2008 Ohio Democratic presidential primary
The 2008 Ohio Democratic presidential primary took place on March 4, 2008 and was open to anyone requesting a Democratic party ballot. In 2008, any registered Ohio voter could on election day request a primary ballot of either the Democratic or Republican party, by signing an affidavit stating that they supported the principles of the party whose ballot they are obtaining.


2008 Ohio Democratic presidential primary
Ohio sent 141 pledged delegates to the 2008 Democratic National Convention, which were awarded to the candidates proportionally based on the outcome of the election. In addition, Ohio's delegation included 20 unpledged superdelegates not bound by the vote. Hillary Clinton won the primary.


2008 Ohio Democratic presidential primary, Delegate breakdown
The Ohio Democratic Party sent 161 total delegates to the National Convention. Of those delegates, 141 were pledged and 20 unpledged. The 141 pledged delegates were allocated (pledged) to vote for a particular candidate at the National Convention according to the results of Ohio's Democratic primary on March 4, 2008. The 20 unpledged delegates (popularly called "superdelegates" because each of their votes represented a personal decision rather than the decision of the voters) were free to vote for any candidate at the National Convention and were selected by the Ohio Democratic Party's officials.


2008 Ohio Democratic presidential primary, Delegate breakdown
The 141 pledged delegates were further divided into 92 district delegates and 49 statewide delegates. The 92 district delegates were divided among Ohio's 18 Congressional Districts and were allocated to the presidential candidates based on the primary results in each District. The 49 statewide delegates were divided into 31 at-large delegates and 18 Party Leaders and Elected Officials (abbreviated PLEO). They were allocated to the presidential candidates based on the primary results statewide.


2008 Ohio Democratic presidential primary, Delegate breakdown
Of the 20 unpledged delegates, 18 were selected in advance and 2 were selected at the State Executive Committee meeting on May 10, 2008. The delegates selected in advance were 9 Democratic National Committee members, the 7 Democratic U.S. Representatives from Ohio (including 2008 Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, who had suspended his campaign before the Ohio primary), U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, and Governor Ted Strickland. Just before the election, nine of Ohio's 20 superdelegates had endorsed a candidate: five had announced support for Senator Clinton and four had committed to Senator Barack Obama.


2008 Ohio Democratic presidential primary, Debate
Clinton and Obama appeared in a televised debate at Cleveland State University on February 26. They discussed negative campaigning, health care and free trade. Clinton echoed a theme her campaign had emphasized over the past days, that media coverage of her was much tougher than coverage of Obama, by referring to a Saturday Night Live skit that made a similar point from the weekend before.


2008 Ohio Democratic presidential primary, Results
Clinton won the election by a comfortable 8.65% margin. Clinton won Ohio by running up margins the Appalachia region in southern Ohio, and the Rust Belt region in Akron, Youngstown, and Toledo. For his part Obama did do well in most of the major cities, winning in the counties that encompass, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Dayton.


2008 Ohio Republican presidential primary
The 2008 Ohio Republican presidential primary took place on March 4, 2008. That night, candidate John McCain secured enough delegate votes to win the Republican nomination for the 2008 United States presidential election.


2008 Ohio Republican presidential primary, Results
* Candidate had dropped out of the race before March 4.


2008 Ohio Republican presidential primary, Results
3 other unpledged delegates will also be sent to the Republican convention to bring Ohio's total delegate count to 88.


2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
The 2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented Ohio State University during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Buckeyes were coached by Jim Tressel and played their home games in Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. They finished with a record of 10–3 (7–1 Big Ten) and were Big Ten Conference co-champions.


2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Before the season
The Buckeyes lost 2007 starters RT Kirk Barton, FB Dionte Johnson and LB Larry Grant to graduation.


2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Before the season
Junior DE Vernon Gholston declared for the 2008 NFL Draft.


2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Before the season
Number 1 high school recruit Terrelle Pryor officially signed with the team.


2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Before the season
Sophomore backup quarterbacks Rob Schoenhoft and Antonio Henton transferred to the University of Delaware and Georgia Southern University respectively.


2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Before the season
Offensive lineman Justin Boren transferred  to The Ohio State University from the University of Michigan.


2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Before the season
In July Defensive Back Eugene Clifford was dismissed from the team and transferred to Tennessee State University. Clifford was also suspended for the 2008 BCS National Championship Game.


2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Game summaries, vs. Youngstown State
The Buckeyes began the season against Jim Tressel's former team for the second straight year. Going into the game, Tressel planned to play all three quarterbacks within the first half. Top recruit Terrelle Pryor led the Buckeyes to a field goal on his first drive. Pryor also rushed for a touchdown in the second half. However, the 43–0 victory was marred when star running back Chris Wells left the game in the third quarter with a toe injury.


2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Game summaries, vs. Ohio
With Chris Wells watching from the sideline with a foot injury, the Buckeyes struggled to move the ball in the first half against the lightly regarded Ohio. The Buckeyes scored first with a 3–0 lead but finished the first half down 7–6. Six minutes into the 3rd quarter quarterback Todd Boeckman fumbled a snap in the Buckeyes end zone which was recovered by Ohio for a touchdown to increase their lead to 14–6. The Buckeyes quickly responded with a Dan Herron 1-yd TD with 2:51 left in the 3rd capped by a missed point-after kick.


2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Game summaries, vs. Ohio
The Bobcats then began to falter. Parson fumbled a punt, with Ohio State's Shaun Lane falling on the ball as it tumbled out of bounds at the Ohio 25. The recovery was confirmed on video review. Ohio State then capped their 6-play drive with a 2-yd TD run by Brandon Saine to take the 19–14 lead. With around 6 minutes left to play, Ray Small returned an Ohio punt 69 yards for a touchdown which sealed the sluggish win for the Buckeyes.


2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Game summaries, at USC
This game between two perennial powers had long been identified as a major non-conference game with potential championship implications for either program. In the preseason it was named as the most anticipated regular-season game of 2008.


2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Game summaries, at USC
By the end of the 2007–08 season, the non-conference game between the Buckeyes and Trojans garnered interest as a possible early-season battle between top-10 teams. USC or Ohio State had played in five of the last six BCS title games. The teams have not faced one another since September 29, 1990, when Todd Marinovich led the Trojans to a 35–26 victory in Ohio Stadium in a game that was called because of a thunderstorm with 2 minutes 36 seconds to play.


