Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox NCAA Division I FBS season
The 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The regular season began on August 28, 2008 and ended on December 6, 2008. The postseason concluded on January 8, 2009 with the BCS National Championship Game in Miami Gardens, Florida, which featured the top two teams ranked by the Bowl Championship Series (BCS): the No. 2 Florida Gators and No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners.[1] Florida defeated Oklahoma by a score of 24–14 to win their second BCS title in three years and third overall national championship in school history. The Utah Utes were selected national champions by Anderson & Hester after beating the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 2009 Sugar Bowl, finishing the season as the nation's only undefeated team.[2]
Rule changes[]
The NCAA football rules committee made rule changes for 2008, including the following:[3][4]
- Teams have 40 seconds from the time a ball is declared dead to snap the ball. The 25 second play clock will still be used for administrative stoppages and penalties.
- The 15 second play clock after a TV timeout (adopted in the 2007 season) is repealed and returned to 25 seconds.
- Outside of the final two minutes of each half, if a runner goes out of bounds, the game clock restarts after the ball is spotted.
- The penalty for kicking the ball out of bounds on the kickoff is increased, placing the ball at the 40-yard line, similar to the NFL.
- Reinforcing that contact that leads with the crown of the helmet to another player (targeting) is a foul, penalized 15 yards.
- All face-mask penalties result in a 15-yard penalty. Incidental contact with the face mask is no longer penalized.
- Sideline warnings are now penalized five yards for the first two occurrences, and 15 yards (unsportsmanlike conduct) for the third and subsequent violations. Previously the officials gave teams two warnings before a five-yard penalty was called.
- All horse-collar tackles are now subject to a 15-yard penalty.
- If a coach challenges a play, and he wins the challenge, then he is given a second challenge to use later in the game, but each coach has a maximum of two challenges per game even if both are decided in his favor.
Conference and program changes[]
Western Kentucky upgraded from Division I FCS and played the 2008 season as a transitional Division I FBS member.
School | 2007 Conference | 2008 Conference |
---|---|---|
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers | FCS Independent | FBS Independent |
Regular season top 10 matchups[]
Rankings reflect the AP Poll. Rankings for Week 8 and beyond will list BCS Rankings first and AP Poll second. Teams that failed to be a top 10 team for one poll or the other will be noted.
- Week 3
- No. 1 USC defeated No. 5 Ohio State, 35–3 (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California)
- Week 4
- No. 6 LSU defeated No. 10 Auburn, 26–21 (Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama)
- Week 5
- No. 8 Alabama defeated No. 3 Georgia, 41–30 (Sanford Stadium, Athens, Georgia)
- Week 7
- No. 5 Texas defeated No. 1 Oklahoma, 45–35 (Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas)
- Week 9
- No. 1/1 Texas defeated No. 6/7 Oklahoma State, 28–24 (Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas)
- No. 3/3 Penn State defeated No. 9/10 Ohio State, 13–6 (Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio)
- Week 10
- No. 7/6 Texas Tech defeated No. 1/1 Texas, 39–33 (Jones AT&T Stadium, Lubbock, Texas)
- No. 8/8 Florida defeated No. 6/5 Georgia, 49–10 (Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida)
- Week 11
- No. 2/2 Texas Tech defeated No. 9/8 Oklahoma State, 56–20 (Jones AT&T Stadium, Lubbock, Texas)
- Week 13
- No. 5/5 Oklahoma defeated No. 2/2 Texas Tech, 65–21 (Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma)
- Week 15
- No. 4/2 Florida defeated No. 1/1 Alabama, 31–20 (2008 SEC Championship Game, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia)
