CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Nevada

7–⁠6 (5–⁠3 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Chris Ault.

Schedule and results

Nevada in 2008, game by game: won vs. Grambling 49–13; lost vs. No. 12 Texas Tech 19–35; lost at No. 6 Missouri 17–69; won at UNLV 49–27; won at Idaho 49–14; lost vs. New Mexico State 45–48; won vs. Utah State 44–17; lost at Hawai’i 31–38; won at Fresno State 41–28; won vs. San José State 41–17; lost vs. No. 9 Boise State 34–41; won at Louisiana Tech 35–31; lost vs. Maryland 35–42+36−52Won 49–13 vs. Grambling+36GramblingLost 19–35 vs. No. 12 Texas Tech-16No. 12 Texas TechLost 17–69 at No. 6 Missouri-52No. 6 MissouriWon 49–27 at UNLV+22UNLVWon 49–14 at Idaho+35IdahoLost 45–48 vs. New Mexico State-3New Mexico StateWon 44–17 vs. Utah State+27Utah StateLost 31–38 at Hawai’i-7Hawai’iWon 41–28 at Fresno State+13Fresno StateWon 41–17 vs. San José State+24San José StateLost 34–41 vs. No. 9 Boise State-7No. 9 Boise StateWon 35–31 at Louisiana Tech+4Louisiana TechLost 35–42 vs. Maryland-7Maryland
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsGramblingW 49–⁠1375%
Sep 6vs12Texas TechL 19–⁠3544%
Sep 13at6MissouriL 17–⁠6919%
Sep 27atUNLVW 49–⁠2751%
Oct 4atIdahoW 49–⁠1474%
Oct 11vsNew Mexico StateL 45–⁠4878%
Oct 18vsUtah StateW 44–⁠1779%
Oct 26atHawai’iL 31–⁠3835%
Nov 7atFresno StateW 41–⁠2832%
Nov 15vsSan José StateW 41–⁠1768%
Nov 22vs9Boise StateL 34–⁠4132%
Nov 29atLouisiana TechW 35–⁠3148%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsMarylandHumanitarian BowlL 35–⁠4254%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Maryland 42–⁠35 in the Humanitarian Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Western Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 14th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 2nd in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
489–⁠420
Coach
Chris Ault
Elo
1530 +40 this season
SP+ rating
0.9 No. 65 of 120; offense No. 24, defense No. 92, special teams No. 56
SRS
0.6 No. 62 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 93
Offensive coordinator
Chris Klenakis
Defensive coordinator
Nigel Burton
Offense
Pistol
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense28th of 120
  • Defense59th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted46th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted68th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0743%0.9828th of 120
Defense0.0334%1.3159th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.05 off
0.04 def		41% off
36% def		—46th off
68th 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 322% allowed
Defense-0.2own 332% 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

Michael Ball RB★★★No. 452
Jonathan Rabe SDE★★★No. 1119
Brandon Wimberly WR★★★No. 1247
Thaddeus Brown RB★★★No. 1351
Isaiah Frey S★★★No. 1399

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs23.00.843
Receivers22.50.755
Offensive line42.00.768
Defensive line42.30.777
Linebackers22.00.733
Defensive backs52.20.760
Whole class192.30.771

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 7Marko Mitchell WRWashington Redskins

2008 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Boise State8–⁠012–⁠111
Louisiana Tech5–⁠38–⁠5
Nevada5–⁠37–⁠6
Hawai’i5–⁠37–⁠7
Fresno State4–⁠47–⁠6
San José State4–⁠46–⁠6
Utah State3–⁠53–⁠9
New Mexico State1–⁠73–⁠9
Idaho1–⁠72–⁠10

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