2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Game summaries, at USC
In naming it the top potentially season-defining game of 2008, Sports Illustrated highlighted a theme of credibility: Ohio State enters the game trying to move past the BCS title game losses of the previous two seasons and USC enters trying to show it remains highly competitive with its new starting quarterback and four of five new players on the offensive line.


2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Game summaries, at Wisconsin
This game was seen by many as the toughest conference game on the Buckeyes' schedule. With a healthy Chris Wells, the Buckeyes would start the game out strong, with a touchdown on the opening drive. Momentum would begin to turn in the second quarter as the Badgers would intercept a long pass from Terrelle Pryor. The game went into halftime with the Buckeyes trailing 10–7.


2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Game summaries, at Wisconsin
Late in the fourth quarter, down 17–13, Terrelle Pryor orchestrated a late drive and would rush in the game-winning touchdown with 1:08 left. In a last chance for the Badgers, the Buckeyes intercepted a pass to seal a 20–17 win. The game was unusual for the Wisconsin fans as the Wisconsin Marching Band was suspended for the game due to accusations of alcohol abuse, hazing and sexual misconduct. The crowd had to rely on music played over the loud speakers.


2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Game summaries, vs. Penn State
For the fourth straight year, ESPN's College GameDay crew broadcast from the site of the Penn State–Ohio State match-up.


2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Game summaries, vs. Penn State
In front of an Ohio Stadium-record crowd of 105,711, the Nittany Lions got their first win at Ohio State since 1978 by defeating the Buckeyes 13–6 in a game where both offenses were held below their season averages. The turning point of the game occurred early in the fourth quarter with the Buckeyes holding a three-point lead and facing a third-and-1. Penn State safety Mark Rubin tackled Terrelle Pryor, and forced a fumble which was recovered by Penn State.


2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Game summaries, vs. Penn State
Nittany Lions' backup quarterback Pat Devlin, playing for injured starter Daryll Clark, scored on a quarterback sneak for the only touchdown of the game. After PSU placekicker Kevin Kelly's second field goal, the Buckeyes last drive was ended by an interception at the goal line—Pryor's second turnover of the game. The Buckeyes were limited to their lowest point total in Ohio Stadium since 1982, and the Nittany Lions were charged with zero penalties.


2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Game summaries, vs. Penn State
Clark completed 12 of 20 passes for 121 yards before leaving, while the Nittany Lions defense held the Buckeyes running game in check, holding Pryor to six yards on nine attempts, and Beanie Wells to 55 yards on 22 carries. The Buckeyes were the only team in 2008 to hold the Lions below 20 points, and the only team to prevent Penn State from scoring a touchdown in the first half.


2008 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, Game summaries, vs. Michigan
Ohio State extended their win streak over Michigan to a record five and enjoyed their second biggest victory margin (35) in the series, superseded only by a 38–0 shutout in 1935.


2008 Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
The 2008 Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament took place from March 4–8, 2008. The first round was hosted by the better seed in each game. The semifinals and finals took place at Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Austin Peay won the tournament advanced to the NCAA Tournament.


2008 Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Format
The top eight eligible men's basketball teams in the Ohio Valley Conference receive a berth in the conference tournament. After the 20 game conference season, teams are seeded by conference record.


2008 Ohio's 11th congressional district special election
Ohio's 11th congressional district special election, 2008 took place on November 18, 2008. The seat of the U.S. Representative for Ohio's 11th congressional district was vacated following the death of Democrat Stephanie Tubbs Jones on August 20, 2008. Since more than one candidate from the Democratic Party filed to take part in the election, a primary was held on October 14, 2008. The special election was won by Marcia Fudge.


2008 Ohio's 11th congressional district special election, Candidates, Democratic primary election
Fifteen Democratic candidates qualified for the primary election, fourteen of whom appeared on the ballot and one of which qualified as a write-in candidate. Four candidates withdrew, but their names still appeared on the ballot. Votes for such candidates were not counted.


2008 Ohio's 11th congressional district special election, Candidates, Special election
Only Marcia L. Fudge appeared on the ballot for the special election.


2008 Oklahoma Democratic presidential primary
The 2008 Oklahoma Democratic presidential primary, part of the process of selecting that party's nominee for President of the United States, took place on February 5, one of the many nominating contests of 2008's "Super Tuesday". The primary election chose 38 pledged delegates to represent Oklahoma at the 2008 Democratic National Convention. The remainder of Oklahoma's 47 delegates consisted of unpledged superdelegates not bound by the results of the primary. The election was a closed primary, meaning that only registered Democrats could vote in this election. Hillary Clinton won the primary by a significant margin.


2008 Oklahoma Democratic presidential primary
Clinton, Barack Obama, and Jim Rogers appeared on the ballot, together with four candidates who had already withdrawn from the contest: Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson,  Dennis Kucinich, and John Edwards. All but Rogers had run nationwide campaigns for the presidential nomination; Rogers is a perennial candidate in Oklahoma who had run for lieutenant governor in 2006.


2008 Oklahoma Democratic presidential primary, Pre-primary polling, predictions, and events
Early polling in Oklahoma consistently showed Clinton and Edwards to be the leaders in the state, and Obama a more distant third. The polling also indicated that other candidates were barely registering. In 2004 Edwards narrowly finished second in Oklahoma behind Wesley Clark by about one thousand votes. Oklahoma had been a key state for John Edwards as he made stops in the state January 15 and 18, over three weeks ahead of the primary date, but Edwards withdrew on January 30, 2008. Former President Bill Clinton stopped at the University of Oklahoma on January 30 to speak at a rally supporting his wife.


2008 Oklahoma Democratic presidential primary, Delegates
Oklahoma sent 47 delegates to the Democratic National Convention. In order to secure pledged delegates, a candidate had to receive at least 15% of the vote. The delegates were broken down into the following categories:


2008 Oklahoma Republican presidential primary
The 2008 Oklahoma Republican presidential primary was held on February 5, with 41 delegates at stake. It was a closed primary, meaning only registered Republicans could vote in the election. The primary was on Super Tuesday on the same day as twenty-three other states. John McCain won Oklahoma's primary with 37% of the vote, although Mike Huckabee picked up some delegate votes as well by receiving 33% of the vote.


