CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Pittsburgh

9–⁠4 (5–⁠2 Big East), coached by Dave Wannstedt.

Schedule and results

Pittsburgh in 2008, game by game: lost vs. Bowling Green 17–27; won vs. Buffalo 27–16; won vs. Iowa 21–20; won at Syracuse 34–24; won at No. 10 South Florida 26–21; won at Navy 42–21; lost vs. Rutgers 34–54; won at Notre Dame 36–33; won vs. Louisville 41–7; lost at No. 19 Cincinnati 21–28; won vs. West Virginia 19–15; won at UConn 34–10; lost vs. No. 25 Oregon State 0–3+34−20Lost 17–27 vs. Bowling Green-10Bowling GreenWon 27–16 vs. Buffalo+11BuffaloWon 21–20 vs. Iowa+1IowaWon 34–24 at Syracuse+10SyracuseWon 26–21 at No. 10 South Florida+5No. 10 South FloridaWon 42–21 at Navy+21NavyLost 34–54 vs. Rutgers-20RutgersWon 36–33 at Notre Dame+3Notre DameWon 41–7 vs. Louisville+34LouisvilleLost 21–28 at No. 19 Cincinnati-7No. 19 CincinnatiWon 19–15 vs. West Virginia+4West VirginiaWon 34–10 at UConn+24UConnLost 0–3 vs. No. 25 Oregon State-3No. 25 Oregon State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsBowling GreenL 17–⁠2760%
Sep 6vsBuffaloW 27–⁠1660%
Sep 20vsIowaW 21–⁠2049%
Sep 27atSyracuseW 34–⁠2464%
Oct 2at10South FloridaW 26–⁠2124%
Oct 18atNavyW 42–⁠2140%
Oct 25vsRutgersL 34–⁠5469%
Nov 1atNotre DameW 36–⁠3338%
Nov 8vsLouisvilleW 41–⁠758%
Nov 22at19CincinnatiL 21–⁠2830%
Nov 28vsWest VirginiaW 19–⁠1538%
Dec 6atUConnW 34–⁠1044%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs25Oregon StateSun BowlL 0–⁠347%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oregon State 3–⁠0 in the Sun Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big East.

In program history: The 43rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 25
  2. Wk 7: 24
  3. Wk 8: 23
  4. Wk 9: 17
  5. Wk 11: 25
  6. Wk 12: 21
  7. Wk 13: 20
  8. Wk 15: 23
Record
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Big East
AP final
Unranked peak No. 17
Points
352–⁠279
Coach
Dave Wannstedt
Elo
1609 +116 this season
SP+ rating
9.0 No. 33 of 120; offense No. 63, defense No. 32, special teams No. 11
SRS
8.0 No. 27 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 20
Offensive coordinator
Matt Cavanaugh
Defensive coordinator
Phil Bennett
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense88th of 120
  • Defense21st of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted100th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted22nd of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0240%0.8788th of 120
Defense-0.0238%0.9021st of 120
Opponent-adjusted-0.00 off
-0.00 def		40% off
37% def		—100th off
22nd 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 342% allowed
Defense0.0own 303% 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

Jonathan Baldwin WR★★★★★No. 13
Lucas Nix OT★★★★No. 46
Shayne Hale WDE★★★★No. 67
Chris Burns RB★★★★No. 132
Cameron Saddler APB★★★★No. 192

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.878
Running backs24.00.929
Receivers24.00.917
Offensive line23.50.908
Defensive line14.00.968
Linebackers23.00.828
Defensive backs13.00.834
Athletes and specialists22.50.800
Whole class133.40.880

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 2LeSean McCoy RBPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 5Scott McKillop ILBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 7Larod Stephens-Howling RBArizona Cardinals
Rd 7Derek Kinder WRChicago Bears

2008 Big East standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Cincinnati6–⁠111–⁠317
Pittsburgh5–⁠29–⁠4
West Virginia5–⁠29–⁠423
Rutgers5–⁠28–⁠5
UConn3–⁠48–⁠5
South Florida2–⁠58–⁠5
Louisville1–⁠65–⁠7
Syracuse1–⁠63–⁠9

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