Most-watched regular season games[]
Rank | Date | Matchup | Channel | Viewers |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | December 6, 4:00 ET | No. 2 Florida vs. No. 1 Alabama | CBS, SEC Championship | 15.061 Million |
2 | November 1, 8:00 ET | No. 1 Texas vs. No. 7 Texas Tech | ESPN on ABC | 12.204 Million |
3 | September 13, 8:00 ET | No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 1 USC | ESPN on ABC | 11.800 Million |
4 | November 22, 8:00 ET | No. 2 Texas Tech vs. No. 5 Oklahoma | ESPN on ABC | 10.742 Million |
5 | October 25, 8:00 ET | No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 9 Ohio State | ESPN on ABC | 10.367 Million |
6 | November 29, 8:00 ET | No. 3 Oklahoma vs. No. 12 Oklahoma State | ESPN on ABC | 9.525 Million |
7 | December 6, 8:00 ET | No. 20 Missouri vs. No. 2 Oklahoma | ESPN on ABC, Big 12 Championship | 8.762 Million |
8 | November 8, 8:00 ET | No. 9 Oklahoma State vs. No. 2 Texas Tech, No. 21 California vs No. 7 USC | Regional ESPN on ABC | 8.483 Million |
9 | November 8, 3:30 ET | No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 16 LSU | CBS | 8.137 Million |
10 | October 11, 12:00 ET | No. 5 Texas vs. No. 1 Oklahoma | ESPN on ABC | 7.726 Million |
Conference standings[]
Template:2008 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings | Template:2008 Big 12 Conference football standings | Template:2008 Big East Conference football standings |
Template:2008 Big Ten Conference football standings | Template:2008 Conference USA football standings | Template:2008 Mid-American Conference football standings |
Template:2008 Mountain West Conference football standings | Template:2008 Pacific-10 Conference football standings | Template:2008 Southeastern Conference football standings |
Template:2008 Sun Belt Conference football standings | Template:2008 Western Athletic Conference football standings | Template:2008 NCAA Division I FBS independents football records |
Conference champions[]
Conference championship games[]
Rankings reflect the Week 14 AP Poll before the games were played.
Date | Conference | Winner | Runner-Up | Score | Site | TV |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
December 6 | ACC | Virginia Tech | No. 18 Boston College | 30–12 | Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida |
ABC |
December 6 | Big 12 | No. 4 Oklahoma | No. 19 Missouri | 62–21 | Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, Missouri |
ABC |
December 6 | Conference USA |
East Carolina | Tulsa | 27–24 | H.A. Chapman Stadium Tulsa, Oklahoma |
ESPN2 |
December 5 | MAC | Buffalo | No. 12 Ball State | 42–24 | Ford Field Detroit, Michigan |
ESPN2 |
December 6 | SEC | No. 2 Florida | No. 1 Alabama | 31–20 | Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia |
CBS |
Other conference champions[]
Rankings are from the Week 15 AP Poll.
Conference | Champion |
---|---|
Big East | No. 12 Cincinnati |
Big Ten | No. 6 Penn State
#10 Ohio State |
Mountain West | No. 7 Utah |
Pac-10 | No. 5 USC |
Sun Belt | Troy |
WAC | No. 9 Boise State |
Bowl games[]
- Main article: 2008–09 NCAA football bowl gamesWinners are listed in boldface.
Bowl Championship Series[]
- Main article: Bowl Championship Series
After the completion of the regular season and conference championship games, seven teams had secured BCS berths: ACC champion Virginia Tech, Big East champion Cincinnati, Big Ten champion Penn State, Big 12 champion Oklahoma, Pac-10 champion USC, SEC champion Florida, and Mountain West champion Utah, who qualified as the highest-ranked BCS non-AQ conference champion. With Oklahoma and Florida being selected to play in the championship, Texas and Alabama assumed their conference's berths in the Fiesta and Sugar Bowls, respectively. The remaining at-large berth was awarded to Ohio State, who were selected despite being ranked No. 10 by the BCS, behind No. 9 Boise State. No. 7 Texas Tech did not receive an at-large bid because the Big 12 had already been awarded the maximum of two BCS selections per conference.