2008 Oklahoma Republican presidential primary
Eleven candidates appeared on the Oklahoma Republican Party primary: John McCain, Tom Tancredo (withdrawn), Duncan Hunter (withdrawn), Ron Paul, Rudy Giuliani (withdrawn), Jerry Curry, Mitt Romney, Alan Keyes, Fred Thompson (withdrawn), Daniel Ayers Gilbert, and Mike Huckabee.


2008 Oklahoma Republican presidential primary
The filing period ended December 5, 2007, after which candidate was allowed to be added to the ballot. No candidate could withdraw his name after the withdrawal deadline of December 7, 2007. Consequently, four candidates' names appeared on the ballot despite their withdrawal from the election.


2008 Oklahoma Republican presidential primary, Polling
Early polling in Oklahoma showed Oklahoma Republicans preferred Rudy Giuliani over John McCain. A February 9–13, 2007 by the American Research Group showed Oklahoma Republicans preferred Rudy Giuliani, 37%, over John McCain, 21%. Three months later, a May 16, 2007 Tulsa World/KOTV poll showed Rudy Giuliani, 32%, retained his lead over John McCain, 23%.


2008 Oklahoma Republican presidential primary, Polling
By December 2007, Mike Huckabee had started to make headway in both national polling and in Oklahoma. A December 16–19, 2007 Tulsa World/KOTV poll showed Mike Huckabee 29%, John McCain 17%, and Rudy Giuliani 11%. Huckabee retained his lead leading into mid-January. A January 11–13, 2008 Survey USA poll showed Mike Huckabee 31% and John McCain 29%. Rudy Giuliani had slipped to fourth with 11%.


2008 Oklahoma Republican presidential primary, Polling
With the primaries less than two weeks away, John McCain started polling better than Mike Huckabee. A January 27, 2008 poll by Survey USA showed Mike Huckabee with 28% and John McCain 37%. With just two days before the Oklahoma Republican primary, another Survey USA poll showed John McCain retained his lead at 37% and Mike Huckabee at 32%.


2008 Oklahoma Republican presidential primary, Allocation of delegates
Oklahoma sent 41 delegates to the 2008 Republican National Convention:


2008 Oklahoma Republican presidential primary, Allocation of delegates
In the event of a brokered convention, all of Oklahoma's 41 delegates may vote for any Republican Presidential candidate regardless of the state primary results.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team
The 2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, the 114th season of Sooner football. The team was led by two-time Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award winner, Bob Stoops, in his 10th season as head coach. They played their homes games at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma. They were a charter member of the Big 12 Conference


