CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Western Kentucky

2–⁠10, coached by David Elson.

Schedule and results

Western Kentucky in 2008, game by game: lost at Indiana 13–31; won at Eastern Kentucky 37–13; lost at No. 11 Alabama 7–41; won vs. Murray State 50–9; lost at Kentucky 3–41; lost at No. 20 Virginia Tech 13–27; lost vs. No. 25 Ball State 7–24; lost vs. Florida Atlantic 20–24; lost vs. North Texas 40–51; lost at Troy 7–17; lost vs. Middle Tennessee 10–21; lost at Florida International 3–27+41−38Lost 13–31 at Indiana-18IndianaWon 37–13 at Eastern Kentucky+24Eastern KentuckyLost 7–41 at No. 11 Alabama-34No. 11 AlabamaWon 50–9 vs. Murray State+41Murray StateLost 3–41 at Kentucky-38KentuckyLost 13–27 at No. 20 Virginia Tech-14No. 20 Virginia TechLost 7–24 vs. No. 25 Ball State-17No. 25 Ball StateLost 20–24 vs. Florida Atlantic-4Florida AtlanticLost 40–51 vs. North Texas-11North TexasLost 7–17 at Troy-10TroyLost 10–21 vs. Middle Tennessee-11Middle TennesseeLost 3–27 at Florida International-24Florida Interna…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atIndianaL 13–⁠3127%
Sep 6atEastern KentuckyW 37–⁠1340%
Sep 13at11AlabamaL 7–⁠4120%
Sep 20vsMurray StateW 50–⁠983%
Sep 27atKentuckyL 3–⁠4117%
Oct 4at20Virginia TechL 13–⁠2711%
Oct 11vs25Ball StateL 7–⁠2426%
Oct 18vsFlorida AtlanticL 20–⁠2450%
Nov 1vsNorth TexasL 40–⁠5176%
Nov 8atTroyL 7–⁠1714%
Nov 15vsMiddle TennesseeL 10–⁠2143%
Dec 6atFlorida InternationalL 3–⁠2733%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Florida International 27–⁠3; unranked in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 41st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 56 on file).

Record
2–⁠10
Conference
—
AP final
Unranked
Points
210–⁠326
Coach
David Elson
Elo
1255 −111 this season
SP+ rating
-22.1 No. 117 of 120; offense No. 117, defense No. 100, special teams No. 83
SRS
−16.9 No. 115 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Kevin Wright
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense117th of 120
  • Defense89th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted122nd of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted99th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0732%1.03117th of 120
Defense0.0847%0.8289th of 120
Opponent-adjusted-0.02 off
0.06 def		35% off
45% def		—122nd off
99th 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 303% allowed
Defense0.0own 362% 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.