CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Texas A&M

4–⁠8 (2–⁠6 Big 12), coached by Mike Sherman.

Schedule and results

Texas A&M in 2008, game by game: lost vs. Arkansas State 14–18; won at New Mexico 28–22; lost vs. Miami 23–41; won vs. Army 21–17; lost at No. 21 Oklahoma State 28–56; lost vs. Kansas State 30–44; lost vs. No. 7 Texas Tech 25–43; won at Iowa State 49–35; won vs. Colorado 24–17; lost vs. No. 6 Oklahoma 28–66; lost at Baylor 21–41; lost at No. 4 Texas 9–49+14−40Lost 14–18 vs. Arkansas State-4Arkansas StateWon 28–22 at New Mexico+6New MexicoLost 23–41 vs. Miami-18MiamiWon 21–17 vs. Army+4ArmyLost 28–56 at No. 21 Oklahoma State-28No. 21 Oklahoma StateLost 30–44 vs. Kansas State-14Kansas StateLost 25–43 vs. No. 7 Texas Tech-18No. 7 Texas TechWon 49–35 at Iowa State+14Iowa StateWon 24–17 vs. Colorado+7ColoradoLost 28–66 vs. No. 6 Oklahoma-38No. 6 OklahomaLost 21–41 at Baylor-20BaylorLost 9–49 at No. 4 Texas-40No. 4 Texas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsArkansas StateL 14–⁠1874%
Sep 6atNew MexicoW 28–⁠2245%
Sep 20vsMiamiL 23–⁠4164%
Sep 27vsArmyW 21–⁠1784%
Oct 4at21Oklahoma StateL 28–⁠5626%
Oct 11vsKansas StateL 30–⁠4459%
Oct 18vs7Texas TechL 25–⁠4327%
Oct 25atIowa StateW 49–⁠3551%
Nov 1vsColoradoW 24–⁠1758%
Nov 8vs6OklahomaL 28–⁠6622%
Nov 15atBaylorL 21–⁠4151%
Nov 27at4TexasL 9–⁠499%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Texas 49–⁠9; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Big 12.

In program history: The 112th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 8th in Big 12
AP final
Unranked
Points
300–⁠449
Coach
Mike Sherman
Elo
1433 −111 this season
SP+ rating
-5.6 No. 83 of 120; offense No. 54, defense No. 93, special teams No. 50
SRS
−5.9 No. 80 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 16
Offensive coordinator
Nolan Cromwell
Defensive coordinator
Joe Kines
Offense
Multiple pro-style
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense39th of 120
  • Defense118th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted48th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted125th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0538%1.0439th of 120
Defense0.1447%0.93118th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.09 def		38% off
46% def		—48th off
125th 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 312% allowed
Defense-0.2own 352% 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

Cyrus Gray RB★★★★No. 70
Derrick Hall ATH★★★★No. 97
Jeff Fuller WR★★★★No. 118
Rod Davis DT★★★★No. 135
Andrew Wolridge SDE★★★★No. 289
Tommy Dorman DUAL★★★★No. 299

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.900
Running backs14.00.967
Receivers14.00.943
Offensive line43.00.860
Defensive line24.00.918
Linebackers13.00.874
Athletes and specialists14.00.954
Whole class113.50.901

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 4Stephen McGee QBDallas Cowboys
Rd 4Mike Goodson RBCarolina Panthers

All-Big 12

1 first team

First 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 Big 12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas7–⁠112–⁠14
Oklahoma7–⁠112–⁠25
Texas Tech7–⁠111–⁠212
Missouri5–⁠310–⁠419
Nebraska5–⁠39–⁠4
Oklahoma State5–⁠39–⁠416
Kansas4–⁠48–⁠5
Colorado2–⁠65–⁠7
Kansas State2–⁠65–⁠7
Baylor2–⁠64–⁠8
Texas A&M2–⁠64–⁠8
Iowa State0–⁠82–⁠10

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