CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 USC

12–⁠1 (8–⁠1 Pac-10), coached by Pete Carroll, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 2008, game by game: won at Virginia 52–7; won vs. No. 5 Ohio State 35–3; lost at Oregon State 21–27; won vs. No. 23 Oregon 44–10; won vs. Arizona State 28–0; won at Washington State 69–0; won at Arizona 17–10; won vs. Washington 56–0; won vs. No. 21 California 17–3; won at Stanford 45–23; won vs. Notre Dame 38–3; won at UCLA 28–7; won vs. No. 6 Penn State 38–24+69−6Won 52–7 at Virginia+45VirginiaWon 35–3 vs. No. 5 Ohio State+32No. 5 Ohio StateLost 21–27 at Oregon State-6Oregon StateWon 44–10 vs. No. 23 Oregon+34No. 23 OregonWon 28–0 vs. Arizona State+28Arizona StateWon 69–0 at Washington State+69Washington StateWon 17–10 at Arizona+7ArizonaWon 56–0 vs. Washington+56WashingtonWon 17–3 vs. No. 21 California+14No. 21 CaliforniaWon 45–23 at Stanford+22StanfordWon 38–3 vs. Notre Dame+35Notre DameWon 28–7 at UCLA+21UCLAWon 38–24 vs. No. 6 Penn State+14No. 6 Penn State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atVirginiaW 52–⁠766%
Sep 13vs5Ohio StateW 35–⁠364%
Sep 25atOregon StateL 21–⁠2768%
Oct 4vs23OregonW 44–⁠1070%
Oct 11vsArizona StateW 28–⁠083%
Oct 18atWashington StateW 69–⁠088%
Oct 25atArizonaW 17–⁠1066%
Nov 1vsWashingtonW 56–⁠094%
Nov 8vs21CaliforniaW 17–⁠378%
Nov 15atStanfordW 45–⁠2384%
Nov 29vsNotre DameW 38–⁠388%
Dec 6atUCLAW 28–⁠786%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs6Penn StateRose BowlW 38–⁠2457%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Penn State 38–⁠24 in the Rose Bowl; No. 3 in the final AP poll; Pac-10 champions.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

Pac-10 champions8–⁠1 in the conference

Chuck Bednarik AwardRey Maualuga, LB

2 consensus All-AmericansRey Maualuga, LB; Taylor Mays, S

Record
12–⁠1
Conference
8–⁠1 first in Pac-10
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 1
Points
488–⁠117
Coach
Pete Carroll
Elo
1851 +135 this season
SP+ rating
37.0 No. 1 of 120; offense No. 5, defense No. 2, special teams No. 64
SRS
25.1 No. 4 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 4
Offensive coordinator
Steve Sarkisian
Defensive coordinator
Nick Holt
Captains
Jeff Byers, Brian Cushing, Kevin Ellison and Mark Sanchez
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense5th of 120
  • Defense1st of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted5th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted2nd of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1448%0.975th of 120
Defense-0.1133%0.851st of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.12 off
-0.06 def		47% off
34% def		—5th off
2nd 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 342% allowed
Defense0.0own 263% 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

Blake Ayles TE★★★★★No. 16
Matt Kalil OT★★★★★No. 20
Tyron Smith OT★★★★No. 30
T.J. Bryant CB★★★★No. 39
Brice Butler WR★★★★No. 50
D.J. Shoemate WR★★★★No. 54
Nick Perry WDE★★★★No. 60
Matt Meyer OT★★★★No. 87

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers34.30.981
Offensive line54.20.959
Defensive line54.00.927
Linebackers14.00.958
Defensive backs23.50.927
Whole class164.10.949

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 1Mark Sanchez QBNew York Jets
Rd 1Brian Cushing OLBHouston Texans
Rd 1Clay Matthews OLBGreen Bay Packers
Rd 2Rey Maualuga ILBCincinnati Bengals
Rd 2Fili Moala DTIndianapolis Colts
Rd 3Patrick Turner WRMiami Dolphins
Rd 4Kaluka Maiava OLBCleveland Browns
Rd 4Kyle Moore DETampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 5David Buehler KDallas Cowboys
Rd 6Cary Harris CBBuffalo Bills
Rd 6Kevin Ellison SSan Diego Chargers

All-Pac-10

9 first team, 4 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.