2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season

2008 NCAA Division I FBS season
Florida Gators celebrating after winning the 2009 BCS Championship Game
Number of teams	119 full members, 1 transitional[1]
Duration	August 28 – December 6
Preseason AP #1	Georgia Bulldogs
Post-season
Duration	December 20, 2008 – January 31, 2009
Bowl games	37 (34 team-competitive and 3 all-star games)
Heisman Trophy	Sam Bradford, Oklahoma QB
Bowl Championship Series
2009 BCS Championship Game
Site	Dolphin Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
Winner	Florida Gators
Division I FBS football seasons
← 2007 2009 →

The 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on August 28, 2008,^[2] progressing through the regular season and bowl season, and (aside from all-star exhibition games that followed) concluded with the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship Game in Miami Gardens, Florida on January 8, 2009, where the #2 Florida Gators, defeated the #1 Oklahoma Sooners, 24–14, of which the teams were determined by the BCS Ranking.^[3] The Gators were declared national champions by the BCS and most major polls.

Rule changes

The NCAA football rules committee made several rule changes for 2008, and includes the following:^[4][5]

• 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• The 15 second play clock after a TV timeout (adopted in the 2007 season) is repealed and returned to 25 seconds.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

One team upgraded from Division I-AA, thus increasing the number of Division I-A schools from 119 to 120.

School	2007 Conference	2008 Conference
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers	FCS Independent	FBS Independent

Key matchups and upsets

Date	Visitor	Home	Significance
August 30	Appalachian State 13	#7 LSU 41	For the first time in history, the defending champions of Division I FBS and FCS face off.[6]
September 6	#8 West Virginia 3	East Carolina 24	With an upset over West Virginia at home and a victory over Virginia Tech the week before in Charlotte, East Carolina vaulted into the Top 25 rankings for the first time since 1999, and set a Conference USA record for being the first team to beat three top 25 teams consecutively (#24 Boise State, #17 Virginia Tech, and #8 West Virginia.)[7]
September 13	#5 Ohio State 3	#1 USC 35	Southern California wins the most anticipated matchup of the early 2008 schedule for its eighth straight victory over a Big Ten opponent.[8]
September 25	#1 USC 21	Oregon State 27	Unranked Oregon State defeated the Trojans for the third time in the Trojans' last four visits to Corvallis.[9]
September 27	Ole Miss 31	#4 Florida 30	Ole Miss posted its 600th win and first win over a Top 5 team since 1977 when the Rebels defeated Florida. Three of the last six times Florida has lost to an unranked team it has been to Ole Miss. The loss to Ole Miss was the only loss by Florida in the 2008 regular season.;[10] USA Today;[11] OleMissSports.com[12]
October 4	#13 Auburn 13	#19 Vanderbilt 14	In the first ever visit of ESPN's College Gameday in Nashville, the Commodores defeat the higher-ranked Tigers after a missed extra point by Auburn. The next week, Vanderbilt received its highest ranking ever at #13.[13]
October 11	#5 Texas 45	#1 Oklahoma 35	Texas defeats the #1 team in the nation and wins the highest scoring Red River Rivalry ever.[14]
October 16	#9 BYU 7	TCU 32	The Cougars entered with the nation's longest winning streak at 16 games, but the Horned Frogs also score their biggest win ever over a Top 10 team.[15][16]
October 25	#3 Penn State 13*	#9 Ohio State 6	Penn State defeats Ohio State on a game ending interception, winning their first game in Ohio Stadium since joining the Big Ten in 1993.[17]
November 1	#1 Texas 33	#7 Texas Tech 39	Texas Tech upsets #1 Texas on a last-second TD pass from Graham Harrell to Michael Crabtree and takes the top spot in the Big 12 South.[18]
November 6	#12 TCU 10	#8 Utah 13	In the second of three key Mountain West games with BCS implications, the Horned Frogs jump to a 10–0 first-quarter lead, but the Utes remained unbeaten with their BCS hopes alive, scoring the winning TD on a pass from Brian Johnson to Freddie Brown with 47 seconds left.[19][20]
November 8	Iowa 24	#3 Penn State 23	Iowa kicker Daniel Murray makes a last-second field goal for the win. Joe Paterno loses for the first time in 2008.[21]
November 8	#1 Alabama 27	#15 LSU 21 (OT)	In what was known as "Saban Bowl II", the Crimson Tide defeat LSU in Tiger Stadium. With the win, Alabama was SEC West Division Champions.
November 22	#15 Michigan State 18	#8 Penn State 49*	The Nittany Lions win their 800th game in school history, the Big Ten championship, and a trip to the Rose Bowl.[22]
November 22	#14 BYU 24	#7 Utah 48	In The Holy War, Utah scores 21 unanswered fourth-quarter points to win the Mountain West championship, complete an unbeaten 12–0 season, and secure its second trip to a BCS bowl.[23][24]
November 22	#2 Texas Tech 21	#5 Oklahoma 65	Oklahoma ended the Red Raiders' hopes of a national championship appearance a year after Texas Tech did the same to Oklahoma.[25][26]
November 28	Fresno State 10	#9 Boise State 61	Boise State scored 51 unanswered points to cap off their third undefeated regular season in the past five years and sixth WAC championship in seven years.[27]
November 29	#18 Georgia Tech 45	#11 Georgia 42	#11 Georgia hosted #18 Georgia Tech in Athens for what looked to be Georgia's 8th win in a row in the storied rivalry, Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. However, after trailing 28–12 at halftime, Georgia Tech sprung out of the locker room erupting for 33 points in the second half, beating Georgia 26–0 in the third quarter alone. This kept Georgia Tech's streak of 8 wins in a row from 1946–1954 as the longest in the series.
December 5	#12 Ball State 24	Buffalo 42	12-0 Ball State tried to complete their first undefeated season in fifty-nine years in the MAC Championship Game, but Buffalo was able to capitalize on the Cardinals' mistakes to earn their first ever conference championship and secure a bid in the International Bowl, fifty years after turning down their only previous bowl invitation to protest segregation at the game's site.[28][29][30]
December 6	#1 Alabama 20	#2 Florida 31	First conference championship game ever to feature both the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the AP Poll.[31] Alabama entered the SEC Championship Game as the only BCS-conference team to finish the regular season undefeated.

