CFN 2008 Final Rankings
No. 76 to 100
CFN Final 2008 Rankings
1-10
| 11-25 |
26-50
| 51-75
| 101-119
76. Colorado (5-7) CFN Score: 6.08
2007 Score: 8.18 2007 Ranking: 61
The Dan Hawkins era isn't exactly working. 5-7? 2-6 in Big 12 play?
There was an offensive party in the Big 12 this year and Colorado wasn't
invited. There was a win over West Virginia, but that was the only thing
to chirp about. Four of the final wins, including a close call to
Eastern Washington, were by seven points or fewer.
77. Marshall (4-8) CFN Score: 5.72
2007 Score: 1.37 2007 Ranking: 101
Marshall was supposed to be better defensively, and wasn't. There
was a nice win over Southern Miss and a better win over Houston, but
that was it. The Herd lost seven of their final eight games, but one of
the losses was to eventual Conference USA champion, East Carolina, in
overtime.
78. Memphis (6-7)
CFN Score: 5.71
2007 Score: 5.57 2007 Ranking: 78
The worst of all teams to make a bowl, Memphis got by with a decent
offense and just enough defense to come up with six wins. However, the
best win was over Southern Miss and the second was over Arkansas State.
On the plus side, four of the losses were by seven points or fewer.
79. Duke (4-8) CFN Score: 5.68
2007 Score: -1.75 2007 Ranking: 115
David Cutcliffe made the program far better with a stunning start,
winning three of the first four games, and then everything went back in
the tank losing seven of the last eight games. The one win was over
Vanderbilt and there were some close losses, but the offense wasn't
consistent, and in the end, Duke was 1-7 in ACC play.
80. New Mexico (4-8)
CFN Score: 5.38
2007 Score: 10.93 2007 Ranking: 47
The Rocky Long era came to an end after a disappointing second half
of the year with one win, a 70-7 nail-biter over San Diego State, in the
final five games. Losing to BYU and Utah is one thing, but losing to
UNLV and Colorado State is another. The offense struggled and the
passing game fizzled when QB Donovan Porterie went down..
81. Auburn (5-7) CFN Score: 5.34
2007 Score: 15.64 2007 Ranking: 20
This seems like it should be a misprint. Auburn? 81st? Shouldn't it
have been in the hunt for the East title? A disaster with the coaching
staff and a lousy offense led the way to six of the final seven games
with the one win coming against UT Martin. How bad was the year? One of
the four FBS wins was over Mississippi State, 3-2, and one was over
Tennessee, 14-12.
82. San Jose State (6-6)
CFN Score: 5.15
2007 Score: 3.85 2007 Ranking: 91
The Spartans didn't have a bad year, but it turned out to be a big
disappointment after losing four of the final five games and missing out
on a sure bowl bid. Basically, they couldn't handle the better teams in
the WAC. When Hawaii is your best win by far, and your second best win
was over Utah State, your schedule wasn't that great.
83. Kansas State (5-7)
CFN Score: 5.06
2007 Score: 6.94 2007 Ranking: 68
Gone is Ron Prince and back is Bill Snyder after a losing season
that hit the skids over the second half. The Wildcats were 4-2 and on
the way to a bowl game, but they lost five straight with a defense that
couldn't seem to do anything right. Losing star QB Josh Freeman early to
the NFL won't help the cause going forward.
84. Bowling Green (6-6)
CFN Score: 5.04
2007 Score: 7.87 2007 Ranking: 63
A 6-6 season and a nice end to the year with three wins in the final
four games and a double overtime loss to eventual MAC champion, Buffalo,
weren't enough to save Gregg Brandon his job. The team wasn't that bad
in any one area and ended up losing four games by seven points or fewer.
85. Purdue (4-8)
CFN Score: 5.03
2007 Score: 11.13 2007 Ranking: 45
The Joe Tiller era closed out with a bang, beating Indiana 62-10,
but the rest of his final season was a big dud. There was a shot early
on to upset Oregon, but the Boilermakers lost in two overtimes on the
way to a 2-6 start. Two of the three wins over FCS teams, Central
Michigan and Michigan, were by seven points and six points,
respectively.
86. Temple (5-7)
CFN Score: 4.96
2007 Score: 1.65 2007 Ranking: 99
It wasn't quite the breakthrough season hoped for, the Owls wanted
to be Buffalo, but it took a Hail Mary to lose to the Bulls and there
were overtime losses to UConn and Navy. The team kept fighting and won
its final two games with an improved offense and nice special teams.
87. Arizona State (5-7) CFN Score: 4.94
2007 Score: 14.29 2007 Ranking: 26
One of the biggest disappointments of the season, the Sun Devils
lost six straight early on to all but ruin the year, but they had a shot
at the Las Vegas Bowl had they beaten Arizona. They didn't, and the hot
team of last year finished with a losing record. The offense was
stunningly mediocre.
