CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Southern Miss

7–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Conference USA), coached by Larry Fedora.

Schedule and results

Southern Miss in 2008, game by game: won vs. Louisiana 51–21; lost at No. 9 Auburn 13–27; won at Arkansas State 27–24; lost vs. Marshall 27–34; lost vs. UTEP 37–40; lost vs. No. 15 Boise State 7–24; lost at Rice 40–45; lost at Memphis 30–36; won vs. UAB 70–14; won at UCF 17–6; won vs. East Carolina 21–3; won at SMU 28–12; won vs. Troy 30–27+56−17Won 51–21 vs. Louisiana+30LouisianaLost 13–27 at No. 9 Auburn-14No. 9 AuburnWon 27–24 at Arkansas State+3Arkansas StateLost 27–34 vs. Marshall-7MarshallLost 37–40 vs. UTEP-3UTEPLost 7–24 vs. No. 15 Boise State-17No. 15 Boise StateLost 40–45 at Rice-5RiceLost 30–36 at Memphis-6MemphisWon 70–14 vs. UAB+56UABWon 17–6 at UCF+11UCFWon 21–3 vs. East Carolina+18East CarolinaWon 28–12 at SMU+16SMUWon 30–27 vs. Troy+3Troy
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsLouisianaW 51–⁠2174%
Sep 6at9AuburnL 13–⁠2731%
Sep 13atArkansas StateW 27–⁠2451%
Sep 20vsMarshallL 27–⁠3470%
Oct 4vsUTEPL 37–⁠4071%
Oct 11vs15Boise StateL 7–⁠2432%
Oct 18atRiceL 40–⁠4548%
Oct 25atMemphisL 30–⁠3649%
Nov 1vsUABW 70–⁠1472%
Nov 8atUCFW 17–⁠644%
Nov 15vsEast CarolinaW 21–⁠349%
Nov 29atSMUW 28–⁠1275%
Dec 21Bowls & playoffvsTroyNew Orleans BowlW 30–⁠2740%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Troy 30–⁠27 in the New Orleans Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 23rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 90 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 5th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
398–⁠313
Coach
Larry Fedora
Elo
1537 +18 this season
SP+ rating
3.1 No. 55 of 120; offense No. 36, defense No. 72, special teams No. 91
SRS
−0.2 No. 65 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 39
Offensive coordinator
Darrell Wyatt
Defensive coordinator
Todd Bradford
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense23rd of 120
  • Defense67th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted22nd of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted77th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0942%1.0423rd of 120
Defense0.0442%0.9167th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.04 def		42% off
42% def		—22nd off
77th 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 332% allowed
Defense-0.1own 302% 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

DeAndre Brown WR★★★★★No. 12
Joel Ross DT★★★No. 713
Aljoshua Tillman SDE★★★No. 850
Bret Jefcoat PRO★★★No. 877
Bud Barksdale S★★★No. 1019

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.846
Receivers15.00.993
Offensive line32.70.810
Defensive line42.50.821
Defensive backs13.00.833
Athletes and specialists32.70.804
Whole class132.80.831

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 4Shawn Nelson TEBuffalo Bills
Rd 4Gerald McRath ILBTennessee Titans

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.