Most watched regular season games in 2008

Rank	Date	Matchup	Channel	Viewers
1	December 6, 4:00 ET	#2 Florida vs. #1 Alabama	CBS, SEC Championship	15.061 Million
2	November 1, 8:00 ET	#1 Texas vs. #7 Texas Tech	ESPN on ABC	12.204 Million
3	September 13, 8:00 ET	#5 Ohio State vs. #1 USC	ESPN on ABC	11.800 Million
4	November 22, 8:00 ET	#2 Texas Tech vs. #5 Oklahoma	ESPN on ABC	10.742 Million
5	October 25, 8:00 ET	#3 Penn State vs. #9 Ohio State	ESPN on ABC	10.367 Million
6	November 29, 8:00 ET	#3 Oklahoma vs. #12 Oklahoma State	ESPN on ABC	9.525 Million
7	December 6, 8:00 ET	#20 Missouri vs. #2 Oklahoma	ESPN on ABC, Big 12 Championship	8.762 Million
8	November 8, 8:00 ET	#9 Oklahoma State vs. #2 Texas Tech, #21 California vs #7 USC	Regional ESPN on ABC	8.483 Million
9	November 8, 3:30 ET	#1 Alabama vs. #16 LSU	CBS	8.137 Million
10	October 11, 12:00 ET	#5 Texas vs. #1 Oklahoma	ESPN on ABC	7.726 Million [32]

