CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Oklahoma State

9–⁠4 (5–⁠3 Big 12), coached by Mike Gundy, finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Oklahoma State in 2008, game by game: won at Washington State 39–13; won vs. Houston 56–37; won vs. Missouri State 57–13; won vs. Troy 55–24; won vs. Texas A&M 56–28; won at No. 3 Missouri 28–23; won vs. Baylor 34–6; lost at No. 1 Texas 24–28; won vs. Iowa State 59–17; lost at No. 2 Texas Tech 20–56; won at Colorado 30–17; lost vs. No. 3 Oklahoma 41–61; lost vs. No. 16 Oregon 31–42+44−36Won 39–13 at Washington State+26Washington StateWon 56–37 vs. Houston+19HoustonWon 57–13 vs. Missouri State+44Missouri StateWon 55–24 vs. Troy+31TroyWon 56–28 vs. Texas A&M+28Texas A&MWon 28–23 at No. 3 Missouri+5No. 3 MissouriWon 34–6 vs. Baylor+28BaylorLost 24–28 at No. 1 Texas-4No. 1 TexasWon 59–17 vs. Iowa State+42Iowa StateLost 20–56 at No. 2 Texas Tech-36No. 2 Texas TechWon 30–17 at Colorado+13ColoradoLost 41–61 vs. No. 3 Oklahoma-20No. 3 OklahomaLost 31–42 vs. No. 16 Oregon-11No. 16 Oregon
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atWashington StateW 39–⁠1350%
Sep 6vsHoustonW 56–⁠3764%
Sep 13vsMissouri StateW 57–⁠1391%
Sep 27vsTroyW 55–⁠2466%
Oct 4vsTexas A&MW 56–⁠2874%
Oct 11at3MissouriW 28–⁠2333%
Oct 18vsBaylorW 34–⁠684%
Oct 25at1TexasL 24–⁠2832%
Nov 1vsIowa StateW 59–⁠1790%
Nov 8at2Texas TechL 20–⁠5633%
Nov 15atColoradoW 30–⁠1770%
Nov 29vs3OklahomaL 41–⁠6139%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvs16OregonHoliday BowlL 31–⁠4242%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oregon 42–⁠31 in the Holiday Bowl; No. 16 in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big 12.

In program history: The 12th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 115 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 6: 21
  2. Wk 7: 17
  3. Wk 8: 8
  4. Wk 9: 7
  5. Wk 10: 9
  6. Wk 11: 8
  7. Wk 12: 11
  8. Wk 13: 11
  9. Wk 14: 11
  10. Wk 15: 14
  11. Final: 16

Led the nationDez Bryant: points per game (16.0)

Ray Guy AwardMatt Fodge, P

Consensus All-AmericanDez Bryant, WR

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Big 12
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 7
Points
530–⁠365
Coach
Mike Gundy
Elo
1632 +78 this season
SP+ rating
23.4 No. 8 of 120; offense No. 4, defense No. 56, special teams No. 20
SRS
15.4 No. 9 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 32
Offensive coordinators
Gunter Brewer and Trooper Taylor
Defensive coordinator
Tim Beckman
Offense
Spread option
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense6th of 120
  • Defense103rd of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted9th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted93rd of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1448%0.926th of 120
Defense0.1045%1.00103rd of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.10 off
0.06 def		46% off
43% def		—9th off
93rd 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
Defense0.0own 293% 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

Kye Staley ATH★★★★No. 134
Markelle Martin S★★★★No. 252
Justin Blackmon WR★★★No. 701
Jeremy Gray SDE★★★No. 713
Nigel Nicholas TE★★★No. 819

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs12.00.789
Receivers52.80.835
Offensive line22.50.804
Defensive line13.00.857
Defensive backs23.50.870
Athletes and specialists23.50.885
Whole class132.90.841

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 1Brandon Pettigrew TEDetroit Lions

All-Big 12

3 first team, 3 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

Conference page
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.