CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 UTEP

5–⁠7 (4–⁠4 Conference USA), coached by Mike Price.

Schedule and results

UTEP in 2008, game by game: lost at Buffalo 17–42; lost vs. No. 10 Texas 13–42; lost vs. New Mexico State 33–34; won vs. UCF 58–13; won at Southern Miss 40–37; won vs. Tulane 24–21; lost at Tulsa 35–77; lost vs. Rice 44–49; won at Louisiana 37–24; won vs. SMU 36–10; lost at Houston 37–42; lost at East Carolina 21–53+45−42Lost 17–42 at Buffalo-25BuffaloLost 13–42 vs. No. 10 Texas-29No. 10 TexasLost 33–34 vs. New Mexico State-1New Mexico StateWon 58–13 vs. UCF+45UCFWon 40–37 at Southern Miss+3Southern MissWon 24–21 vs. Tulane+3TulaneLost 35–77 at Tulsa-42TulsaLost 44–49 vs. Rice-5RiceWon 37–24 at Louisiana+13LouisianaWon 36–10 vs. SMU+26SMULost 37–42 at Houston-5HoustonLost 21–53 at East Carolina-32East Carolina
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28atBuffaloL 17–⁠4238%
Sep 6vs10TexasL 13–⁠4221%
Sep 20vsNew Mexico StateL 33–⁠3458%
Sep 27vsUCFW 58–⁠1334%
Oct 4atSouthern MissW 40–⁠3729%
Oct 11vsTulaneW 24–⁠2165%
Oct 18atTulsaL 35–⁠7718%
Nov 1vsRiceL 44–⁠4951%
Nov 8atLouisianaW 37–⁠2433%
Nov 15vsSMUW 36–⁠1078%
Nov 22atHoustonL 37–⁠4227%
Nov 28atEast CarolinaL 21–⁠5332%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to East Carolina 53–⁠21; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 30th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 94 on file).

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 5th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
395–⁠444
Coach
Mike Price
Elo
1423 +29 this season
SP+ rating
-2.7 No. 73 of 120; offense No. 25, defense No. 113, special teams No. 5
SRS
−6.6 No. 83 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Bob Connelly
Defensive coordinator
Osia Lewis
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense45th of 120
  • Defense106th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted58th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted114th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0541%0.9945th of 120
Defense0.1148%0.84106th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.03 off
0.08 def		40% off
46% def		—58th off
114th 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-0.3own 322% allowed
Defense-0.1own 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.

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.