CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Western Michigan

9–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Mid-American Conference), coached by Bill Cubit.

Schedule and results

Western Michigan in 2008, game by game: lost at Nebraska 24–47; won vs. Northern Illinois 29–26; won at Idaho 51–28; won vs. Tennessee Tech 41–7; won at Temple 7–3; won vs. Ohio 41–20; won at Buffalo 34–28; lost at Central Michigan 28–38; won vs. Eastern Michigan 31–10; won vs. Illinois 23–17; won vs. Toledo 27–17; lost at No. 15 Ball State 22–45; lost vs. Rice 14–38+34−24Lost 24–47 at Nebraska-23NebraskaWon 29–26 vs. Northern Illinois+3Northern Illino…Won 51–28 at Idaho+23IdahoWon 41–7 vs. Tennessee Tech+34Tennessee TechWon 7–3 at Temple+4TempleWon 41–20 vs. Ohio+21OhioWon 34–28 at Buffalo+6BuffaloLost 28–38 at Central Michigan-10Central MichiganWon 31–10 vs. Eastern Michigan+21Eastern MichiganWon 23–17 vs. Illinois+6IllinoisWon 27–17 vs. Toledo+10ToledoLost 22–45 at No. 15 Ball State-23No. 15 Ball StateLost 14–38 vs. Rice-24Rice
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atNebraskaL 24–⁠4740%
Sep 6vsNorthern IllinoisW 29–⁠2666%
Sep 13atIdahoW 51–⁠2862%
Sep 20vsTennessee TechW 41–⁠783%
Sep 27atTempleW 7–⁠359%
Oct 4vsOhioW 41–⁠2068%
Oct 11atBuffaloW 34–⁠2858%
Oct 18atCentral MichiganL 28–⁠3844%
Nov 1vsEastern MichiganW 31–⁠1084%
Nov 8vsIllinoisW 23–⁠1746%
Nov 15vsToledoW 27–⁠1782%
Nov 25at15Ball StateL 22–⁠4529%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsRiceTexas BowlL 14–⁠3851%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Rice 38–⁠14 in the Texas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
372–⁠324
Coach
Bill Cubit
Elo
1515 +32 this season
SP+ rating
-3.1 No. 77 of 120; offense No. 51, defense No. 80, special teams No. 104
SRS
−4.5 No. 75 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 89
Defensive coordinator
Steve Morrison
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense50th of 120
  • Defense96th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted63rd of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted87th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0443%0.9050th of 120
Defense0.0942%1.0696th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.03 off
0.05 def		41% off
41% def		—63rd off
87th 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 312% allowed
Defense0.0own 293% 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

Kevin Galeher OG★★★No. 1110
Alex Carder PRO★★★No. 1187
Mitch Zajac ILB★★★No. 1211
John Potter K★★★No. 1247
Weston Peiffer WDE★★No. 1428

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.821
Running backs12.00.789
Receivers32.00.781
Offensive line32.30.788
Defensive line62.00.782
Linebackers42.30.779
Defensive backs32.00.781
Athletes and specialists13.00.811
Whole class222.20.786

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 2Louis Delmas SDetroit Lions
Rd 7E.J. Biggers CBTampa Bay Buccaneers

2008 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ball State8–⁠012–⁠2
Western Michigan6–⁠29–⁠4
Central Michigan6–⁠28–⁠5
Buffalo5–⁠38–⁠6
Northern Illinois5–⁠36–⁠7
Bowling Green4–⁠46–⁠6
Temple4–⁠45–⁠7
Akron3–⁠55–⁠7
Kent State3–⁠54–⁠8
Ohio3–⁠54–⁠8
Eastern Michigan2–⁠63–⁠9
Toledo2–⁠63–⁠9
Miami (OH)1–⁠72–⁠10

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