CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Stanford

5–⁠7 (4–⁠5 Pac-10), coached by Jim Harbaugh.

Schedule and results

Stanford in 2008, game by game: won vs. Oregon State 36–28; lost at No. 15 Arizona State 17–41; lost at TCU 14–31; won vs. San José State 23–10; won at Washington 35–28; lost at Notre Dame 21–28; won vs. Arizona 24–23; lost at UCLA 20–23; won vs. Washington State 58–0; lost at Oregon 28–35; lost vs. No. 6 USC 23–45; lost at California 16–37+58−24Won 36–28 vs. Oregon State+8Oregon StateLost 17–41 at No. 15 Arizona State-24No. 15 Arizona StateLost 14–31 at TCU-17TCUWon 23–10 vs. San José State+13San José StateWon 35–28 at Washington+7WashingtonLost 21–28 at Notre Dame-7Notre DameWon 24–23 vs. Arizona+1ArizonaLost 20–23 at UCLA-3UCLAWon 58–0 vs. Washington State+58Washington StateLost 28–35 at Oregon-7OregonLost 23–45 vs. No. 6 USC-22No. 6 USCLost 16–37 at California-21California
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vsOregon StateW 36–⁠2831%
Sep 6at15Arizona StateL 17–⁠4124%
Sep 13atTCUL 14–⁠3119%
Sep 20vsSan José StateW 23–⁠1051%
Sep 27atWashingtonW 35–⁠2844%
Oct 4atNotre DameL 21–⁠2833%
Oct 11vsArizonaW 24–⁠2339%
Oct 18atUCLAL 20–⁠2339%
Nov 1vsWashington StateW 58–⁠071%
Nov 8atOregonL 28–⁠3522%
Nov 15vs6USCL 23–⁠4516%
Nov 22atCaliforniaL 16–⁠3724%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to California 37–⁠16; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Pac-10.

In program history: The 82nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 109 on file).

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠5 tied for 6th in Pac-10
AP final
Unranked
Points
315–⁠329
Coach
Jim Harbaugh
Elo
1443 +35 this season
SP+ rating
2.2 No. 60 of 120; offense No. 38, defense No. 76, special teams No. 16
SRS
0.7 No. 61 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 47
Offensive coordinator
David Shaw
Defensive coordinators
Andy Buh and Ron Lynn
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense46th of 120
  • Defense94th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted29th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted116th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0542%0.9046th of 120
Defense0.0944%0.9294th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.06 off
0.08 def		44% off
44% def		—29th off
116th 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 314% allowed
Defense0.0own 322% 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

Andrew Luck PRO★★★★No. 42
Chris Owusu WR★★★★No. 335
Harold Bernard ATH★★★No. 713
Quinn Evans CB★★★No. 988
Padric Scott DT★★★No. 988

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.978
Receivers14.00.895
Offensive line13.00.829
Defensive line13.00.836
Linebackers12.00.744
Defensive backs32.30.776
Athletes and specialists22.50.778
Whole class102.80.817

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.

All-Pac-10

2 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2008 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2008 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC8–⁠112–⁠13
Oregon7–⁠210–⁠310
Oregon State7–⁠29–⁠418
California6–⁠39–⁠4
Arizona5–⁠48–⁠5
Arizona State4–⁠55–⁠7
Stanford4–⁠55–⁠7
UCLA3–⁠64–⁠8
Washington State1–⁠82–⁠11
Washington0–⁠90–⁠12

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