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team
Conference play began with a win over the Baylor Bears in Waco, Texas on October 4, and ended with a win over the Missouri Tigers in the Big 12 Championship Game on December 9. The Sooners finished the regular season with a 12-1 record (7-1 in Big 12) while winning their sixth Big 12 title and their 42nd conference title overall. They were invited to the BCS National Championship Game, where they lost to the Florida Gators, 14-24. Oklahoma scored 716 points during the course of their entire season, setting an NCAA Division I record (later broken by Florida State in 2013) for most points scored in a single season.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team
The Sooners were led on offense by sophomore quarterback Sam Bradford, who became the fifth Oklahoma player to win the Heisman Trophy, distinguishing him as the best player in college football. Bradford led the nation in passing touchdowns (50) and passer efficiency rating (180.8). Bradford squared off against 2007 Heisman winner Tim Tebow in the BCS National Championship Game, which was the second time in history that two Heisman winners played each other in a game, after Matt Leinart and Jason White met in the 2005 Orange Bowl.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team
Following the season, Phil Loadholt was selected in the 2nd round of the 2009 NFL Draft, Juaquin Iglesias was drafted in the 3rd, Nic Harris and Duke Robinson were chosen in the 5th, and Manuel Johnson in the 7th.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Recruits
On March 6, 2008, 4-star wide receiver Joshua Jarboe, who was deemed to be one of the recruits who could start playing immediately in the fall, was arrested for receiving stolen property and possessing a weapon at his DeKalb County high school. Jarboe could have faced expulsion under school policy for these felony charges, but did not. Already on thin ice for the weapons possession, he was kicked off the team in June for making a violent rap video on YouTube that described him carrying and using a gun.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Coaching staff
Prior to the season, several changes were made to the Oklahoma coaching staff.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Coaching staff
Co-offensive coordinator Kevin Sumlin took the head coaching position at the University of Houston.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Coaching staff
Defensive coordinator Brent Venables was mentioned as a candidate for the opening at the University of Arkansas before it ultimately went to Bobby Petrino.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Coaching staff
Offensive Coordinator Kevin Wilson interviewed and was considered a finalist for the opening at the University of Southern Mississippi. That opening ended up going to Wilson's counterpart at Oklahoma State University, Larry Fedora.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Chattanooga
Oklahoma came into the season ranked #4 in both the Coaches' and AP Poll. In the first game between Chattanooga and Oklahoma, Sam Bradford threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns, and RB Chris Brown ran for three scores. Only an hour-long rainstorm could slow down the Sooners in a 57–2 victory against Chattanooga. The Sooners converted their first seven possessions into touchdowns and led 50–0 before a thunderstorm caused a lightning delay that extended halftime by 1 hour and 12 minutes. UTC, which would go on to earn only one win in the entire season, scored only 2 points on a safety from an errant snap on a punt play. Chattanooga was held to just two first downs the entire game.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Cincinnati
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Ryan Broyles, playing his first game as a Sooner, had the most productive receiver debut in school history, with seven catches for 141 yards and a touchdown. Oklahoma gave up a kick return for a touchdown in the third quarter that brought the Bearcats within eight, but OU eventually pulled away from Cincinnati, winning 52–26.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Washington
On Oklahoma's first drive, QB Sam Bradford threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Juaquin Iglesias. Oklahoma dominated from then on. Washington scored only twice in the game, losing 55–14. Bradford went 18 of 21 while throwing for 304 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Oklahoma never turned the ball over while Washington fumbled it three times, Oklahoma recovering all three times.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, TCU
TCU had beaten Oklahoma the last two times they had met, the most recent being in 2005, where a #7 ranked Oklahoma was upset by an unranked TCU in the season opener, 10–17.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, TCU
The game started with Sam Bradford throwing two touchdown passes in the first quarter, one to Juaquin Iglesias and the other Manuel Johnson. Johnson ended the game with three touchdowns (all of which were 50+ yard receptions) and 206 receiving yards on just five receptions, becoming the first Oklahoma player to have 200+ receiving yards in a game. This incredible 41.2 yards per catch is still the Sooner YPC game record for players with at least four catches.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Baylor
After three rushing touchdowns by Oklahoma and one through the air put them up 28-0 at the end of the first quarter, Baylor never came within 21. Sooners win, 49–17.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Texas (Red River Rivalry)
This game marked the 103rd meeting of the Red River Rivalry, which has been called one of the greatest sports rivalries. It's the longest active rivalry for the Longhorns, and the second longest for the Sooners, behind only the Bedlam Series. Since 1929, the game has been held at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, typically in mid-October with the State Fair of Texas occurring adjacent to the stadium.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Texas (Red River Rivalry)
In a high-scoring shootout, Texas upset the Sooners, 45–35. Colt McCoy performed brilliantly in the fourth quarter, leading his team to 15 unanswered points. It was the highest scoring event in the history of rivalry, and it had the highest attendance, a record 92,182.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Kansas
Sam Bradford had 468 yards and three TDs passing in an offensive matchup. After a score of 24–17 at halftime, Oklahoma began to pull away in the third quarter, eventually winning 45–31 in Norman.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Kansas State
Oklahoma traveled to Manhattan, Kansas to take on a struggling Kansas State team just coming off a tough road loss to Colorado. The Sooners and Wildcats played a wild first half that saw the two teams combine to score 83 points. The Sooners’ 55 first half points set a school record for most points ever scored before halftime. Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford played what would end up being his worst game of the season, completing only 40 percent of his passes (13–32) for 255 yards. Kansas State QB Josh Freeman had a career-best 478 yards passing, but was sacked twice and had three interceptions against the Sooner defense.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Nebraska
When Nebraska walked out under the lights at Memorial Stadium, the Cornhuskers were still in the race for the Big 12 North title, but after the Oklahoma Sooners completed their first drive for a touchdown, intercepted Husker quarterback Joe Ganz's first pass and took it back for an 18-yard touchdown return, then tacked on three more scores, Nebraska's expectations for its bowl season had been lowered considerably. The second quarter went better for the Cornhuskers, backup tailback Roy Helu getting a touchdown and racking up 157 yards on the day, but the Sooner lead proved insurmountable. The Sooners' Sam Bradford stayed in Heisman-race form, throwing for 311 yards and five touchdowns. DeMarco Murray caught a 25-yard scoring pass from Bradford, and ran twice for touchdowns, finishing with 57 rushing yards. Despite the impressive win, the Sooners slipped from 4th to 6th in the BCS rankings.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Texas A&M
The Sooners scored three touchdowns in the first ten minutes, then never looked back as Sam Bradford passed for four scores to four different receivers and punched one across himself. Chris Brown added three more touchdowns. Aside from the impressive 261 kickoff return yards amassed by Texas A&M running back Cyrus Gray, including a 98-yard return for a touchdown, the hometown Aggie fans had little to cheer about as the Sooners outrushed the Aggies 328–26, and outpassed them 325–252. The Sooner defense frustrated A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson, sacking him four times and intercepting two of his passes. The win set up a Big 12 showdown against undefeated Texas Tech on November 22, after a bye week.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Texas Tech
Texas Tech and Oklahoma first played in 1992. Coming into the game, the Sooners led the series 11-4, though the Red Raiders had won 2 of the last 3, with the last loss coming in Norman in 2006. The only road game Tech had won in the series was during the inaugural season of the Big 12 in 1996. Under head coach Bob Stoops, the Sooners had lost only two games at home. The Sooners were 7-point favorites.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Texas Tech
The Red Raiders opened the game with a kickoff return to their 32-yard line. The Sooners forced a punt, and fielded their offense at their 27. The Sooners scored a touchdown with 8:59 left in the first. DeMarco Murray contributed 48 rushing yards in the drive. Tech returned the ensuing kickoff to their 22, and a Sooner personal foul after the return gave the Red Raiders 15 yards. Texas Tech lost 10 of those yards due to a delay of game and a false start.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Texas Tech
Starting at their 27, the Red Raiders were stopped at the Oklahoma 48, where they punted again. The Sooners got the ball on their 20. On the second play of the drive, Oklahoma was punished again with a 15–yard penalty. After three failed attempts to pass the ball for a first down, the Sooners elected to make their first punt. On the next Tech possession, Graham Harrell was sacked on two consecutive plays, once by Adrian Taylor and the other by Gerald McCoy. Coming into the game, the Red Raiders ranked second in the nation in sacks allowed, with only 5. The Sooners ended the first quarter with a 42-yard reception by tight end Jermaine Gresham and two rushes by Chris Brown for a combined 12 yards.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Texas Tech
Once the second quarter began, both Brown and Gresham moved the ball for a touchdown on three different plays. Tech started their next drive at their own 38 and advanced the ball through the air to eventually get to the Oklahoma 15. Two incompletions caused the Red Raiders to face a 4th and 3. Tech decided to go for it. Running back Shannon Woods was unable to catch a pass by Harrell to convert and Tech turned the ball over on downs. Murray rushed the ball for 23 yards on Oklahoma's first play of the drive.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Texas Tech
Murray followed with a 31–yard reception, which put the ball on the Tech 30. After two rushes by Brown, Gresham scored a touchdown on a 19-yard catch, and the subsequent extra point extended the Sooners lead to 21–0. Oklahoma's defense forced Tech to four plays on the next drive, with the fourth play being a 4th-and-4, Tech's second 4th down conversion attempt. With 9:31 remaining, Oklahoma completed a scoring drive of under two minutes, which was capped by Juaquin Iglesias' 28–yard scoring reception.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Texas Tech
On the following possession, the Red Raiders reached the end zone, thanks to Harrell's 25–yard throw to Tramain Swindall. Matt Williams' extra point brought the score to 28–7. With 6:28 left in the half, Oklahoma began to drain the clock using their running game. The Sooners eventually scored on the 12th play of the drive. With just a minute left on the clock, Tech got the ball back. On the second play, Harrell was intercepted by Travis Lewis, who returned the ball 47 yards. Tech offensive guard Brandon Carter, who stopped Lewis at the Tech 1, received a personal foul.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Texas Tech
Murray scored on a 1–yard rush to increase the Sooners' lead to 35 points. Tech got the ball again after the Sooner touchdown with 18 seconds remaining in the half. Harrell threw a shovel pass to Baron Batch, who ran 21 yards to the Tech 28. The half ended with Tech receiving a 15–yard personal foul. The Red Raiders left the field facing their biggest deficit of the season (35 points).


