CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Rutgers

8–⁠5 (5–⁠2 Big East), coached by Greg Schiano.

Schedule and results

Rutgers in 2008, game by game: lost vs. Fresno State 7–24; lost vs. North Carolina 12–44; lost at Navy 21–23; won vs. Morgan State 38–0; lost at West Virginia 17–24; lost at Cincinnati 10–13; won vs. UConn 12–10; won at No. 17 Pittsburgh 54–34; won vs. Syracuse 35–17; won at South Florida 49–16; won vs. Army 30–3; won vs. Louisville 63–14; won vs. NC State 29–23+49−32Lost 7–24 vs. Fresno State-17Fresno StateLost 12–44 vs. North Carolina-32North CarolinaLost 21–23 at Navy-2NavyWon 38–0 vs. Morgan State+38Morgan StateLost 17–24 at West Virginia-7West VirginiaLost 10–13 at Cincinnati-3CincinnatiWon 12–10 vs. UConn+2UConnWon 54–34 at No. 17 Pittsburgh+20No. 17 PittsburghWon 35–17 vs. Syracuse+18SyracuseWon 49–16 at South Florida+33South FloridaWon 30–3 vs. Army+27ArmyWon 63–14 vs. Louisville+49LouisvilleWon 29–23 vs. NC State+6NC State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsFresno StateL 7–⁠2459%
Sep 11vsNorth CarolinaL 12–⁠4466%
Sep 20atNavyL 21–⁠2342%
Sep 27vsMorgan StateW 38–⁠078%
Oct 4atWest VirginiaL 17–⁠2422%
Oct 11atCincinnatiL 10–⁠1323%
Oct 18vsUConnW 12–⁠1043%
Oct 25at17PittsburghW 54–⁠3431%
Nov 8vsSyracuseW 35–⁠1780%
Nov 15atSouth FloridaW 49–⁠1635%
Nov 22vsArmyW 30–⁠386%
Dec 4vsLouisvilleW 63–⁠1472%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsNC StatePapaJohns.com BowlW 29–⁠2361%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat NC State 29–⁠23 in the PapaJohns.com Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big East.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 152 on file).

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Big East
AP final
Unranked
Points
377–⁠245
Coach
Greg Schiano
Elo
1632 +67 this season
SP+ rating
2.4 No. 57 of 120; offense No. 48, defense No. 61, special teams No. 97
SRS
6.4 No. 33 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 44
Offensive coordinator
John McNulty
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense40th of 120
  • Defense74th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted47th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted81st of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0543%0.9040th of 120
Defense0.0538%0.9774th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.05 def		43% off
39% def		—47th off
81st 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 323% allowed
Defense0.0own 314% 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

Art Forst OT★★★★No. 243
Rashad White APB★★★No. 452
Eric LeGrand ILB★★★No. 452
Wayne Warren DUAL★★★No. 901
Marcus Cooper WR★★★No. 951

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.827
Running backs13.00.879
Receivers32.70.783
Offensive line23.50.860
Defensive line13.00.824
Linebackers23.00.849
Defensive backs22.50.806
Athletes and specialists12.00.756
Whole class142.90.821

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 1Kenny Britt WRTennessee Titans
Rd 6Mike Teel QBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 6Jason McCourty CBTennessee Titans
Rd 7Courtney Greene SSeattle Seahawks
Rd 7Tiquan Underwood WRJacksonville Jaguars

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.