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2008 Temple

5–⁠7 (4–⁠4 Mid-American Conference), coached by Al Golden.

Schedule and results

Temple in 2008, game by game: won at Army 35–7; lost vs. UConn 9–12; lost at Buffalo 28–30; lost at No. 16 Penn State 3–45; lost vs. Western Michigan 3–7; won at Miami (OH) 28–10; lost at Central Michigan 14–24; won vs. Ohio 14–10; lost at Navy 27–33; lost at Kent State 38–41; won vs. Eastern Michigan 55–52; won vs. Akron 27–6+28−42Won 35–7 at Army+28ArmyLost 9–12 vs. UConn-3UConnLost 28–30 at Buffalo-2BuffaloLost 3–45 at No. 16 Penn State-42No. 16 Penn StateLost 3–7 vs. Western Michigan-4Western MichiganWon 28–10 at Miami (OH)+18Miami (OH)Lost 14–24 at Central Michigan-10Central MichiganWon 14–10 vs. Ohio+4OhioLost 27–33 at Navy-6NavyLost 38–41 at Kent State-3Kent StateWon 55–52 vs. Eastern Michigan+3Eastern MichiganWon 27–6 vs. Akron+21Akron
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29atArmyW 35–⁠743%
Sep 6vsUConnL 9–⁠1238%
Sep 13atBuffaloL 28–⁠3039%
Sep 20at16Penn StateL 3–⁠4514%
Sep 27vsWestern MichiganL 3–⁠741%
Oct 4atMiami (OH)W 28–⁠1040%
Oct 11atCentral MichiganL 14–⁠2427%
Oct 21vsOhioW 14–⁠1052%
Nov 1atNavyL 27–⁠3328%
Nov 12atKent StateL 38–⁠4150%
Nov 22vsEastern MichiganW 55–⁠5272%
Nov 28vsAkronW 27–⁠655%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Akron 27–⁠6; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 43rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 92 on file).

Led the nationTravis Shelton: kickoff return average (31.3)

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
281–⁠277
Coach
Al Golden
Elo
1421 +49 this season
SP+ rating
-9.4 No. 93 of 120; offense No. 98, defense No. 75, special teams No. 73
SRS
−3.8 No. 73 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 78
Offensive coordinator
Matt Rhule
Defensive coordinator
Mark D’Onofrio
Offense
Pro spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense104th of 120
  • Defense65th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted112th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted61st of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0435%1.01104th of 120
Defense0.0444%0.7765th of 120
Opponent-adjusted-0.01 off
0.03 def		36% off
43% def		—112th off
61st 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 333% allowed
Defense-0.1own 341% 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

Vaughn Carraway WR★★★No. 473
Muhammad Wilkerson OG★★★No. 742
Wayne Tribue OG★★★No. 1095
Tony Cornelius RB★★★No. 1119
Cedric Hammond WR★★★No. 1187

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs23.00.815
Receivers42.50.800
Offensive line62.30.770
Defensive line22.50.800
Linebackers32.00.752
Defensive backs42.00.758
Athletes and specialists22.50.800
Whole class232.30.780

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 3Terrance Knighton DTJacksonville Jaguars

2008 Mid-American Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ball State8–⁠012–⁠2
Western Michigan6–⁠29–⁠4
Central Michigan6–⁠28–⁠5
Buffalo5–⁠38–⁠6
Northern Illinois5–⁠36–⁠7
Bowling Green4–⁠46–⁠6
Temple4–⁠45–⁠7
Akron3–⁠55–⁠7
Kent State3–⁠54–⁠8
Ohio3–⁠54–⁠8
Eastern Michigan2–⁠63–⁠9
Toledo2–⁠63–⁠9
Miami (OH)1–⁠72–⁠10

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