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Texas Tech
Tech attempted an onside kick to start off the second half, though the Sooners grabbed the ball at the Tech 34. OU ended the next drive on a 33–yard field goal. Tech fumbled on their next possession, and Oklahoma's Keenan Clayton recovered the fumble and returned it 53 yards to the Tech 3. The Sooners added another seven points to extend their lead to 45. Tech cranked up its passing game on its next possession, eventually scoring a touchdown and extra point with 5:39 remaining in the third quarter.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Texas Tech
On the subsequent drive, the Red Raider defense forced their first sack on QB Sam Bradford, and also forced the Sooners to punt. The Sooner defense countered in the next drive by forcing a three-and-out. The Sooner offense then added another score on a 66-yard reception by Manuel Johnson. The Tech defense blocked the extra point, and the score remained at 58–14.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Texas Tech
In the fourth quarter, Tech failed to convert another fourth down, giving the ball back to OU. Oklahoma scored immediately afterwards, improving their lead to 51 points. On the next possession, Tech was able to make three pass completions of 10+ yards, though on the final play of the drive, Harrell lost the ball to the Sooners on a sack. With 10:50 left in the game, the Sooners started to run out the clock. The Red Raiders stopped them from scoring on a 4th down from the 1. Tech got the ball back with 4:48 on the clock.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Texas Tech
After a few plays, Tech faced another 4th down, and this time was able to convert it with a 13–yard throw to Michael Crabtree. Tech later scored their third touchdown with 11 seconds left, and Williams tacked on the extra point to change the score to 65–21. Tech attempted an onside kick and recovered the ball. The final play was a short-yard catch by Woods.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Texas Tech
Since the Sooners won, Tech, Texas, and OU all tied for first in the division at 6–1. If all three teams won their regular season finales to tie again at 7–1 (which they did), the highest ranked team in the BCS standings would earn a spot in the Big 12 Championship game. Sports columnists had also predicted that the quarterback of the winning team would be the front runner for the Heisman Trophy. The columnists were right. With Oklahoma being the highest ranked team out of the three of them, they advanced to the Big 12 Championship Game, and their QB, Sam Bradford, became the front runner for the Heisman Trophy, eventually winning it.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Oklahoma State (Bedlam Series)
On November 29, 2008, #11 Oklahoma State came into the 103rd Bedlam game ranked the highest they had been coming into the game since the 1984 matchup when they came in at #3, while #3 Oklahoma came in ranked the highest they had been coming into the game since the 2004 game just four years earlier, when they were #2. OSU was trying desperately to break their 5-year Bedlam losing streak and keep one of their best seasons in decades going, while OU was trying to make it into the Big 12 Championship Game, and then possibly the BCS National Championship Game.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Oklahoma State (Bedlam Series)
The first quarter was the lowest scoring of the four; an interception of Oklahoma State junior QB Zac Robinson, a 20-yard TD-rush by Oklahoma sophomore RB DeMarco Murray, then later a 28-yard field goal by OSU sophomore kicker Dan Bailey ended the quarter with OU up 7–3. The second quarter was higher scoring than the first, but still less so than the last two. On a drive that started in the first quarter, the Cowboys scored a TD on a 23-yard pass from QB Robinson to sophomore RB Kendall Hunter.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Oklahoma State (Bedlam Series)
After the kickoff, the Sooners went on a 14 play, 79-yard drive highlighted by a 14-yard run by RB Murray to start off the drive, a 21-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Sam Bradford to Quentin Chaney, and a 2-yard TD-rush by junior RB Chris Brown to end the drive. This TD drive would mark the first in a line of six TD drives in a row by the Sooners. Following the next kickoff, Oklahoma State went on an 11 play, 39-yard drive to set up another Bailey field goal, this one a 44-yarder, to put the score at 14–13, Oklahoma.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Oklahoma State (Bedlam Series)
Oklahoma scored another TD to finish the half up 21-13. Again, the third quarter was higher scoring than the first two, but not as high as the fourth. OSU started the half with an eight play, 81-yard drive with a 6-yard TD pass from QB Robinson to sophomore WR Dez Bryant to finish it. After the TD, the score was 21–19, and the Cowboys decided to go for two.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Oklahoma State (Bedlam Series)
This turned out to be an ill-fated decision, however, because on the two-point conversion attempt, QB Robinson fumbled the ball, and it was recovered and returned all the way to the other endzone by OU freshman DE Frank Alexander for a safety, putting the Sooners up 23–19. Three plays into the next drive, Oklahoma junior TE Jermaine Gresham scored a TD on a 73-yard pass from QB Bradford. After another TD by each team, the third quarter ended at 37–26, OU.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Oklahoma State (Bedlam Series)
The fourth quarter proved to be the  most exciting of the game, as more points were scored in this quarter than the entire first half. The quarter began on an Oklahoma State drive that started in the third quarter. QB Robinson completed a 38-yard pass to senior TE Brandon Pettigrew, and two plays later he completed another pass to WR Bryant for a 17-yard TD. OSU decided to try for another two point conversion, and this time it paid off with Robinson again connecting with Bryant to make the score 37–34, Sooners up by three.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Oklahoma State (Bedlam Series)
The momentum the Cowboys got on those eight points would be short lived, however, as Oklahoma RB Murray returned the following kickoff 68 yards to the Oklahoma State 27-yard line. Six plays later, the last being a one-yard pass from Bradford to junior TE Brody Eldridge for the TD, and OU was again up by 10. But, on the ensuing kickoff, OSU junior KR/CB Perrish Cox ran it back 90 yards for the TD to make the score 44–41 and put the Cowboys within three points again. Unfortunately for Oklahoma State, that would be their final score, as the Sooners would score 17 unanswered points to win the game, 61–41.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, Game summaries, Oklahoma State (Bedlam Series)
Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford went 30–44, his second most completions and attempts of his career, but his two TDs tied for his least of the season, and his passer rating of 148.7 was his second worst of the season. Tight end Jermaine Gresham's nine receptions and 158 yards were the most of his career, his two TDs were tied for the second most of his career, and his 71-yard reception was the longest of his career. The combined score of 102 points is the most points ever scored in a Bedlam game. OSU's 41 points were the most they scored in a Bedlam game since the 1998 matchup when they beat Oklahoma, 41–26. This marked the Sooners' 80th win in the Bedlam Series, which was five times as many as Oklahoma State had at the time.