Conference standings

2008 ACC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Atlantic Division Boston College xy   5 – 3         9 – 5   #21 Florida State x   5 – 3         9 – 4   Maryland   4 – 4         8 – 5   Wake Forest   4 – 4         8 – 5   Clemson   4 – 4         7 – 6   NC State   4 – 4         6 – 7   Coastal Division #15 Virginia Tech xy$   5 – 3         10 – 4   #22 Georgia Tech x   5 – 3         9 – 4   North Carolina   0 – 4         0 – 5   Miami   4 – 4         7 – 6   Virginia   3 – 5         5 – 7   Duke   1 – 7         4 – 8   Championship: Virginia Tech 30, Boston College 12 $ – BCS representative as conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant North Carolina vacated 8 wins, including 4 ACC wins Rankings from AP Poll	2008 Big East football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #17 Cincinnati $   6 – 1         11 – 3   Pittsburgh   5 – 2         9 – 4   #23 West Virginia   5 – 2         9 – 4   Rutgers   5 – 2         8 – 5   Connecticut   3 – 4         8 – 5   South Florida   2 – 5         8 – 5   Louisville   1 – 6         5 – 7   Syracuse   1 – 6         3 – 9   $ – BCS representative as conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	2008 Big Ten football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #8 Penn State $+   7 – 1         11 – 2   #9 Ohio State %+   7 – 1         10 – 3   #24 Michigan State   6 – 2         9 – 4   Northwestern   5 – 3         9 – 4   #20 Iowa   5 – 3         9 – 4   Wisconsin   3 – 5         7 – 6   Minnesota   3 – 5         7 – 6   Illinois   3 – 5         5 – 7   Purdue   2 – 6         4 – 8   Michigan   2 – 6         3 – 9   Indiana   1 – 7         3 – 9   $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll
2008 Big 12 football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Northern Division #19 Missouri xy   5 – 3         10 – 4   Nebraska x   5 – 3         9 – 4   Kansas   4 – 4         8 – 5   Colorado   2 – 6         5 – 7   Kansas State   2 – 6         5 – 7   Iowa State   0 – 8         2 – 10   Southern Division #5 Oklahoma xy$   7 – 1         12 – 2   #4 Texas x%   7 – 1         12 – 1   #12 Texas Tech x   7 – 1         11 – 2   #16 Oklahoma State   5 – 3         9 – 4   Baylor   2 – 6         4 – 8   Texas A&M   2 – 6         4 – 8   Championship: Oklahoma 62, Missouri 21 $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll	2008 Conference USA football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Division East Carolina x$   6 – 2         9 – 5   Memphis   4 – 4         6 – 7   Southern Miss   4 – 4         7 – 6   UAB   3 – 5         4 – 8   UCF   3 – 5         4 – 8   Marshall   3 – 5         4 – 8   West Division Tulsa xy   7 – 1         11 – 3   Rice x   7 – 1         10 – 3   Houston   6 – 2         8 – 5   UTEP   4 – 4         5 – 7   Tulane   1 – 7         2 – 10   SMU   0 – 8         1 – 11   Championship: East Carolina 27, Tulsa 24 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll	2008 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Division Buffalo x$   5 – 3         8 – 6   Bowling Green   4 – 4         6 – 6   Temple   4 – 4         5 – 7   Ohio   3 – 5         4 – 8   Akron   3 – 5         5 – 7   Kent State   3 – 5         4 – 8   Miami   1 – 7         2 – 10   West Division Ball State x   8 – 0         12 – 2   Central Michigan   6 – 2         8 – 5   Western Michigan   6 – 2         9 – 4   Northern Illinois   5 – 3         6 – 7   Toledo   2 – 6         3 – 9   Eastern Michigan   2 – 6         3 – 9   Championship: Buffalo 42, Ball State 24 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll
2008 Mountain West football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #2 Utah $   8 – 0         13 – 0   #7 TCU   7 – 1         11 – 2   #25 BYU   6 – 2         10 – 3   Air Force   5 – 3         8 – 5   Colorado State   4 – 4         7 – 6   UNLV   2 – 6         5 – 7   New Mexico   2 – 6         4 – 8   Wyoming   1 – 7         4 – 8   San Diego State   1 – 7         2 – 10   $ – Conference champion and BCS representative as top non-AQ school to meet automatic qualification criteria Rankings from AP Poll	2008 Pacific-10 football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #3 USC $   8 – 1         12 – 1   #10 Oregon   7 – 2         10 – 3   #19 Oregon State   7 – 2         9 – 4   California   6 – 3         9 – 4   Arizona   5 – 4         8 – 5   Arizona State   4 – 5         5 – 7   Stanford   4 – 5         5 – 7   UCLA   3 – 6         4 – 8   Washington State   1 – 8         2 – 11   Washington   0 – 9         0 – 12   $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	2008 SEC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Eastern Division #1 Florida x$#   7 – 1         13 – 1   #13 Georgia   6 – 2         10 – 3   Vanderbilt   4 – 4         7 – 6   South Carolina   4 – 4         7 – 6   Tennessee   3 – 5         5 – 7   Kentucky   2 – 6         7 – 6   Western Division #6 Alabama x%   8 – 0         12 – 2   #14 Ole Miss   5 – 3         9 – 4   LSU   3 – 5         8 – 5   Arkansas   2 – 6         5 – 7   Auburn   2 – 6         5 – 7   Mississippi State   2 – 6         4 – 8   Championship: Florida 31, Alabama 20 # – BCS National Champion $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll
2008 Sun Belt football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Troy $   6 – 1         8 – 5   Louisiana–Lafayette   5 – 2         6 – 6   Florida Atlantic   4 – 3         7 – 6   Arkansas State   4 – 3         6 – 6   FIU   3 – 4         5 – 7   Middle Tennessee   3 – 4         5 – 7   Louisiana–Monroe   3 – 4         4 – 8   North Texas   0 – 7         1 – 11   $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	2008 WAC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #11 Boise State $   8 – 0         12 – 1   Louisiana Tech   5 – 3         8 – 5   Nevada   5 – 3         7 – 6   Hawaii   5 – 3         7 – 7   Fresno State   4 – 4         7 – 6   San Jose State   4 – 4         6 – 6   Utah State   3 – 5         3 – 9   New Mexico State   1 – 7         3 – 9   Idaho   1 – 7         2 – 10   $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	2008 Division I FBS independents football records Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Navy   –         8 – 5   Notre Dame   –         7 – 6   Army   –         3 – 9   WKU   –         2 – 10   Rankings from AP Poll

