CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Utah State

3–⁠9 (3–⁠5 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Brent Guy.

Schedule and results

Utah State in 2008, game by game: lost at UNLV 17–27; lost at No. 18 Oregon 24–66; lost vs. No. 22 Utah 10–58; won vs. Idaho 42–17; lost vs. No. 8 BYU 14–34; lost at San José State 7–30; lost at Nevada 17–44; lost vs. Fresno State 28–30; won vs. Hawai’i 30–14; lost at No. 9 Boise State 14–49; lost at Louisiana Tech 38–45; won vs. New Mexico State 47–2+45−48Lost 17–27 at UNLV-10UNLVLost 24–66 at No. 18 Oregon-42No. 18 OregonLost 10–58 vs. No. 22 Utah-48No. 22 UtahWon 42–17 vs. Idaho+25IdahoLost 14–34 vs. No. 8 BYU-20No. 8 BYULost 7–30 at San José State-23San José StateLost 17–44 at Nevada-27NevadaLost 28–30 vs. Fresno State-2Fresno StateWon 30–14 vs. Hawai’i+16Hawai’iLost 14–49 at No. 9 Boise State-35No. 9 Boise StateLost 38–45 at Louisiana Tech-7Louisiana TechWon 47–2 vs. New Mexico State+45New Mexico State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atUNLVL 17–⁠2743%
Sep 6at18OregonL 24–⁠6613%
Sep 13vs22UtahL 10–⁠5821%
Sep 20vsIdahoW 42–⁠1759%
Oct 3vs8BYUL 14–⁠3415%
Oct 11atSan José StateL 7–⁠3025%
Oct 18atNevadaL 17–⁠4421%
Oct 25vsFresno StateL 28–⁠3022%
Nov 1vsHawai’iW 30–⁠1423%
Nov 8at9Boise StateL 14–⁠498%
Nov 15atLouisiana TechL 38–⁠4526%
Nov 29vsNew Mexico StateW 47–⁠264%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat New Mexico State 47–⁠2; unranked in the final AP poll; 7th in the Western Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 101st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 120 on file).

Record
3–⁠9
Conference
3–⁠5 7th in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
288–⁠416
Coach
Brent Guy
Elo
1361 +3 this season
SP+ rating
-18.9 No. 112 of 120; offense No. 106, defense No. 112, special teams No. 27
SRS
−11.7 No. 102 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 111
Offensive coordinator
Darrell Dickey
Defensive coordinator
Mark Johnson

How good, play by play

  • Offense74th of 120
  • Defense91st of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted97th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted101st of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0036%0.9074th of 120
Defense0.0845%0.8591st of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.00 off
0.06 def		36% off
44% def		—97th off
101st 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-0.2own 283% 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

Exavier Johnson ATH★★★No. 901
Kellen Bartlett TE★★No. 1565
Robert Fuller DUAL★★No. 1602
Sheldon Armstrong CB★★No. 1602
Emmanuel Ojeriakhi WR★★No. 1602

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.767
Running backs22.00.700
Receivers32.00.765
Offensive line12.00.733
Defensive line22.00.727
Linebackers22.00.727
Defensive backs22.00.733
Athletes and specialists13.00.843
Whole class142.10.744

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 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Boise State8–⁠012–⁠111
Louisiana Tech5–⁠38–⁠5
Nevada5–⁠37–⁠6
Hawai’i5–⁠37–⁠7
Fresno State4–⁠47–⁠6
San José State4–⁠46–⁠6
Utah State3–⁠53–⁠9
New Mexico State1–⁠73–⁠9
Idaho1–⁠72–⁠10

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