2008 Oklahoma Sooners football team, 2009 NFL Draft
The 2009 NFL Draft was held on April 25–26, 2009 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The following Oklahoma players were either selected or signed as undrafted free agents following the draft.


2008 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team
The 2008 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team represented Oklahoma State University during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season.


2008 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team, 2008 team players in the NFL
The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.


2008 Oklahoma state budget
The Oklahoma State Budget for Fiscal Year 2008, was a spending request by Governor Brad Henry to fund government operations for July 1, 2007–June 30, 2008. Governor Henry and legislative leader approved the budget in May 2007.


2008 Oklahoma state budget
Figures shown in the spending request do not reflect the actual appropriations for Fiscal Year 2008, which must be authorized by the Legislature.


2008 Oklahoma state budget, Total revenue
All revenue for Fiscal Year 2008 was $7.17 billion, up 7.8% from FY2006 levels of $6.65 billion.


2008 Oklahoma state budget, Total spending
The Governor's budget for Fiscal Year 2007 totaled $7.17 billion in spending, an increase of 6% over Fiscal Year 2006 levels of $6.74 billion. Percentages in parentheses indicate percentage change compared to 2007. The budget request is broken down by the following expenditures:


2008 Oklahoma state budget, Total appropriations
The Oklahoma Legislature approved total appropriations for fiscal year 2008 of $6.9 billion. Percentages in parentheses indicate percentage change compared to the Governor's budget. The final appropriations are broken down by the following expenditures:


2008 Oklahoma state elections
The Oklahoma state elections were held on November 4, 2008. Votes for the Presidential Primary were cast on February 5. The primary election for statewide offices was held on July 29, and the runoff primary election was held August 26.


2008 Oklahoma state elections
The 2008 elections marked the first time in State history that the Republican Party won control of the Oklahoma Senate and the first time they retained control of the Oklahoma House of Representatives, thereby creating the first Republican control Oklahoma Legislature in State history.


2008 Oklahoma state elections, President, Primary
Oklahoma voters went to the polls on February 5 (Super Tuesday) to vote in the US presidential primary election. Republicans nominated Senator John McCain, while Democrats nominated Senator Hillary Clinton.


2008 Oklahoma state elections, President, Primary
There were seven candidates in the Democratic primary for President.


2008 Oklahoma state elections, President, General election
Barack Obama faced John McCain in the 2008 Presidential Election. McCain won a majority of the votes in Oklahoma and received all seven of the state's electoral votes. Oklahoma was the only state in which McCain received a majority of the votes in every county.


2008 Oklahoma state elections, US Senate
Two term Republican Senator Jim Inhofe defended his seat in the 2008 election against Democratic State Senator Andrew Rice and Independent Stephen Wallace. The election was considered by most pollsters to be a "safe" Republican seat.


2008 Oklahoma state elections, Other Statewide Offices
Two seats on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission were up for election in 2008.


2008 Oklahoma state elections, Other Statewide Offices, Corporation Commissioner (Short Term)
Democrat Jim Roth was appointed by Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry to fill the vacated seat in 2007. The winner of this election will have to be reelected in 2010.


2008 Oklahoma state elections, State Questions, State Question #735
TEXT: This measure amends the Oklahoma Constitution. It adds Section 8D to Article 10. The measure takes effect January 1, 2009. It creates an exemption from personal property tax. The exemption would be for the full amount of taxes due on all household personal property. The exemption would apply to certain injured veterans. It would also apply to those veterans’ surviving spouses.


2008 Oklahoma state elections, State Questions, State Question #735
To qualify for the exemption an injured veteran would have to meet certain requirements. First, a branch of the Armed Forces or the Oklahoma National Guard would have to have honorably discharged the veteran from active service. Second, the veteran would have to be an Oklahoma resident. Third, the veteran would have to be the head of the household. Fourth, the veteran would have to be one hundred percent permanently disabled. Fifth, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs would have to certify the disability. Sixth, the disability must have occurred through military action or accident, or resulted from a disease contracted while in active service. The Legislature could pass laws to carry out the exemption. Such laws could not change the amount of the exemption.


2008 Oklahoma state elections, State Questions, State Question #741
TEXT: This measure amends the Oklahoma Constitution. It would add a new Section 22A to Article 10. This section is related to exemptions from property taxes. It would require a person or business to file an application for an exemption. No exemption could be granted prior to filing an application. The Legislature may write laws to carry out the provisions of this section.


2008 Oklahoma state elections, State Questions, State Question #742
TEXT: This measure adds a new section to the State Constitution. It adds Section 36 to Article 2. It gives all people of this state the right to hunt, trap, fish and take game and fish. Such activities would be subject to reasonable regulation. It allows the Wildlife Conservation Commission to approve methods and procedures for hunting, trapping, fishing and taking of game and fish. It allows for taking game and fish by traditional means. It makes hunting, fishing, and trapping the preferred means to manage certain game and fish. The new law will not affect existing laws relating to property rights.


2008 Oklahoma state elections, State Questions, State Question #743
TEXT: This measure amends Section 3 of Article 28 of the Constitution. It requires a customer to be twenty-one and physically present to purchase wine at a winery, festival or trade show. The measure changes the law to allow certain winemakers to sell directly to retail package stores and restaurants in Oklahoma. The change applies to winemakers who produce up to ten thousand gallons of wine a year. It applies to winemakers in state and out of state. Those winemakers may not also use a licensed wholesale distributor.


2008 Oklahoma state elections, State Questions, State Question #743
They must sell their wine to every retail package store and restaurant in Oklahoma that wants to buy the wine. The sales must be on the same price basis. The sales must be without discrimination. Those winemakers must use their own leased or owned vehicles to distribute their wine. They may not use common or private carriers. If any part of this measure is found to be unconstitutional, no winemaker could sell wine directly to retail package stores or restaurants in Oklahoma.


