeSteeg and Adam Weber
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense59th of 120
  • Defense86th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted55th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted100th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0442%0.9359th of 120
Defense0.0843%0.9286th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.06 def		41% off
42% def		—55th off
100th 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 331% allowed
Defense0.0own 294% 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

MarQueis Gray PRO★★★★No. 199
Keanon Cooper S★★★★No. 269
Brandon Green WR★★★★No. 312
Sam Maresh ILB★★★★No. 340
Spencer Reeves OLB★★★No. 452

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.918
Running backs23.00.848
Receivers23.50.870
Defensive line13.00.833
Linebackers33.30.877
Defensive backs52.80.836
Athletes and specialists33.00.840
Whole class173.10.854

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.

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 3 second team

First team

  • Eric DeckerWRCoaches-1; Media-1
  • Willie VanDeSteegDLCoaches-2; Media-1

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.