Conference champions

Championship games

Date	Conference	Result	Site	TV
December 5	MAC	Buffalo 42, #12 Ball State 24	Ford Field Detroit, Michigan	ESPN2
December 6	Conference USA	East Carolina 27, Tulsa 24	Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium Tulsa, Oklahoma	ESPN2
December 6	ACC	Virginia Tech 30, #18 Boston College 12	Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida	ABC
December 6	SEC	#2 Florida 31, #1 Alabama 20	Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia	CBS
December 6	Big 12	#4 Oklahoma 62, #19 Missouri 21	Arrowhead Stadium Kansas City, Missouri	ABC

Other champions

Conference	Champion
Big East	Cincinnati
Big Ten	Penn State*
Mountain West	Utah
Pac-10	USC
Sun Belt	Troy
WAC	Boise State

Bowl games

If a conference does not have enough eligible teams to fill all of its contracted bowl slots, and an affected bowl does not have a contingency agreement with another conference (e.g., the Poinsettia Bowl, which has a contract with the WAC to take one of its teams if the Pac-10 does not have enough eligible teams), the bowl "left out" can select an at-large team. By NCAA rule, an at-large bowl slot must be filled by a team with at least 7 wins, if available. Two new bowl games were added for the 2008–09 post-season: the EagleBank Bowl, which was played at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., and the magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl in the titular Florida city at Tropicana Field.