2008 Oklahoma state elections, State Questions, State Question #743
FOR THE PROPOSAL - YES                 1,064,972   78.94%AGAINST THE PROPOSAL - NO                284,141   21.06%


2008 Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council election
Elections to Oldham Council were held on 1 May 2008. One third of the council was up for election. The council remained in no overall control with the Liberal Democrats overtaking the Labour Party as the largest party.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team
The 2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team represented the University of Mississippi during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team's head coach was Houston Nutt, who served his first season in the position and replaced Ed Orgeron, who was fired after accumulating a 10–25 record at Ole Miss from 2005 to 2007. The Rebels played their seven home games in 2008 at Vaught–Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, Season summary
With an 8–4 regular-season record and a 5–3 mark in the SEC, head coach Houston Nutt revived a Rebel squad that was coming off four straight losing seasons and a 3–9 campaign with no conference wins in 2007. It marked the team's best improvement from one season to the next since former coach Johnny Vaught's debut in 1947. Projected to place fifth in the SEC Western Division in the pre-season, the Rebels finished second in the division, knocked off the previous two national champions on the road, #4 Florida and #18 LSU, and ended the regular season on a five-game win streak.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, Season summary
On December 8, the Associated Press announced that Rebels offensive tackle Michael Oher, defensive tackle Peria Jerry and kicker Joshua Sheene were selected for the first team of the Associated Press All-Southeastern team. Oher was a unanimous pick. Receiver Dexter McCluster was a second-team pick. On December 9, the Southeastern Conference announced that Oher and Jerry were named to the first team of the All-SEC team selected by the 12 league coaches.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, Season summary
On December 10, the Southeastern Conference announced that Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt was named the Southeastern Conference coach of the year, sharing the award with Alabama's Nick Saban and Vanderbilt's Bobby Johnson. Michael Oher was awarded the Jacobs Blocking Trophy, given to the league's top blocker. The 2008 College Football All-America Team included Michael Oher and Peria Jerry.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, Game summaries, Memphis
Ole Miss opened the 2008 season with new head football coach Houston Nutt by beating state-line rival Memphis, 41–24. The game started off quick for the Rebs as Jevan Snead hit Shay Hodge for a 70 yd TD strike on the game's second possession and never looked back. The game also featured the introduction of the "Wild Rebel" off of which Dexter McCluster scored a touchdown.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, Game summaries, Wake Forest
Ole Miss lost 30–28 after Wake Forest kicked a 42-yard field foal with three seconds remaining in the game. In a game with several lead changes, Ole Miss took the lead with just over one minute remaining in the fourth quarter on a fourth and goal Jevan Snead touchdown pass. Wake Forest played down the field in 53 seconds, aided by 2 penalties, to set up the game-winning field goal.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, Game summaries, Vanderbilt
Ole Miss lost to the Vanderbilt Commodores in the final minute of the game as Vanderbilt forced Ole Miss' Dexter McCluster to fumble the game-winning touchdown at the goal line.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, Game summaries, at Florida
The Ole Miss Rebels posted its 600th win in school history on September 27, 2008 when it defeated the Florida Gators 31–30 at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida, giving the season's conference champion, Florida, its only loss of the 2008 season. This was also Ole Miss' first win over a Top 5 ranked team since 1977 when the Rebels defeated Notre Dame. Notre Dame went on to win the national championship that year.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, Game summaries, at Florida
Florida went into the game undefeated at 3–0. Never trailing Ole Miss by more than a touchdown, Florida came within an extra point of tying the game at the end of the fourth quarter. Ole Miss had different plans in mind, however, as the extra point kick was blocked, and Florida was held to 30. While the defense was able to force a punt out of Ole Miss on the next possession and get the ball back inside Ole Miss territory, Florida found itself with the choice between converting a 4th-and-1 situation or attempting a long field goal. Florida opted to go for the first down, but the Ole Miss defense stopped QB Tim Tebow and he did not convert the one-yard run. The game ended as time expired during Ole Miss' ensuing possession.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, Game summaries, at Florida
Florida won their remaining regular season games and went on to defeat #1 Alabama in the 2008 SEC Championship. Florida then defeated #2 Oklahoma to claim the 2009 FedEx BCS National Championship.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, Game summaries, South Carolina
Following Ole Miss' win over Florida, Sports Illustrated featured Ole Miss on the cover. Then Ole Miss went on to lose to South Carolina in what many Ole Miss fans refer to as the continuation of the Sports Illustrated Cover Jinx. The last time Ole Miss was featured on the Sports Illustrated cover was in 1970. After the cover ran, which was a picture of then Ole Miss quarterback Archie Manning, Manning suffered a broken arm during the season. On more than one occasion, the Rebels had a chance to pull away, but South Carolina forced timely turnovers to keep themselves alive. In the end, the Rebs gave one too many gifts to SC and the Gamecocks were able to sneak out of Oxford with a win.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, Game summaries, Alabama
After several early failed drives in the opening quarter, Ole Miss became the first team to score on Alabama in the first quarter, as well as the first to have a lead against the Crimson Tide. However, the Crimson Tide answered back on their next drive with a touchdown, giving Alabama a 7–3 lead to end the first quarter. Ole Miss had limited offense in the second quarter as the Tide defense held a shutout for the remainder of the half. However, the Tide offense scored 17 points with a 2-yard rush touchdown, a 41-yard field goal, and a 30-yard touchdown pass. Alabama led the Rebels 24–3 at halftime.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, Game summaries, Alabama
However, the second half was different as the Crimson Tide failed to score for the remainder of the game. Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt, who had previously coached at Arkansas, gambled on a 4th–and–goal with a fake field goal attempt, as Rob Park passed to Jason Cook for a 9-yard touchdown. Several minutes into the fourth quarter, Ole Miss again cut into Alabama's lead when Jevan Snead threw a 17-yard touchdown strike to Shay Hodge, as the Rebels trailed 24–17 after a Joshua Shene extra point.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, Game summaries, Alabama
Three minutes later, Shene hit a 35-yard field goal, cutting Alabama's lead again to 24–20. A stalled drive forced Alabama punter P. J. Fitzgerald to give the ball to the Rebels with 3:03 left. The Rebels moved the ball steadily down the field over the next two minutes, however they turned it over on downs after a failed 4th–and–5 on Alabama's 43-yard line.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, Game summaries, Arkansas
Ole Miss head coach Houston Nutt returned to Arkansas in his first game against his former team, the Arkansas Razorbacks. Ole Miss, and Houston Nutt, won 23–21.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, Game summaries, Auburn
The Auburn rivalry had been running steady ever since Head coach Tommy Tuberville bolted Oxford for the Plains. In his fifth, and what would be his final return trip, the Rebels were finally able to emerge as a winner. In a defensive struggle, the Rebels picked off the Tigers three times in the fourth quarter, and were able to put the game away on a Brandon Bolden touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter. The final count, Ole Miss 17 Auburn 7


