American college football 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 (No. 1 in the AP Poll ) and No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners (No. 2 in the AP Poll).[ 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]
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The 15 second play clock after a TV timeout (adopted in the 2007 season ) is repealed and returned to 25 seconds.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 [ edit ]
Western Kentucky upgraded from Division I FCS and played the 2008 season as a transitional Division I FBS member.
Regular season top 10 matchups [ edit ]
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
Week 4
Week 5
Week 7
Week 9
Week 10
Week 11
Week 13
Week 15
Most-watched regular season games [ edit ]
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
[ 5]
Conference standings [ edit ]
Conference champions [ edit ]
Conference championship games [ edit ]
Rankings reflect the Week 14 AP Poll before the games were played.
Other conference champions [ edit ]
Rankings are from the Week 15 AP Poll.
Winners are listed in boldface . Rankings are from the final pre-bowl AP Poll.
Bowl Championship Series [ edit ]
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 . BCS 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
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. 17 BYU
Arizona
21–31
ESPN
R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (New Orleans, LA)
December 21
Southern Mississippi
Troy
30–27
ESPN
SDCCU Poinsettia Bowl (San Diego, CA )
December 23
No. 9 Boise State
No. 11 TCU
16–17
ESPN
Sheraton Hawaiʻi Bowl (ʻAiea, HI )
December 24
Hawaiʻi
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. 25 Missouri
No. 22 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. 15 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
No. 24 Oregon State
No. 18 Pittsburgh [ 9]
3–0
CBS
Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl (Nashville, TN )
December 31
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. 16 Georgia
No. 19 Michigan State
24–12
ABC
Cotton Bowl Classic (Dallas, TX )
January 2
No. 20 Ole Miss
No. 8 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. 23 Ball State
45–13
ESPN
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.
Heisman Trophy voting [ edit ]
The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player
Other major award winners [ edit ]
Top Player
Coaching
Offense
Defense
Lineman
Special teams
Other
2008 Consensus All-America Team
Offense
Position
Name
Height
Weight (lbs.)
Class
Hometown
Team
QB
Sam Bradford
6'4"
223
So.
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
RB
Shonn Greene
5'11"
235
Sr.
Atco, New Jersey
Iowa
RB
Javon Ringer
5'9"
202
Sr.
Dayton, Ohio
Michigan State
WR
Michael Crabtree
6'3"
214
So.
Dallas, Texas
Texas Tech
WR
Dez Bryant
6'2"
225
So.
Lufkin, Texas
Oklahoma State
TE
Chase Coffman
6'6"
244
Sr.
Peculiar, Missouri
Missouri
T
Andre Smith
6'4"
330
Jr.
Birmingham, Alabama
Alabama
T
Michael Oher
6'5"
322
Sr.
Memphis, Tennessee
Mississippi
G
Duke Robinson
6'5"
329
Sr.
Atlanta, Georgia
Oklahoma
G
Brandon Carter
6'7"
334
Jr.
Longview, Texas
Texas Tech
C
Antoine Caldwell
6'3"
305
Sr.
Montgomery, Alabama
Alabama
Defense
Position
Name
Height
Weight (lbs.)
Class
Hometown
Team
DE
Brian Orakpo
6'3"
263
Sr.
Greenwood, Mississippi
Texas
DE
Aaron Maybin
6'4"
249
Jr.
Baltimore, Maryland
Penn State
DT
Terrence Cody
6'5"
365
Jr.
Fort Myers, Florida
Alabama
DE
Jerry Hughes
6'3"
257
Jr.
Sugar Land, Texas
TCU
LB
Rey Maualuga
6'2"
260
Sr.
Eureka, California
USC
LB
James Laurinaitis
6'4"
244
Sr.
Wayzata, Minnesota
Ohio State
LB
Brandon Spikes
6'3"
249
Jr.
Shelby, North Carolina
Florida
CB
Malcolm Jenkins
6'0"
204
Sr.
Piscataway, New Jersey
Ohio State
CB
Alphonso Smith
5'9"
190
Sr.
Pahokee, Florida
Wake Forest
Safety
Eric Berry
6'0"
211
So.
Fairburn, Georgia
Tennessee
Safety
Taylor Mays
6'3"
230
Jr.
Irving, Texas
USC
Statistical leaders [ edit ]
Team scoring most points: Oklahoma, 716
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.
^ Western Kentucky University was in a two-year process of transition to FBS status in 2008 (completed in 2009), and, therefore, some sources list the total for 2008 as 119.
^ a b c d e f "Future BCS Schedules" . BCSFootball.org . Fox Sports. Archived from the original on October 24, 2007. Retrieved October 29, 2007 .
^ "Football Bowl Subdivision Records" (PDF) . ncaa.org . Retrieved August 28, 2018 .
^ "NCAA Football Rules Committee Proposes Rules to Enhance Student-Athlete Safety and Encourage Consistent Pace of Play" (Press release). Archived from the original on December 23, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2008 .
^ "More new timing rules among NCAA proposal" . Retrieved December 23, 2008 .
^ "NCAA Football Season Review" . Retrieved October 12, 2011 .
^ "Penn State Rose Bowl Bound" . Yahoo! . Retrieved November 23, 2008 . [dead link ]
^ "Virginia Tech takes down BC,headed down to Orange Bowl again" . Associated Press. Archived from the original on December 8, 2008. Retrieved December 5, 2008 .
^ http://www.uwbadgers.com/sport_news/fb/headlines/story.html?sportid=111&storyid=16009 [dead link ]
^ "PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site - Football" . cstv.com . Archived from the original on March 9, 2009. Retrieved March 22, 2018 .
^ "KU headed to Insight Bowl" . KUsports.com . December 4, 2008. Retrieved March 22, 2018 .
^ 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" . Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2008 .
^ "ALABAMA'S SABAN WINS 2008 EDDIE ROBINSON AWARD" . Retrieved January 7, 2009 .
^ 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
^ a b "San Diego State to hire Ball State's Hoke, source says" . ESPN.com . December 15, 2008. Archived from the original on December 17, 2008. Retrieved December 15, 2008 .
^ "English to be announced as EMU coach" . ESPN.com . December 15, 2008. Archived from the original on January 8, 2009. Retrieved December 20, 2008 .
^ Source: Rhoads to be named new ISU football coach [dead link ]
^ "Ron Prince Will Not Return for 2009" (Press release). Kansas State University Athletic Department. November 5, 2008. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2008 .
^ "Bill Snyder Named Head Football Coach" (Press release). Kansas State University Athletic Department. November 24, 2008. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2008 .
^ "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.
^ a b "Kelly succeeds Bellotti as Ducks coach" . ESPN.com . Associated Press. March 13, 2009. Archived from the original on March 17, 2009. Retrieved March 15, 2009 .
^ a b "Plenty Of Reasons For Hope" (Press release). Purdue University Athletics Department. January 11, 2008. Archived from the original on December 8, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2008 .
^ "Doug Marrone in Syracuse Friday; will be named head coach" . 9wsyr.com . Archived from the original on December 24, 2008. Retrieved March 22, 2018 .
^ Kiffin introduced as Vol's 21st coach » Abilene Reporter-News Archived December 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
^ "Sources: USC coordinator gets Washington job" . ESPN.com . December 5, 2008. Retrieved March 22, 2018 .
^ MU's Christensen accepts Wyoming job Archived December 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
Conference seasons Inter-conference All-Americans