Bowl Championship Series

Ten teams played in the five BCS bowls. The top two teams in the final BCS ranking played in the BCS National Championship Game. The champions of the six BCS conferences who are not in the top two are given automatic berths into other BCS bowls. Unless playing in the championship game, the champions of the Big Ten and Pac-10 play in the Rose Bowl, the ACC champion in the Orange Bowl, the SEC champion in the Sugar Bowl and the Big 12 champion in the Fiesta Bowl. The Big East champion can play in any open BCS bowl games.

After the completion of the regular season and conference championship games, seven teams had secured BCS berths: Big Ten champion Penn State, Big East champion Cincinnati, ACC champion Virginia Tech, SEC champion Florida, Big 12 champion Oklahoma, Pac-10 champion USC, and Mountain West champion Utah, as the highest-ranked non-BCS conference champion. With Oklahoma and Florida being selected to play in the championship, Texas and Alabama were selected to assume their conference's spots in the Fiesta and Sugar Bowls. Cincinnati was selected for the Orange Bowl and Utah for the Sugar Bowl, with the remaining at-large spot awarded to Ohio State for the Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State was selected despite being ranked behind #9 Boise State at #10. #7 Texas Tech did not receive an at-large selection, as they were ineligible with the Big 12 already being awarded two BCS slots.

Bowl Game	Date	Visitor	Home	Score	TV
Rose Bowl Game presented by citi (Pasadena, CA)	January 1[3]	#5 USC	#8 Penn State[33]	38–24	ABC
FedEx Orange Bowl (Miami Gardens, FL)	January 1[3]	#12 Cincinnati	#19 Virginia Tech[34]	7–20	FOX
Allstate Sugar Bowl (New Orleans, LA)	January 2[3]	#6 Utah	#4 Alabama	31–17	FOX
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (Glendale, AZ)	January 5[3]	#10 Ohio State	#3 Texas	21–24	FOX
FedEx BCS National Championship Game (Miami Gardens, FL)	January 8[3]	#2 Florida	#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	#16 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	#9 Boise State	#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[35]	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	#21 Missouri	#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	#13 Oklahoma State	#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	#20 Pittsburgh[36]	3–0	CBS
Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl (Nashville, TN)	December 31	#24 Boston College	Vanderbilt	14–16	ESPN
Insight Bowl (Tempe, AZ)	December 31	Kansas[37]	Minnesota[38]	42–21	NFL
Chick-fil-A Bowl (Atlanta, GA)	December 31	LSU	#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	#15 Georgia	#18 Michigan State	24–12	ABC
Cotton Bowl Classic (Dallas, TX)	January 2	#25 Ole Miss	#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	#22 Ball State	45–13	ESPN

Winners are bold

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.

• Winner: Sam Bradford, So. Oklahoma QB (1,726 pts)
• 2. Colt McCoy, Jr. Texas QB (1,604 pts)
• 3. Tim Tebow, Jr. Florida QB (1,575 pts)
• 4. Graham Harrell Sr. Texas Tech QB (213 pts)
• 5. Michael Crabtree, So. Texas Tech WR (116 pts)

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[39]
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[40]
Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year	Nick Saban, Alabama[41]
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[42]

All-Americans

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

Special teams

Position	Name	Height	Weight (lbs.)	Class	Hometown	Team
Kicker	Louie Sakoda	5'9"	175	Sr.	San Jose, California	Utah
Punter	Kevin Huber	6'1"	214	Sr.	Cincinnati, Ohio	Cincinnati
RS	Brandon James	5'7"	186	Jr.	St. Augustine, Florida	Florida
RS	Jeremy Maclin	6'0"	198	Jr.	Kirkwood, Missouri	Missouri

