CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Utah

13–⁠0 (8–⁠0 Mountain West Conference), coached by Kyle Whittingham, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Utah in 2008, game by game: won at Michigan 25–23; won vs. UNLV 42–21; won at Utah State 58–10; won at Air Force 30–23; won vs. Weber State 37–21; won vs. Oregon State 31–28; won at Wyoming 40–7; won vs. Colorado State 49–16; won at New Mexico 13–10; won vs. No. 11 TCU 13–10; won at San Diego State 63–14; won vs. No. 16 BYU 48–24; won vs. No. 1 Alabama 31–17+49Won 25–23 at Michigan+2MichiganWon 42–21 vs. UNLV+21UNLVWon 58–10 at Utah State+48Utah StateWon 30–23 at Air Force+7Air ForceWon 37–21 vs. Weber State+16Weber StateWon 31–28 vs. Oregon State+3Oregon StateWon 40–7 at Wyoming+33WyomingWon 49–16 vs. Colorado State+33Colorado StateWon 13–10 at New Mexico+3New MexicoWon 13–10 vs. No. 11 TCU+3No. 11 TCUWon 63–14 at San Diego State+49San Diego StateWon 48–24 vs. No. 16 BYU+24No. 16 BYUWon 31–17 vs. No. 1 Alabama+14No. 1 Alabama
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atMichiganW 25–⁠2338%
Sep 6vsUNLVW 42–⁠2184%
Sep 13atUtah StateW 58–⁠1079%
Sep 20atAir ForceW 30–⁠2348%
Sep 27vsWeber StateW 37–⁠2190%
Oct 2vsOregon StateW 31–⁠2864%
Oct 11atWyomingW 40–⁠780%
Oct 18vsColorado StateW 49–⁠1686%
Nov 1atNew MexicoW 13–⁠1067%
Nov 6vs11TCUW 13–⁠1057%
Nov 15atSan Diego StateW 63–⁠1488%
Nov 22vs16BYUW 48–⁠2458%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs1AlabamaSugar BowlW 31–⁠1750%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Alabama 31–⁠17 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Mountain West Conference champions.

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

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 2: 22
  2. Wk 3: 22
  3. Wk 4: 20
  4. Wk 5: 17
  5. Wk 6: 15
  6. Wk 7: 14
  7. Wk 8: 14
  8. Wk 9: 12
  9. Wk 10: 10
  10. Wk 11: 10
  11. Wk 12: 8
  12. Wk 13: 8
  13. Wk 14: 8
  14. Wk 15: 7
  15. Final: 2

Mountain West Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference

Consensus All-AmericanLouie Sakoda, K

Paul “Bear” Bryant AwardKyle Whittingham, coach

Record
13–⁠0
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Mountain West Conference
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 2
Points
480–⁠224
Coach
Kyle Whittingham
Elo
1769 +177 this season
SP+ rating
18.2 No. 19 of 120; offense No. 34, defense No. 15, special teams No. 5
SRS
13.0 No. 14 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 61
Offensive coordinator
Andy Ludwig
Defensive coordinator
Gary Andersen
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense22nd of 120
  • Defense44th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted20th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted45th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0944%0.8922nd of 120
Defense0.0137%0.8744th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.01 def		44% off
37% def		—20th off
45th 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 351% allowed
Defense-0.2own 272% 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

DeVonte Christopher ATH★★★No. 473
Ryan Lacy APB★★★No. 901
Zach Davila OT★★★No. 1247
Siaki Cravens TE★★No. 1428
Sealver Siliga DT★★No. 1436

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs13.00.843
Receivers22.00.778
Offensive line13.00.811
Defensive line12.00.789
Athletes and specialists13.00.878
Whole class62.50.813

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 2Paul Kruger OLBBaltimore Ravens
Rd 2Sean Smith CBMiami Dolphins
Rd 6Brice McCain CBHouston Texans
Rd 7Freddie Brown WRCincinnati Bengals

2008 Mountain West Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Utah8–⁠013–⁠02
TCU7–⁠111–⁠27
BYU6–⁠210–⁠325
Air Force5–⁠38–⁠5
Colorado State4–⁠47–⁠6
UNLV2–⁠65–⁠7
New Mexico2–⁠64–⁠8
Wyoming1–⁠74–⁠8
San Diego State1–⁠72–⁠10

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