CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2008 Wisconsin

7–⁠6 (3–⁠5 Big Ten), coached by Bret Bielema.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 2008, game by game: won vs. Akron 38–17; won vs. Marshall 51–14; won at No. 21 Fresno State 13–10; lost at Michigan 25–27; lost vs. No. 14 Ohio State 17–20; lost vs. No. 6 Penn State 7–48; lost at Iowa 16–38; won vs. Illinois 27–17; lost at No. 22 Michigan State 24–25; won at Indiana 55–20; won vs. Minnesota 35–32; won vs. Cal Poly 36–35; lost vs. Florida State 13–42+37−41Won 38–17 vs. Akron+21AkronWon 51–14 vs. Marshall+37MarshallWon 13–10 at No. 21 Fresno State+3No. 21 Fresno StateLost 25–27 at Michigan-2MichiganLost 17–20 vs. No. 14 Ohio State-3No. 14 Ohio StateLost 7–48 vs. No. 6 Penn State-41No. 6 Penn StateLost 16–38 at Iowa-22IowaWon 27–17 vs. Illinois+10IllinoisLost 24–25 at No. 22 Michigan State-1No. 22 Michigan StateWon 55–20 at Indiana+35IndianaWon 35–32 vs. Minnesota+3MinnesotaWon 36–35 vs. Cal Poly+1Cal PolyLost 13–42 vs. Florida State-29Florida State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsAkronW 38–⁠1782%
Sep 6vsMarshallW 51–⁠1479%
Sep 13at21Fresno StateW 13–⁠1049%
Sep 27atMichiganL 25–⁠2752%
Oct 4vs14Ohio StateL 17–⁠2049%
Oct 11vs6Penn StateL 7–⁠4848%
Oct 18atIowaL 16–⁠3849%
Oct 25vsIllinoisW 27–⁠1756%
Nov 1at22Michigan StateL 24–⁠2535%
Nov 8atIndianaW 55–⁠2068%
Nov 15vsMinnesotaW 35–⁠3271%
Nov 22vsCal PolyW 36–⁠3579%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsFlorida StateChamps Sports BowlL 13–⁠4249%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Florida State 42–⁠13 in the Champs Sports Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 55th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 13
  2. Wk 2: 11
  3. Wk 3: 10
  4. Wk 4: 8
  5. Wk 5: 9
  6. Wk 6: 18
Record
7–⁠6
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 6th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 8
Points
357–⁠345
Coach
Bret Bielema
Elo
1574 −38 this season
SP+ rating
10.5 No. 31 of 120; offense No. 35, defense No. 48, special teams No. 23
SRS
1.9 No. 50 of 120 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 37
Offensive coordinator
Paul Chryst
Defensive coordinator
Dave Doeren
Captains
DeAndre Levy, Mike Newkirk, Chris Pressley and Kraig Urbik
Most valuable player
Allen Langford
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense17th of 120
  • Defense20th of 120
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted14th of 120
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted19th of 120
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1045%0.8617th of 120
Defense-0.0238%0.9420th of 120
Opponent-adjusted0.09 off
-0.01 def		45% off
38% def		—14th off
19th 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 302% allowed
Defense-0.3own 332% 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

Tyler Westphal WDE★★★★No. 123
Curt Phillips PRO★★★★No. 321
Anthony Mains WDE★★★No. 521
Leonard Hubbard ILB★★★No. 521
Brendan Kelly SDE★★★No. 701

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

The 2008 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.897
Running backs23.00.834
Receivers22.50.811
Offensive line22.50.778
Defensive line53.20.868
Linebackers23.00.852
Defensive backs32.30.801
Whole class172.90.835

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 3Matt Shaughnessy DEOakland Raiders
Rd 3DeAndre Levy OLBDetroit Lions
Rd 3Kraig Urbik OGPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 3Travis Beckum TENew York Giants

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2008 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2008 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Penn State7–⁠111–⁠28
Ohio State7–⁠110–⁠39
Michigan State6–⁠29–⁠424
Northwestern5–⁠39–⁠4
Iowa5–⁠39–⁠420
Wisconsin3–⁠57–⁠6
Minnesota3–⁠57–⁠6
Illinois3–⁠55–⁠7
Purdue2–⁠64–⁠8
Michigan2–⁠63–⁠9
Indiana1–⁠73–⁠9

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