Statistical leaders

• Team scoring most points: Oklahoma, 716

Coaching changes

Pre-season

Pre-season
School	2008 coach	2007 coach
Arkansas	Bobby Petrino	Houston Nutt
Baylor	Art Briles	Guy Morriss
Georgia Tech	Paul Johnson	Chan Gailey
Hawaiʻi	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

In-season

In-season
School	Interim Coach	Former Coach
Clemson	Dabo Swinney	Tommy Bowden

End of season

End of season
School	Outgoing coach	Reason	Replacement
Army	Stan Brock	Fired	Rich Ellerson
Auburn	Tommy Tuberville	Resigned	Gene Chizik[43]
Ball State	Brady Hoke[44]	Hired as head coach at San Diego State	Stan Parrish
Boston College	Jeff Jagodzinski	Fired	Frank Spaziani
Bowling Green	Gregg Brandon	Fired	Dave Clawson
Eastern Michigan	Jeff Genyk	Fired	Ron English[45]
Iowa State	Gene Chizik	Hired as head coach at Auburn	Paul Rhoads[46]
Kansas State	Ron Prince	Fired[47]	Bill Snyder[48]
Miami (OH)	Shane Montgomery	Resigned	Mike Haywood
Mississippi State	Sylvester Croom	Resigned	Dan Mullen
New Mexico	Rocky Long	Resigned	Mike Locksley[49]
New Mexico State	Hal Mumme	Fired	DeWayne Walker
Oregon	Mike Bellotti	Resigned to become Oregon athletic director[50]	Chip Kelly[50]
Purdue	Joe Tiller	Retired[51]	Danny Hope[51]
San Diego State	Chuck Long	Fired	Brady Hoke[44]
Syracuse	Greg Robinson	Fired	Doug Marrone[52]
Tennessee	Phillip Fulmer	Fired	Lane Kiffin[53]
Toledo	Tom Amstutz	Resigned	Tim Beckman
Utah State	Brent Guy	Fired	Gary Andersen
Washington	Tyrone Willingham	Fired	Steve Sarkisian[54]
Wyoming	Joe Glenn	Fired	Dave Christensen[55]

Final rankings

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 agreement and voted his team number one on his ballot.

See also

• 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
• 2008 Big 12 Conference South Division 3-way tie controversy

