CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Virginia

5–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Al Groh.

Schedule and results

Virginia in 2008, game by game: lost vs. No. 3 USC 7–52; won vs. Richmond 16–0; lost at UConn 10–45; lost at Duke 3–31; won vs. Maryland 31–0; won vs. East Carolina 35–20; won vs. No. 18 North Carolina 16–13; won at No. 21 Georgia Tech 24–17; lost vs. Miami 17–24; lost at Wake Forest 17–28; lost vs. Clemson 3–13; lost at Virginia Tech 14–17+31−45Lost 7–52 vs. No. 3 USC-45No. 3 USCWon 16–0 vs. Richmond+16RichmondLost 10–45 at UConn-35UConnLost 3–31 at Duke-28DukeWon 31–0 vs. Maryland+31MarylandWon 35–20 vs. East Carolina+15East CarolinaWon 16–13 vs. No. 18 North Carolina+3No. 18 North CarolinaWon 24–17 at No. 21 Georgia Tech+7No. 21 Georgia TechLost 17–24 vs. Miami-7MiamiLost 17–28 at Wake Forest-11Wake ForestLost 3–13 vs. Clemson-10ClemsonLost 14–17 at Virginia Tech-3Virginia Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vs3USCL 7–⁠5234%
Sep 6vsRichmondW 16–⁠062%
Sep 13atUConnL 10–⁠4539%
Sep 27atDukeL 3–⁠3160%
Oct 4vsMarylandW 31–⁠044%
Oct 11vsEast CarolinaW 35–⁠2056%
Oct 18vs18North CarolinaW 16–⁠1352%
Oct 25at21Georgia TechW 24–⁠1734%
Nov 1vsMiamiL 17–⁠2461%
Nov 8atWake ForestL 17–⁠2839%
Nov 22vsClemsonL 3–⁠1353%
Nov 29atVirginia TechL 14–⁠1724%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Virginia Tech 17–⁠14; unranked in the final AP poll; 11th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 54th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 11th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
193–⁠260
Coach
Al Groh
Elo
1503 −43 this season
SP+ rating
-0.6 No. 67 of 120; offense No. 98, defense No. 28, special teams No. 91
SRS
2.1 No. 49 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 56
Offensive coordinator
Mike Groh
Defensive coordinator
Bob Pruett
Offense
West Coast
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense98th of 120
  • Defense47th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted87th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted57th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0337%0.9398th of 120
Defense0.0140%0.9347th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.01 off
0.03 def		40% off
40% def		—87th off
57th 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 293% allowed
Defense0.0own 342% 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

Torrey Mack RB★★★★No. 242
Rodney McLeod S★★★No. 502
Cameron Johnson S★★★No. 742
Bill Schautz WDE★★★No. 901
Steve Greer OLB★★★No. 1019

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.811
Running backs14.00.910
Receivers32.70.802
Offensive line32.30.787
Defensive line22.50.783
Linebackers13.00.833
Defensive backs23.00.866
Athletes and specialists13.00.811
Whole class142.80.816

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 1Eugene Monroe OTJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 2Clint Sintim OLBNew York Giants
Rd 6Cedric Peerman RBBaltimore Ravens
Rd 6John Phillips TEDallas Cowboys

2008 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Virginia Tech5–⁠310–⁠415
Georgia Tech5–⁠39–⁠422
Florida State5–⁠39–⁠421
Boston College5–⁠39–⁠5
Maryland4–⁠48–⁠5
North Carolina4–⁠48–⁠5
Wake Forest4–⁠48–⁠5
Miami4–⁠47–⁠6
Clemson4–⁠47–⁠6
NC State4–⁠46–⁠7
Virginia3–⁠55–⁠7
Duke1–⁠74–⁠8

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