Bowl Game | Date | Visitor | Home | Score | TV |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rose Bowl Game presented by citi (Pasadena, CA) | January 1[1] | No. 5 USC | No. 8 Penn State[6] | 38–24 | ABC |
FedEx Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, FL) | January 1[1] | No. 12 Cincinnati | No. 19 Virginia Tech[7] | 7–20 | FOX |
Allstate Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA) | January 2[1] | No. 6 Utah | No. 4 Alabama | 31–17 | FOX |
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ) | January 5[1] | No. 10 Ohio State | No. 3 Texas | 21–24 | FOX |
FedEx BCS National Championship Game (Miami Gardens, FL) |
January 8[1] | No. 2 Florida | No. 1 Oklahoma | 24–14 | FOX |
Other bowl games[]
Bowl Game | Date | Visitor | Home | Score | TV |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
EagleBank Bowl (Washington, D.C.) | December 20 | Wake Forest | Navy | 29–19 | ESPN |
New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque, NM]]) | December 20 | Colorado State | Fresno State | 40–35 | ESPN |
magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl (St. Petersburg, FL) | December 20 | Memphis | South Florida | 14–41 | ESPN2 |
Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl (Las Vegas, NV) | December 20 | No. 16 BYU | Arizona | 21–31 | ESPN |
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, LA) | December 21 | Southern Miss. | Troy | 30–27 | ESPN |
SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl (San Diego, CA) | December 23 | No. 9 Boise State | No. 11 TCU | 16–17 | ESPN |
Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl (Aiea, HI) | December 24 | Hawai'i | Notre Dame | 21–49 | ESPN |
Motor City Bowl (Detroit, MI) | December 26 | Florida Atlantic | Central Michigan | 24–21 | ESPN |
Meineke Car Care Bowl (Charlotte, NC) | December 27 | West Virginia | North Carolina | 31–30 | ESPN |
Champs Sports Bowl (Orlando, FL) | December 27 | Wisconsin[8] | Florida State | 13–42 | ESPN |
Emerald Bowl (San Francisco, CA) | December 27 | Miami (FL) | California | 17–24 | ESPN |
Independence Bowl (Shreveport, LA) | December 28 | Northern Illinois | Louisiana Tech | 10–17 | ESPN |
Papajohns.com Bowl (Birmingham, AL) | December 29 | NC State | Rutgers | 23–29 | ESPN2 |
Valero Alamo Bowl (San Antonio, TX) | December 29 | No. 21 Missouri | No. 23 Northwestern | 30–23 (OT) | ESPN |
Roady's Truck Stops Humanitarian Bowl (Boise, ID) | December 30 | Maryland | Nevada | 42–35 | ESPN2 |
Texas Bowl (Houston, TX) | December 30 | Rice | Western Michigan | 38–14 | NFL Network |
Pacific Life Holiday Bowl (San Diego, CA) | December 30 | No. 13 Oklahoma State | No. 17 Oregon | 31–42 | ESPN |
Bell Helicopters Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, TX) | December 31 | Houston | Air Force | 34–28 | ESPN |
Brut Sun Bowl (El Paso, TX) | December 31 | Oregon State | No. 20 Pittsburgh[9] | 3–0 | CBS |
Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl (Nashville, TN) | December 31 | No. 24 Boston College | Vanderbilt | 14–16 | ESPN |
Insight Bowl (Tempe, AZ) | December 31 | Kansas[10] | Minnesota[11] | 42–21 | NFL |
Chick-fil-A Bowl (Atlanta, GA) | December 31 | LSU | No. 14 Georgia Tech | 38–3 | ESPN |
Outback Bowl (Tampa, FL) | January 1 | South Carolina | Iowa | 10–31 | ESPN |
Konica Minolta Gator Bowl (Jacksonville, FL) | January 1 | Nebraska | Clemson | 26–21 | CBS |
Capital One Bowl (Orlando, FL) | January 1 | No. 15 Georgia | No. 18 Michigan State | 24–12 | ABC |
Cotton Bowl Classic (Dallas, TX) | January 2 | No. 25 Ole Miss | No. 7 Texas Tech | 47–34 | FOX |
AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Memphis, TN) | January 2 | Kentucky | East Carolina | 25–19 | ESPN |
International Bowl (Toronto, ON, Canada) | January 3 | Buffalo | Connecticut | 20–38 | ESPN2 |
GMAC Bowl (Mobile, AL) | January 6 | Tulsa | No. 22 Ball State | 45–13 | ESPN |
Bowl Challenge Cup standings[]
Conference | Wins | Losses | Pct. |
---|---|---|---|
Pac-10 | 5 | 0 | 1.000 |
SEC | 6 | 2 | .750 |
Big East | 4 | 2 | .667 |
C-USA | 4 | 2 | .667 |
MWC | 3 | 2 | .600 |
Big 12 | 4 | 3 | .571 |
Sun Belt * | 1 | 1 | .500 |
ACC | 4 | 6 | .400 |
WAC | 1 | 4 | .200 |
Big Ten | 1 | 6 | .143 |
MAC | 0 | 5 | .000 |
* Does not meet minimum game requirement of three teams needed for a conference to be eligible.