88. Akron (5-7)
CFN Score: 4.52
2007 Score: 3.87 2007 Ranking: 90
The Zips had a bowl shot there for the taking but it lost two
heart-breakers to Buffalo and Ohio before getting thumped in the season
finale against Temple. Outside of the loss to the Owls, this wasn't a
bad year with good battles in losses to Wisconsin and Cincinnati to go
along with a four-point loss to Bowling Green.
89. UTEP (5-7)
CFN Score: 4.43
2007 Score: 4.41 2007 Ranking: 85
Outside of a stunning double-overtime upset of Southern Miss, UTEP
didn't beat anyone of note and got blasted by just about everyone else.
The offense was fine, but the defense was among the worst in America as
the high-powered Conference USA passing games fattened up on the Miner
secondary.
90. FIU (5-7)
CFN Score: 4.23
2007 Score: -3.30 2007 Ranking: 117
All of a sudden, FIU had an offense after scoring 19 points in the first
three games. With five wins in the final nine, the program suddenly
became relevant in Sun Belt play and came close to a winning season with
a four-point loss to ULM and a 57-50 overtime shootout loss to FAU.
91. Mississippi
State (4-8) CFN Score: 4.20
2007 Score: 2.86 2007 Ranking: 12.40
A strong defense wasn't enough to overcome a horrendous offense, so out
goes Sylvester Croom and in comes Dan Mullen, Florida's offensive
coordinator. The Bulldogs scored 14 points or fewer in seven games
including the 3-2 loss to Auburn. However, there was a nice win over
Vanderbilt and MSU ruined the Arkansas bowl hopes with a late November
victory.
92. Baylor (4-8) CFN Score: 4.17
2007 Score: 0.74 2007 Ranking: 104
This would've been a bowl team if it were in any other conference in
America. Freshman QB Robert Griffin led an exciting team that managed
four wins, but didn't beat anyone with a pulse, including Texas A&M. The
defense simply couldn't handle all the high-octane Big 12 offenses.
93. UNLV (5-7)
CFN Score: 3.83
2007 Score: 0.67 2007 Ranking: 106
In a strange season of streaks, UNLV started out 3-1 highlighted by
overtime wins over Arizona State and Iowa State, and then came the
five-game Mountain West losing streak. The Rebels rebounded to beat New
Mexico and Wyoming, and only needed to beat a dead San Diego State team
to be bowl eligible, and it came up with a 42-21 clunker of a loss.
94. Louisville (5-7) CFN Score: 3.80
2007 Score: 9.70 2007 Ranking: 54
Everything started out so promising with a 5-2 start and with lowly
Syracuse up next, but a 28-31 gag against the Orange sparked a five-game
losing streak and the hot seat for head coach Steve Kragthorpe. The
program hasn't played defense in a few years, and the offense couldn't
stop giving the ball away.
95. Ohio (4-8)
CFN Score: 3.45
2007 Score: 9.70 2007 Ranking: 54
The MAC's hard luck team lost five games, including a battle at Ohio
State, that could've gone either way, but it managed to come up with two
wins against Miami University and Akron to close out the regular season.
Turnovers were the big problem, and an inconsistent defense didn't help.
96. Kent State (4-8)
CFN Score: 3.36
2007 Score: 102 2007 Ranking: 1.09
Julian Edelman, Eugene Jarvis, and the MAC's best running game wasn't
enough to carry the Golden Flashes to any success. Two of the wins came
against Temple and Buffalo, but one win came against Delaware State. KSU
might have had the worst return game in America.
97. Michigan (3-9) CFN Score: 3.21
2007 Score: 1.09 2007 Ranking: 24
Well that didn't work out well. 3-9 isn't exactly when Michigan fans
had in mind when Rich Rodriguez came aboard, and it should've been
worse. It took a miracle to beat Wisconsin. While there were losses
against elite teams like Utah, Penn State and Ohio State, there was also
the fumble-filled gaffe against Notre Dame and the loss to an abysmal
Toledo.
98. UCF (4-8)
CFN Score: 3.18
2007 Score: 15.01 2007 Ranking: 22
It's hard to fall much further than UCF did, going form Conference USA
champions to winning just three games against FBS teams. The offense was
the worst in America, averaging 229.65 yards and 16.6 points per game.
The O line was awful and the quarterback play abysmal.
99. Texas A&M (4-8)
CFN Score: 3.09
2007 Score: 10.55 2007 Ranking: 50
It was a strange first season for Mike Sherman. The offense saw Jerrod
Johnson take over at quarterback, but the running game remained
strangely silent. The lines were miserable while the offense couldn't
keep up with the Big 12 big boys. As bad as things were, they could've
been worse. Three of the four wins came by seven points or fewer.
100. UAB (4-8) CFN Score: 3.06
2007 Score: 112 2007 Ranking: -0.94
Thanks to QB Joe Webb, the Blazers weren't that bad over the second
half of the season. There was a 70-14 loss to Southern Miss, but the
Blazers played future Conference USA champs, East Carolina, tough in a
17-13 loss. The defense struggled throughout the year, up until a 15-0
win over UCF to end the season, and the return game was abysmal.
CFN Final 2008 Rankings
1-10
| 11-25 |
26-50
| 51-75
| 101-119
|