Notes and references

1. Western Kentucky University was in a 2-year process of transition to FBS status in 2008 (completed in 2009), and, therefore, some sources list the total for 2008 as 119.
2. "NCAA Football Schedules Week 1". CBS Sportsline. Archived from the original on 25 August 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-20.
3. "Future BCS Schedules". BCSFootball.org. Fox Sports. Archived from the original on 2007-10-24. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
4. "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 23 December 2008.
5. "More new timing rules among NCAA proposal". Retrieved 23 December 2008.
6. ESPN
7. "East Carolina controls West Virginia from start to finish". ESPN.com. 2008-09-06. Archived from the original on 2010-01-17. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
8. Ohio State Buckeyes vs. USC Trojans - Recap - September 13, 2008 - ESPN
9. USC Trojans vs. Oregon State Beavers - Recap - September 25, 2008 - ESPN
10. Ole Miss Rebels vs. Florida Gators - Recap - September 27, 2008 - ESPN
11. USA Today:Another stunner: Ole Miss topples No. 4 Florida 31-30
12. http://www.olemisssports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=12816&SPID=738&DB_OEM_ID=2600&ATCLID=1621919
13. Auburn Tigers vs. Vanderbilt Commodores - Recap - October 04, 2008 - ESPN
14. Texas Longhorns vs. Oklahoma Sooners - Recap - October 11, 2008 - ESPN
15. "Showdown near as unbeaten BYU takes on 6-1 TCU". ESPN.com. 2008-10-16. Archived from the original on 29 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
16. "TCU ends BYU's BCS hopes, win streak, and undefeated season". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 2008-10-16. Archived from the original on 2 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
17. Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Ohio State Buckeyes - Recap - October 25, 2008 - ESPN
18. Texas Longhorns vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders - Box Score - November 01, 2008 - ESPN
19. "Utes-Horned Frogs meet with MWC title, BCS hopes at stake". ESPN.com. 2008-11-07. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
20. "Johnson TD pass with 47 seconds left lifts Utah past TCU". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 2008-11-07. Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-07.
21. "Nittany Lions Lose First on Last Second Field Goal at Iowa - BAD". CBS Interactive. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
22. "No. 7 Nittany Lions Defeat Spartans to Claim Big Ten Title, BCS Bid". CBS Interactive. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
23. "Stakes even higher than usual for Utah against BYU". ESPN.com. 2008-11-22. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
24. "Seventh-ranked Utes tackle defending champions to win conference title". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 2008-11-22. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
25. "Red Raiders, Sooners battle for Big 12 South title". ESPN.com. 2008-11-22. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
26. "Oklahoma's message soundly delivered with destruction of Texas Tech". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 2008-11-22. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
27. "No. 9 Boise State scores 48 second-half points to blow away Fresno State". ESPN.com. 2008-11-28. Archived from the original on 2 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
28. Eric Neel (2008-11-19). "All Or Nothing". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on 2010-04-18. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
29. "Cardinals, Bulls lay it on the line in MAC title game". ESPN.com. 2008-12-05. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
30. "Four fumbles doom No. 12 Ball State in MAC finale". ESPN.com. 2008-12-05. Archived from the original on 9 December 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2008.
31. "Football Bowl Subdivision Records" (PDF). NCAA. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
32. "NCAA Football Season Review". Retrieved 12 October 2011.
33. "Penn State Rose Bowl Bound". Yahoo!. Retrieved 2008-11-23.
34. "Virginia Tech takes down BC,headed down to Orange Bowl again". Associated Press. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-05.
35. http://www.uwbadgers.com/sport_news/fb/headlines/story.html?sportid=111&storyid=16009
36. PittsburghPanthers.com - University of Pittsburgh Official Athletic Site - Football
37. KU headed to Insight Bowl
38. Gophers, Jayhawks to meet in Insight Bowl Archived December 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
39. UA's Saban Named Home Depot Coach of the Year
40. "Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year". Retrieved 30 December 2008.
41. "ALABAMA'S SABAN WINS 2008 EDDIE ROBINSON AWARD". Retrieved 7 January 2009.
42. UF's Tim Tebow is 2008 Wuerffel Trophy Winner Archived December 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
43. Iowa State's Chizik to Take Over at Auburn
44. "San Diego State to hire Ball State's Hoke, source says". ESPN.com. 2008-12-15. Archived from the original on 17 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
45. "English to be announced as EMU coach". ESPN.com. 2008-12-15. Archived from the original on 8 January 2009. Retrieved 2008-12-20.
46. Source: Rhoads to be named new ISU football coach
47. "Ron Prince Will Not Return for 2009" (Press release). Kansas State University Athletic Department. 2008-11-05. Archived from the original on December 11, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
48. "Bill Snyder Named Head Football Coach" (Press release). Kansas State University Athletic Department. 2008-11-24. Archived from the original on December 3, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
49. "Mike Locksley - New Mexico's 29th Head Football Coach". - Lobos Football. - (c/o CBS Interactive). - December 9, 2008.
50. "Kelly succeeds Bellotti as Ducks coach". ESPN.com. Associated Press. 2009-03-13. Archived from the original on 17 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-15.
51. "Plenty Of Reasons For Hope" (Press release). Purdue University Athletics Department. 2008-01-11. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-27.
52. Doug Marrone in Syracuse Friday; will be named head coach
53. Kiffin introduced as Vol's 21st coach » Abilene Reporter-News Archived December 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
54. Sources: USC offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian gets Washington job - ESPN
55. MU’s Christensen accepts Wyoming job Archived December 2, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.