Awards and honors[]
Heisman Trophy voting[]
The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player
Player | School | Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sam Bradford | Oklahoma | QB | 300 | 315 | 196 | 1,726 |
Colt McCoy | Texas | QB | 266 | 288 | 230 | 1,604 |
Tim Tebow | Florida | QB | 309 | 207 | 234 | 1,575 |
Graham Harrell | Texas Tech | QB | 13 | 44 | 86 | 213 |
Michael Crabtree | Texas Tech | WR | 3 | 27 | 53 | 116 |
Shonn Greene | Iowa | RB | 5 | 9 | 32 | 65 |
Pat White | West Virginia | QB | 3 | 1 | 8 | 19 |
Nate Davis | Ball State | QB | 0 | 1 | 8 | 10 |
Rey Maualuga | USC | LB | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
Javon Ringer | Michigan State | RB | 1 | 0 | 5 | 8 |
Other major award winners[]
Top Player
Award | Winner |
---|---|
Walter Camp Award | Colt McCoy, Texas |
Griffin Award | Colt McCoy, Texas |
Maxwell Award | Tim Tebow, Florida |
Coaching
Award | Winner |
---|---|
The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award | Nick Saban, Alabama[12] |
Associated Press Coach of the Year | Nick Saban, Alabama |
Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (head coach) | Kyle Whittingham, Utah |
Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award | Nick Saban, Alabama[13] |
Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year | Nick Saban, Alabama[14] |
Walter Camp Coach of the Year (head coach) | Nick Saban, Alabama |
Broyles Award (assistant coach) | Kevin Wilson, Oklahoma |
Offense
Award | Winner |
---|---|
Dave Rimington Trophy (Center) | A. Q. Shipley, Penn State |
Davey O'Brien Award (Quarterback) | Sam Bradford, Oklahoma |
Doak Walker Award (Running Back) | Shonn Greene, Iowa |
Fred Biletnikoff Award (Wide Receiver) | Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech |
John Mackey Award (Tight End) | Chase Coffman, Missouri |
Johnny Unitas Award (Sr. Quarterback) | Graham Harrell, Texas Tech |
Manning Award (quarterback) | Tim Tebow, Florida |
Defense
Award | Winner |
---|---|
Bronko Nagurski Trophy (Defensive Player) | Brian Orakpo, Texas |
Chuck Bednarik Award (Defensive Player) | Rey Maualuga, USC |
Dick Butkus Award (Linebacker) | Aaron Curry, Wake Forest |
Lott Trophy (defensive impact) | James Laurinaitis, Ohio State |
Jim Thorpe Award (Defensive Back) | Malcolm Jenkins, Ohio State |
Ted Hendricks Award (defensive end) | Brian Orakpo, Texas |
Lineman
Award | Winner |
---|---|
Outland Trophy (interior lineman) | Andre Smith, Alabama |
Lombardi Award (Top Lineman) | Brian Orakpo, Texas |
Special teams
Award | Winner |
---|---|
Ray Guy Award (punter) | Matt Fodge, Oklahoma State |
Lou Groza Award (placekicker) | Graham Gano, Florida State |
Other
Award | Winner |
---|---|
Draddy Trophy ("Academic Heisman") | Alex Mack, California |
Wuerffel Trophy (humanitarian-athlete) | Tim Tebow, Florida[15] |
All-Americans[]
- Main article: 2008 College Football All-America Team
- 2008 Consensus All-America Team
|
|
Position | Name | Height | Weight (lbs.) | Class | Hometown | Team |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kicker | Louie Sakoda | 5'9" | 175 | Sr. | San Jose, CA | Utah |
Punter | Kevin Huber | 6'1" | 214 | Sr. | Cincinnati, OH | Cincinnati |
RS | Brandon James | 5'7" | 186 | Jr. | St. Augustine, FL | Florida |
RS | Jeremy Maclin | 6'0" | 198 | Jr. | Kirkwood, MO | Missouri |
Statistical leaders[]
- Team scoring most points: Oklahoma, 716
Coaching changes[]
Pre-season[]
Pre-season | ||
---|---|---|
Team | 2008 coach | 2007 coach |
Arkansas | Bobby Petrino | Houston Nutt |
Baylor | Art Briles | Guy Morriss |
Georgia Tech | Paul Johnson | Chan Gailey |
Hawai'i | Greg McMackin | June Jones |
Houston | Kevin Sumlin | Art Briles |
Michigan | Rich Rodriguez | Lloyd Carr |
Mississippi | Houston Nutt | Ed Orgeron |
Navy | Ken Niumatalolo | Paul Johnson |
Nebraska | Bo Pelini | Bill Callahan |
