CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 SMU

1–⁠11 (0–⁠8 Conference USA), coached by June Jones.

Schedule and results

SMU in 2008, game by game: lost at Rice 27–56; won vs. Texas State 47–36; lost at No. 12 Texas Tech 7–43; lost vs. TCU 7–48; lost at Tulane 27–34; lost at UCF 17–31; lost vs. Tulsa 31–37; lost vs. Houston 38–44; lost at Navy 7–34; lost vs. Memphis 26–31; lost at UTEP 10–36; lost vs. Southern Miss 12–28+11−41Lost 27–56 at Rice-29RiceWon 47–36 vs. Texas State+11Texas StateLost 7–43 at No. 12 Texas Tech-36No. 12 Texas TechLost 7–48 vs. TCU-41TCULost 27–34 at Tulane-7TulaneLost 17–31 at UCF-14UCFLost 31–37 vs. Tulsa-6TulsaLost 38–44 vs. Houston-6HoustonLost 7–34 at Navy-27NavyLost 26–31 vs. Memphis-5MemphisLost 10–36 at UTEP-26UTEPLost 12–28 vs. Southern Miss-16Southern Miss
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29atRiceL 27–⁠5640%
Sep 6vsTexas StateW 47–⁠3667%
Sep 13at12Texas TechL 7–⁠4314%
Sep 20vsTCUL 7–⁠4821%
Sep 25atTulaneL 27–⁠3431%
Oct 4atUCFL 17–⁠3125%
Oct 11vsTulsaL 31–⁠3717%
Oct 18vsHoustonL 38–⁠4426%
Oct 25atNavyL 7–⁠3418%
Nov 8vsMemphisL 26–⁠3140%
Nov 15atUTEPL 10–⁠3622%
Nov 29vsSouthern MissL 12–⁠2825%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Southern Miss 28–⁠12; unranked in the final AP poll; 12th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 107th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 110 on file).

Record
1–⁠11
Conference
0–⁠8 12th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
256–⁠458
Coach
June Jones
Elo
1248 −124 this season
SP+ rating
-18.5 No. 111 of 120; offense No. 78, defense No. 118, special teams No. 38
SRS
−16.8 No. 114 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 85
Offensive coordinator
Dan Morrison
Defensive coordinator
Tom Mason
Offense
Run and shoot
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense85th of 120
  • Defense107th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted92nd of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted107th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0140%0.9485th of 120
Defense0.1147%0.86107th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.01 off
0.07 def		40% off
44% def		—92nd off
107th 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
Offense0.0own 303% allowed
Defense0.0own 342% 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

Robert Parker OLB★★★No. 1019
Chris Banjo S★★★No. 1019
Taylor Thompson TE★★★No. 1019
Victor Jones OLB★★★No. 1247
Keith Robinson APB★★★No. 1247

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.00.745
Running backs32.30.781
Receivers52.20.793
Offensive line82.00.761
Defensive line12.00.789
Linebackers32.70.796
Defensive backs13.00.833
Athletes and specialists32.00.767
Whole class262.20.777

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 5Thomas Morstead PNew Orleans Saints

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.