CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Tulsa

11–⁠3 (7–⁠1 Conference USA), coached by Todd Graham.

Schedule and results

Tulsa in 2008, game by game: won at UAB 45–22; won at North Texas 56–26; won vs. New Mexico 56–14; won vs. Central Arkansas 62–34; won vs. Rice 63–28; won at SMU 37–31; won vs. UTEP 77–35; won vs. UCF 49–19; lost at Arkansas 23–30; lost at Houston 30–70; won vs. Tulane 56–7; won at Marshall 38–35; lost vs. East Carolina 24–27; won vs. No. 12 Ball State 45–13+49−40Won 45–22 at UAB+23UABWon 56–26 at North Texas+30North TexasWon 56–14 vs. New Mexico+42New MexicoWon 62–34 vs. Central Arkansas+28Central ArkansasWon 63–28 vs. Rice+35RiceWon 37–31 at SMU+6SMUWon 77–35 vs. UTEP+42UTEPWon 49–19 vs. UCF+30UCFLost 23–30 at Arkansas-7ArkansasLost 30–70 at Houston-40HoustonWon 56–7 vs. Tulane+49TulaneWon 38–35 at Marshall+3MarshallLost 24–27 vs. East Carolina-3East CarolinaWon 45–13 vs. No. 12 Ball State+32No. 12 Ball State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atUABW 45–⁠2272%
Sep 6atNorth TexasW 56–⁠2678%
Sep 20vsNew MexicoW 56–⁠1471%
Sep 27vsCentral ArkansasW 62–⁠3486%
Oct 4vsRiceW 63–⁠2881%
Oct 11atSMUW 37–⁠3183%
Oct 18vsUTEPW 77–⁠3582%
Oct 26vsUCFW 49–⁠1981%
Nov 1atArkansasL 23–⁠3066%
Nov 15atHoustonL 30–⁠7058%
Nov 22vsTulaneW 56–⁠790%
Nov 29atMarshallW 38–⁠3571%
Dec 6vsEast CarolinaConference USA Championship GameL 24–⁠2767%
Jan 6Bowls & playoffvs12Ball StateGMAC BowlW 45–⁠1344%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Ball State 45–⁠13 in the GMAC Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 111 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 9: 22
  2. Wk 10: 19
  3. Wk 12: 25

Led the nationBrennan Marion: yards per catch (25.9)

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked peak No. 19
Points
661–⁠391
Coach
Todd Graham
Elo
1631 +63 this season
SP+ rating
7.0 No. 42 of 120; offense No. 12, defense No. 89, special teams No. 73
SRS
7.6 No. 28 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 72
Offensive coordinators
Herb Hand and Gus Malzahn
Defensive coordinators
Keith Patterson and Paul Randolph
Offense
Spread option
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense7th of 120
  • Defense64th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted10th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted69th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1448%1.017th of 120
Defense0.0439%1.0664th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.10 off
0.04 def		46% off
39% def		—10th off
69th 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 332% allowed
Defense0.0own 313% 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

John Flanders CB★★★No. 521
Brian Moore OLB★★★No. 901
Clint Anderson OG★★★No. 1139
Cory Dorris OT★★★No. 1247
Gabe Moyer OG★★No. 1436

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs12.00.733
Offensive line42.50.782
Defensive line22.00.789
Linebackers32.30.792
Defensive backs52.20.788
Athletes and specialists22.00.767
Whole class172.20.782

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.

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.