CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Texas Tech

11–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Big 12), coached by Mike Leach, finished No. 12 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Texas Tech in 2008, game by game: won vs. Eastern Washington 49–24; won at Nevada 35–19; won vs. SMU 43–7; won vs. Massachusetts 56–14; won at Kansas State 58–28; won vs. Nebraska 37–31; won at Texas A&M 43–25; won at No. 19 Kansas 63–21; won vs. No. 1 Texas 39–33; won vs. No. 8 Oklahoma State 56–20; lost at No. 5 Oklahoma 21–65; won vs. Baylor 35–28; lost vs. No. 22 Ole Miss 34–47+42−44Won 49–24 vs. Eastern Washington+25Eastern Washing…Won 35–19 at Nevada+16NevadaWon 43–7 vs. SMU+36SMUWon 56–14 vs. Massachusetts+42MassachusettsWon 58–28 at Kansas State+30Kansas StateWon 37–31 vs. Nebraska+6NebraskaWon 43–25 at Texas A&M+18Texas A&MWon 63–21 at No. 19 Kansas+42No. 19 KansasWon 39–33 vs. No. 1 Texas+6No. 1 TexasWon 56–20 vs. No. 8 Oklahoma State+36No. 8 Oklahoma StateLost 21–65 at No. 5 Oklahoma-44No. 5 OklahomaWon 35–28 vs. Baylor+7BaylorLost 34–47 vs. No. 22 Ole Miss-13No. 22 Ole Miss
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsEastern WashingtonW 49–⁠2479%
Sep 6atNevadaW 35–⁠1956%
Sep 13vsSMUW 43–⁠786%
Sep 20vsMassachusettsW 56–⁠1478%
Oct 4atKansas StateW 58–⁠2863%
Oct 11vsNebraskaW 37–⁠3177%
Oct 18atTexas A&MW 43–⁠2573%
Oct 25at19KansasW 63–⁠2150%
Nov 1vs1TexasW 39–⁠3353%
Nov 8vs8Oklahoma StateW 56–⁠2067%
Nov 22at5OklahomaL 21–⁠6542%
Nov 29vsBaylorW 35–⁠2889%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs22Ole MissCotton BowlL 34–⁠4774%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ole Miss 47–⁠34 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 12 in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Big 12.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 101 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 12
  2. Wk 2: 12
  3. Wk 3: 12
  4. Wk 4: 11
  5. Wk 5: 10
  6. Wk 6: 7
  7. Wk 7: 7
  8. Wk 8: 7
  9. Wk 9: 8
  10. Wk 10: 6
  11. Wk 11: 2
  12. Wk 12: 2
  13. Wk 13: 2
  14. Wk 14: 7
  15. Wk 15: 8
  16. Final: 12

Big 12 South champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Oklahoma and Texas

Heisman voteGraham Harrell, fourth; Michael Crabtree, fifth

Led the nationGraham Harrell: passing yards (5,111 yds)

Johnny Unitas Golden Arm AwardGraham Harrell, QB

Biletnikoff AwardMichael Crabtree, WR

2 consensus All-AmericansMichael Crabtree, WR; Brandon Carter, OG

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Big 12
AP final
No. 12 peak No. 2
Points
569–⁠362
Coach
Mike Leach
Elo
1706 +117 this season
SP+ rating
23.0 No. 9 of 120; offense No. 3, defense No. 65, special teams No. 101
SRS
18.2 No. 6 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 75
Defensive coordinator
Ruffin McNeill
Offense
Air raid
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense1st of 120
  • Defense114th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted1st of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted103rd of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2352%0.981st of 120
Defense0.1247%0.89114th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
0.07 def		50% off
44% def		—1st off
103rd 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 322% allowed
Defense-0.2own 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

Harrison Jeffers RB★★★★No. 344
Deveric Gallington OG★★★No. 473
Brandon Reid ATH★★★No. 1019
Joe King OT★★★No. 1019
Cody Davis S★★★No. 1119

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs14.00.893
Receivers12.00.789
Offensive line23.00.856
Defensive backs13.00.829
Athletes and specialists22.50.789
Whole class72.90.829

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 1Michael Crabtree WRSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 2Darcel McBath SDenver Broncos
Rd 3Louis Vasquez OGSan Diego Chargers
Rd 4Brandon Williams DEDallas Cowboys

All-Big 12

5 first team, 2 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 Big 12 standings

Conference page
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.