CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Nebraska

9–⁠4 (5–⁠3 Big 12), coached by Bo Pelini.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 2008, game by game: won vs. Western Michigan 47–24; won vs. San José State 35–12; won vs. New Mexico State 38–7; lost vs. Virginia Tech 30–35; lost vs. No. 4 Missouri 17–52; lost at No. 7 Texas Tech 31–37; won at Iowa State 35–7; won vs. Baylor 32–20; lost at No. 4 Oklahoma 28–62; won vs. Kansas 45–35; won at Kansas State 56–28; won vs. Colorado 40–31; won vs. Clemson 26–21+31−35Won 47–24 vs. Western Michigan+23Western MichiganWon 35–12 vs. San José State+23San José StateWon 38–7 vs. New Mexico State+31New Mexico StateLost 30–35 vs. Virginia Tech-5Virginia TechLost 17–52 vs. No. 4 Missouri-35No. 4 MissouriLost 31–37 at No. 7 Texas Tech-6No. 7 Texas TechWon 35–7 at Iowa State+28Iowa StateWon 32–20 vs. Baylor+12BaylorLost 28–62 at No. 4 Oklahoma-34No. 4 OklahomaWon 45–35 vs. Kansas+10KansasWon 56–28 at Kansas State+28Kansas StateWon 40–31 vs. Colorado+9ColoradoWon 26–21 vs. Clemson+5Clemson
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsWestern MichiganW 47–⁠2460%
Sep 6vsSan José StateW 35–⁠1265%
Sep 13vsNew Mexico StateW 38–⁠779%
Sep 27vsVirginia TechL 30–⁠3541%
Oct 4vs4MissouriL 17–⁠5236%
Oct 11at7Texas TechL 31–⁠3723%
Oct 18atIowa StateW 35–⁠757%
Oct 25vsBaylorW 32–⁠2072%
Nov 1at4OklahomaL 28–⁠6219%
Nov 8vsKansasW 45–⁠3545%
Nov 15atKansas StateW 56–⁠2856%
Nov 28vsColoradoW 40–⁠3176%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvsClemsonGator BowlW 26–⁠2147%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Clemson 26–⁠21 in the Gator Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big 12.

In program history: The 70th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

Big 12 North champions5–⁠3 in the conference, shared with Missouri

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Big 12
AP final
Unranked
Points
460–⁠371
Coach
Bo Pelini
Elo
1622 +127 this season
SP+ rating
18.9 No. 17 of 120; offense No. 8, defense No. 54, special teams No. 36
SRS
10.5 No. 20 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 24
Offensive coordinator
Shawn Watson
Defensive coordinator
Carl Pelini
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2

How good, play by play

  • Offense13th of 120
  • Defense41st of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted13th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted42nd of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1248%0.9113th of 120
Defense0.0137%1.0041st of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.09 off
0.01 def		46% off
38% def		—13th off
42nd 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 332% allowed
Defense-0.2own 312% 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

Baker Steinkuhler OT★★★★No. 34
Will Compton ATH★★★★No. 330
Josh Williams WDE★★★★No. 339
David Whitmore CB★★★★No. 344
Ben Cotton TE★★★No. 452

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs13.00.849
Receivers43.00.853
Offensive line14.00.981
Defensive line23.50.872
Linebackers23.00.832
Defensive backs43.00.839
Athletes and specialists52.80.812
Whole class193.10.846

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 5Cody Glenn OLBWashington Redskins
Rd 6Matt Slauson OGNew York Jets
Rd 7Lydon Murtha OTDetroit Lions

All-Big 12

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 12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas7–⁠112–⁠14
Oklahoma7–⁠112–⁠25
Texas Tech7–⁠111–⁠212
Missouri5–⁠310–⁠419
Nebraska5–⁠39–⁠4
Oklahoma State5–⁠39–⁠416
Kansas4–⁠48–⁠5
Colorado2–⁠65–⁠7
Kansas State2–⁠65–⁠7
Baylor2–⁠64–⁠8
Texas A&M2–⁠64–⁠8
Iowa State0–⁠82–⁠10

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