CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Rice

10–⁠3 (7–⁠1 Conference USA), coached by David Bailiff.

Schedule and results

Rice in 2008, game by game: won vs. SMU 56–27; won at Memphis 42–35; lost at Vanderbilt 21–38; lost at No. 7 Texas 10–52; won vs. North Texas 77–20; lost at Tulsa 28–63; won vs. Southern Miss 45–40; won at Tulane 42–17; won at UTEP 49–44; won vs. Army 38–31; won vs. Marshall 35–10; won vs. Houston 56–42; won vs. Western Michigan 38–14+57−42Won 56–27 vs. SMU+29SMUWon 42–35 at Memphis+7MemphisLost 21–38 at Vanderbilt-17VanderbiltLost 10–52 at No. 7 Texas-42No. 7 TexasWon 77–20 vs. North Texas+57North TexasLost 28–63 at Tulsa-35TulsaWon 45–40 vs. Southern Miss+5Southern MissWon 42–17 at Tulane+25TulaneWon 49–44 at UTEP+5UTEPWon 38–31 vs. Army+7ArmyWon 35–10 vs. Marshall+25MarshallWon 56–42 vs. Houston+14HoustonWon 38–14 vs. Western Michigan+24Western Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29vsSMUW 56–⁠2760%
Sep 6atMemphisW 42–⁠3544%
Sep 13atVanderbiltL 21–⁠3832%
Sep 20at7TexasL 10–⁠5215%
Sep 27vsNorth TexasW 77–⁠2073%
Oct 4atTulsaL 28–⁠6319%
Oct 18vsSouthern MissW 45–⁠4052%
Oct 25atTulaneW 42–⁠1753%
Nov 1atUTEPW 49–⁠4449%
Nov 8vsArmyW 38–⁠3176%
Nov 22vsMarshallW 35–⁠1069%
Nov 29vsHoustonW 56–⁠4248%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsWestern MichiganTexas BowlW 38–⁠1449%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Western Michigan 38–⁠14 in the Texas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 115 on file).

C-USA West champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Led the nationJarett Dillard: receiving touchdowns (20 TD)

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
537–⁠433
Coach
David Bailiff
Elo
1576 +185 this season
SP+ rating
4.8 No. 51 of 120; offense No. 11, defense No. 104, special teams No. 81
SRS
2.4 No. 48 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 92
Offensive coordinator
Tom Herman
Defensive coordinators
Chuck Driesbach and Craig Naivar
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense12th of 120
  • Defense99th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted12th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted110th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1247%0.9412th of 120
Defense0.0943%1.0299th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.09 off
0.07 def		45% off
42% def		—12th off
110th 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
Offense0.1own 322% allowed
Defense-0.1own 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

Roddy Maginot WR★★★No. 877
Jarrett Ben CB★★★No. 1095
Eric Ball OG★★★No. 1219
Xavier Webb ATH★★★No. 1247
Emerson Herndon FB★★★No. 1247

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.799
Running backs13.00.811
Receivers62.20.763
Offensive line32.70.776
Defensive line22.00.767
Linebackers12.00.744
Defensive backs23.00.819
Athletes and specialists22.50.778
Whole class182.40.777

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 5Jarett Dillard WRJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 5James Casey TEHouston Texans

2008 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Tulsa7–⁠111–⁠3
Rice7–⁠110–⁠3
East Carolina6–⁠29–⁠5
Houston6–⁠28–⁠5
Southern Miss4–⁠47–⁠6
Memphis4–⁠46–⁠7
UTEP4–⁠45–⁠7
UAB3–⁠54–⁠8
UCF3–⁠54–⁠8
Marshall3–⁠54–⁠8
Tulane1–⁠72–⁠10
SMU0–⁠81–⁠11

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