CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 South Florida

8–⁠5 (2–⁠5 Big East), coached by Jim Leavitt.

Schedule and results

South Florida in 2008, game by game: won vs. UT Martin 56–7; won at UCF 31–24; won vs. No. 13 Kansas 37–34; won at Florida International 17–9; won at NC State 41–10; lost vs. Pittsburgh 21–26; won vs. Syracuse 45–13; lost at Louisville 20–24; lost at Cincinnati 10–24; lost vs. Rutgers 16–49; won vs. UConn 17–13; lost at West Virginia 7–13; won vs. Memphis 41–14+49−33Won 56–7 vs. UT Martin+49UT MartinWon 31–24 at UCF+7UCFWon 37–34 vs. No. 13 Kansas+3No. 13 KansasWon 17–9 at Florida International+8Florida Interna…Won 41–10 at NC State+31NC StateLost 21–26 vs. Pittsburgh-5PittsburghWon 45–13 vs. Syracuse+32SyracuseLost 20–24 at Louisville-4LouisvilleLost 10–24 at Cincinnati-14CincinnatiLost 16–49 vs. Rutgers-33RutgersWon 17–13 vs. UConn+4UConnLost 7–13 at West Virginia-6West VirginiaWon 41–14 vs. Memphis+27Memphis
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsUT MartinW 56–⁠788%
Sep 6atUCFW 31–⁠2446%
Sep 12vs13KansasW 37–⁠3452%
Sep 20atFlorida InternationalW 17–⁠983%
Sep 27atNC StateW 41–⁠1066%
Oct 2vsPittsburghL 21–⁠2676%
Oct 18vsSyracuseW 45–⁠1389%
Oct 25atLouisvilleL 20–⁠2451%
Oct 30atCincinnatiL 10–⁠2443%
Nov 15vsRutgersL 16–⁠4965%
Nov 23vsUConnW 17–⁠1352%
Dec 6atWest VirginiaL 7–⁠1326%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffvsMemphisSt. Petersburg BowlW 41–⁠1467%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Memphis 41–⁠14 in the St. Petersburg Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 6th in the Big East.

In program history: The 10th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 28 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 19
  2. Wk 2: 17
  3. Wk 3: 19
  4. Wk 4: 12
  5. Wk 5: 13
  6. Wk 6: 10
  7. Wk 7: 19
  8. Wk 8: 19
  9. Wk 9: 14
  10. Wk 10: 24
Record
8–⁠5
Conference
2–⁠5 6th in Big East
AP final
Unranked peak No. 10
Points
359–⁠260
Coach
Jim Leavitt
Elo
1570 −11 this season
SP+ rating
8.0 No. 38 of 120; offense No. 48, defense No. 45, special teams No. 52
SRS
5.6 No. 37 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 80
Offensive coordinator
Greg Gregory
Defensive coordinator
Wally Burnham
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense25th of 120
  • Defense16th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted24th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted27th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0845%0.9025th of 120
Defense-0.0335%0.9516th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.00 def		46% off
37% def		—24th off
27th 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
Defense-0.1own 292% 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

Daniel Bryant WR★★★No. 713
Cory Grissom DT★★★No. 1019
Josh Garvin OT★★★No. 1129
Quavon Taylor OLB★★★No. 1166
Donnel Engram SDE★★No. 1554

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers13.00.857
Offensive line22.50.797
Defensive line22.50.810
Linebackers22.50.789
Whole class72.60.807

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 3Tyrone McKenzie OLBNew England Patriots

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.