CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 NC State

6–⁠7 (4–⁠4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Tom O’Brien.

Schedule and results

NC State in 2008, game by game: lost at South Carolina 0–34; won vs. William & Mary 34–24; lost at Clemson 9–27; won vs. No. 15 East Carolina 30–24; lost vs. No. 13 South Florida 10–41; lost vs. Boston College 31–38; lost vs. Florida State 17–26; lost at Maryland 24–27; won at Duke 27–17; won vs. Wake Forest 21–17; won at No. 25 North Carolina 41–10; won vs. Miami 38–28; lost vs. Rutgers 23–29+31−34Lost 0–34 at South Carolina-34South CarolinaWon 34–24 vs. William & Mary+10William & MaryLost 9–27 at Clemson-18ClemsonWon 30–24 vs. No. 15 East Carolina+6No. 15 East CarolinaLost 10–41 vs. No. 13 South Florida-31No. 13 South FloridaLost 31–38 vs. Boston College-7Boston CollegeLost 17–26 vs. Florida State-9Florida StateLost 24–27 at Maryland-3MarylandWon 27–17 at Duke+10DukeWon 21–17 vs. Wake Forest+4Wake ForestWon 41–10 at No. 25 North Carolina+31No. 25 North CarolinaWon 38–28 vs. Miami+10MiamiLost 23–29 vs. Rutgers-6Rutgers
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28atSouth CarolinaL 0–⁠3433%
Sep 6vsWilliam & MaryW 34–⁠2480%
Sep 13atClemsonL 9–⁠2727%
Sep 20vs15East CarolinaW 30–⁠2436%
Sep 27vs13South FloridaL 10–⁠4134%
Oct 4vsBoston CollegeL 31–⁠3831%
Oct 16vsFlorida StateL 17–⁠2637%
Oct 25atMarylandL 24–⁠2722%
Nov 8atDukeW 27–⁠1742%
Nov 15vsWake ForestW 21–⁠1735%
Nov 22at25North CarolinaW 41–⁠1023%
Nov 29vsMiamiW 38–⁠2850%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsRutgersPapaJohns.com BowlL 23–⁠2939%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Rutgers 29–⁠23 in the PapaJohns.com Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 55th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 5th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
305–⁠342
Coach
Tom O’Brien
Elo
1524 +61 this season
SP+ rating
1.8 No. 61 of 120; offense No. 54, defense No. 71, special teams No. 23
SRS
1.8 No. 52 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 23
Offensive coordinator
Dana Bible
Defensive coordinator
Mike Archer
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense67th of 120
  • Defense85th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted56th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted113th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0237%1.0067th of 120
Defense0.0746%0.9085th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.08 def		39% off
46% def		—56th off
113th 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 313% allowed
Defense0.0own 323% 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

Mike Glennon PRO★★★★No. 47
Terrell Manning OLB★★★★No. 145
Brandon Barnes ATH★★★★No. 154
R.J. Mattes OT★★★★No. 186
Dwayne Maddox ILB★★★No. 452

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.977
Running backs13.00.806
Receivers23.00.841
Offensive line43.00.849
Defensive line13.00.800
Linebackers33.30.897
Defensive backs22.50.812
Athletes and specialists43.30.843
Whole class183.10.852

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 4Anthony Hill TEHouston Texans
Rd 4Andre Brown RBNew York Giants

2008 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
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.