CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Northern Illinois

6–⁠7 (5–⁠3 Mid-American Conference), coached by Jerry Kill.

Schedule and results

Northern Illinois in 2008, game by game: lost at Minnesota 27–31; lost at Western Michigan 26–29; won vs. Indiana State 48–3; won at Eastern Michigan 37–0; lost at Tennessee 9–13; won vs. Miami (OH) 17–13; won vs. Toledo 38–7; won vs. Bowling Green 16–13; lost at No. 16 Ball State 14–45; lost vs. Central Michigan 30–33; won at Kent State 42–14; lost vs. Navy 0–16; lost vs. Louisiana Tech 10–17+45−31Lost 27–31 at Minnesota-4MinnesotaLost 26–29 at Western Michigan-3Western MichiganWon 48–3 vs. Indiana State+45Indiana StateWon 37–0 at Eastern Michigan+37Eastern MichiganLost 9–13 at Tennessee-4TennesseeWon 17–13 vs. Miami (OH)+4Miami (OH)Won 38–7 vs. Toledo+31ToledoWon 16–13 vs. Bowling Green+3Bowling GreenLost 14–45 at No. 16 Ball State-31No. 16 Ball StateLost 30–33 vs. Central Michigan-3Central MichiganWon 42–14 at Kent State+28Kent StateLost 0–16 vs. Navy-16NavyLost 10–17 vs. Louisiana Tech-7Louisiana Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atMinnesotaL 27–⁠3141%
Sep 6atWestern MichiganL 26–⁠2934%
Sep 20vsIndiana StateW 48–⁠388%
Sep 27atEastern MichiganW 37–⁠051%
Oct 4atTennesseeL 9–⁠1325%
Oct 11vsMiami (OH)W 17–⁠1368%
Oct 18vsToledoW 38–⁠763%
Oct 25vsBowling GreenW 16–⁠1360%
Nov 5at16Ball StateL 14–⁠4523%
Nov 12vsCentral MichiganL 30–⁠3342%
Nov 18atKent StateW 42–⁠1454%
Nov 25vsNavyL 0–⁠1652%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsLouisiana TechIndependence BowlL 10–⁠1745%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Louisiana Tech 17–⁠10 in the Independence Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 30th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
314–⁠234
Coach
Jerry Kill
Elo
1426 +16 this season
SP+ rating
-1.6 No. 69 of 120; offense No. 76, defense No. 65, special teams No. 38
SRS
−4.3 No. 74 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 115
Offensive coordinator
Matt Limegrover
Defensive coordinator
Tracy Claeys
Captains
Eddie Adamski, Britt Davis, Larry English, Alex Krutsch, Tim McCarthy and Dan Nicholson
Most valuable player
Larry English

How good, play by play

  • Offense53rd of 120
  • Defense73rd of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted64th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted73rd of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0440%0.9453rd of 120
Defense0.0542%0.8973rd of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.03 off
0.04 def		38% off
42% def		—64th off
73rd 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 332% allowed
Defense-0.1own 324% 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

Adam Coleman DT★★★No. 988
Logan Pegram OG★★★No. 1154
Kevin Sabock OLB★★★No. 1378
Brandon Rogers PRO★★No. 1562
Meco Brown APB★★No. 1602

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.786
Running backs12.00.767
Receivers22.00.745
Offensive line13.00.824
Defensive line22.50.768
Linebackers13.00.803
Defensive backs12.00.756
Athletes and specialists22.00.700
Whole class112.30.760

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 1Larry English DESan Diego Chargers

2008 Mid-American Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ball State8–⁠012–⁠2
Western Michigan6–⁠29–⁠4
Central Michigan6–⁠28–⁠5
Buffalo5–⁠38–⁠6
Northern Illinois5–⁠36–⁠7
Bowling Green4–⁠46–⁠6
Temple4–⁠45–⁠7
Akron3–⁠55–⁠7
Kent State3–⁠54–⁠8
Ohio3–⁠54–⁠8
Eastern Michigan2–⁠63–⁠9
Toledo2–⁠63–⁠9
Miami (OH)1–⁠72–⁠10

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