Northern Illinois | Jerry Kill | Joe Novak |
SMU | June Jones | Phil Bennett |
Southern Mississippi | Larry Fedora | Jeff Bower |
Texas A&M | Mike Sherman | Dennis Franchione |
UCLA | Rick Neuheisel | Karl Dorrell |
Washington State | Paul Wulff | Bill Doba |
In-season[]
In-season | ||
---|---|---|
Team | Interim coach | Former coach |
Clemson | Dabo Swinney | Tommy Bowden |
End of season[]
Final rankings[]
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Rank | Associated Press | USA TODAY/AFCA* |
---|---|---|
1 | Florida | Florida |
2 | Utah | Southern California |
3 | Southern California | Texas |
4 | Texas | Utah≠ |
5 | Oklahoma | Oklahoma |
6 | Alabama | Alabama |
7 | Texas Christian | Texas Christian |
8 | Penn State | Penn State |
9 | Ohio State | Oregon |
10 | Oregon | Georgia |
11 | Boise State | Ohio State |
12 | Texas Tech | Texas Tech |
13 | Georgia | Boise State |
14 | Mississippi | Virginia Tech |
15 | Virginia Tech | Mississippi |
16 | Oklahoma State | Missouri |
17 | Cincinnati | Cincinnati |
18 | Oregon State | Oklahoma State |
19 | Missouri | Oregon State |
20 | Iowa | Iowa |
21 | Florida State | Brigham Young |
22 | Georgia Tech | Georgia Tech |
23 | West Virginia | Florida State |
24 | Michigan State | Michigan State |
25 | Brigham Young | California |
* - The AFCA requires that their voters make the winner of the BCS Championship at the number one position in the final poll.
≠ - Kyle Whittingham, head coach of Utah, broke the AFCA requirement and voted his team number one on his ballot.
See also[]
- 2008 Big 12 Conference South Division 3-way tie controversy
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Future BCS Schedules", BCSFootball.org, Fox Sports.
- ↑ Football Bowl Subdivision Records.
- ↑ Template:Cite press release
- ↑ "More new timing rules among NCAA proposal".
- ↑ "NCAA Football Season Review".
- ↑ "Penn State Rose Bowl Bound", Yahoo!. [dead link]
- ↑ "Virginia Tech takes down BC,headed down to Orange Bowl again".
- ↑ http://www.uwbadgers.com/sport_news/fb/headlines/story.html?sportid=111&storyid=16009
- ↑ PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site - Football.
- ↑ KU headed to Insight Bowl (4 December 2008).
- ↑ Gophers, Jayhawks to meet in Insight Bowl Archived December 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ UA's Saban Named Home Depot Coach of the Year Archived 2009-02-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year.
- ↑ "ALABAMA'S SABAN WINS 2008 EDDIE ROBINSON AWARD".
- ↑ UF's Tim Tebow is 2008 Wuerffel Trophy Winner Archived December 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Iowa State's Chizik to Take Over at Auburn Archived December 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 "San Diego State to hire Ball State's Hoke, source says", ESPN.com, 2008-12-15.
- ↑ "English to be announced as EMU coach", ESPN.com, 2008-12-15.
- ↑ Source: Rhoads to be named new ISU football coach [dead link]
- ↑ Template:Cite press release
- ↑ Template:Cite press release
- ↑ "Mike Locksley - New Mexico's 29th Head Football Coach" Archived January 4, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. - Lobos Football. - (c/o CBS Interactive). - December 9, 2008.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 "Kelly succeeds Bellotti as Ducks coach", ESPN.com, 2009-03-13.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Template:Cite press release
- ↑ Doug Marrone in Syracuse Friday; will be named head coach.
- ↑ Kiffin introduced as Vol's 21st coach » Abilene Reporter-News Archived December 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Sources: USC coordinator gets Washington job (5 December 2008).
- ↑ MU's Christensen accepts Wyoming job Archived December 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
References[]
Template:2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season navbox Template:NCAA football season navbox