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
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 →

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

The 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on August 28, 2008, 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. The Gators were declared national champions by the BCS and most major polls.

The NCAA football rules committee made several rule changes for 2008, and includes the following:

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

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.

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.

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