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, Game summaries, Louisiana Monroe
Ole Miss shutout Louisiana Monroe 59–0 to become bowl eligible for the first time since 2003.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, Game summaries, LSU
In this 97th meeting of Ole Miss and LSU, the first time referred to as the Magnolia Bowl, Ole Miss snapped a six-game losing streak against LSU, beating the defending national champions 31–13. Ole Miss' last win against LSU was in 2001.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, Game summaries, Mississippi State
Ole Miss won the most lopsided Egg Bowl since the Rebels won 48–0 in 1971, by beating Mississippi State 45–0. Only once in this game did the Mississippi State offense cross the 50-yard line into Ole Miss territory. Ole Miss held MSU to just 37 total yards including minus 51 rushing yards. Ole Miss set a school record with 11 sacks. Mississippi Statewide receiver Brandon McRae was carted off the field after breaking his leg in the second quarter.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, Game summaries, Cotton Bowl Classic
The #20 Rebels defeated the #8 Texas Tech Red Raiders 47–34 in the 2009 AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic in Dallas, Texas on January 2, 2009. The Red Raiders and the Rebels had met in bowl games twice before—1986 Independence Bowl and 1998 Independence Bowl—with Ole Miss winning both. The teams also met during the 2002 and 2003 regular seasons with Texas Tech winning both games of the home-and-home series.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, Game summaries, Cotton Bowl Classic
The Rebels' last bowl bid came 5 years ago and ironically in the Cotton Bowl Classic, a 31–28 victory over Oklahoma State. In this Cotton Bowl Classic, Ole Miss made its fourth appearance in the Cotton Bowl Classic, now carrying a 3–1 record. The Rebels defeated Texas Christian University 14–13 in the 1956 game and dropped a 12–7 decision to Texas in 1962.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, NFL prospects
Nine Ole Miss players who ended their career at Ole Miss this year were either taken in the 2009 NFL Draft or signed contracts with NFL teams. Michael Oher and Peria Jerry were first round draft picks at #23 and #24 respectively. Oher was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens while Jerry was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons. Mike Wallace was the 84th pick going to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round. Jamarca Sanford was the 231st pick going to the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round.


2008 Ole Miss Rebels football team, NFL prospects
Additionally, Maurice Miller signed a free agent deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jason Cook signed a free agent deal with the Baltimore Ravens, the late Tony Fein signed a free agent deal with the Seattle Seahawks and later was signed by the Baltimore Ravens and later cut, Ashlee Palmer signed a free agent deal with the Buffalo Bills and Jermey Parnell signed a free agent deal with the New Orleans Saints. Fein was found dead on October 7, 2009.


2008 Omloop Het Volk
The 64th edition of the Omloop Het volk was held on 1 March 2008. It was the last time after the event was named Omloop Het Volk before it changed to Omloop Het Nieuwslad. The race was won by Philippe Gilbert after a 50 km solo breakaway.


2008 Omloop Het Volk
Gilbert broke clear from the splintered peloton on the Eikenberg, with 50 km and two climbs to go, and held off the chasing group on the flat run-in towards the finish in Ghent. Nick Nuyens won the sprint for second place before Thor Hushovd at one minute from Gilbert.


2008 Omloop Het Volk, Gallery
Servais Knaven and Stéphane Poulhies on the Lange Munte cobbles


2008 Ondrej Nepela Memorial
The 2008 Ondrej Nepela Memorial (Slovak: Memoriál Ondreja Nepelu) was the 16th edition of an annual senior-level international figure skating competition held in Bratislava, Slovakia. The competition was held between November 22 and 23, 2008 at the Ondrej Nepela Ice Rink. Skaters competed in the disciplines of men's singles, ladies' singles, and ice dancing. The compulsory dance was the Paso Doble.


2008 Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts
The 2008 Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts was held January 21-27 at the Espanola Curling Club in Espanola, Ontario. Sherry Middaugh's rink from Coldwater, Ontario won their fourth provincial title.


2008 Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Qualification, Southern Ontario Zone winners
Regional winners in bold. Challenge round qualifiers in bold and italics.


2008 Ontario Scotties Tournament of Hearts, Qualification, Northern Ontario championship
15 women's teams entered the Northern Ontario championship (the first ever, after the formation of the Northern Ontario Curling Association in 2007). The event was also held in Espanola, and ran from January 3 to 6. Tracy Horgan defeated Krista McCarville 7-6 to win the event. Amy Stachiew and Mari Bolander also qualified for the Ontario Scotties.


2008 Open 13
The 2008 Open 13 was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the 16th edition of the Open 13, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Palais des Sports in Marseille, France, from 11 February through 17 February 2008.


2008 Open 13
The field featured World No. 3 and Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, ATP No. 7 and 2007 Paris Masters semifinalist Richard Gasquet, and ATP No. 8 and Australian Open quarterfinalist Mikhail Youzhny. Among other top players were Doha titlist Andy Murray, Auckland runner-up Juan Carlos Ferrero, Marcos Baghdatis, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Paul-Henri Mathieu.


2008 Open 13, Champions, Doubles
Martin Damm /  Pavel Vízner defeated  Yves Allegro /  Jeff Coetzee, 7–6(7–0), 7–5


2008 Open 13 – Doubles
Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra were the defending champions; however, they withdrew to due a left ankle injury for Clément.


2008 Open 13 – Doubles
Martin Damm and Pavel Vízner won in the final 7–6(7–0), 7–5, against Yves Allegro and Jeff Coetzee.


2008 Open 13 – Singles
Gilles Simon was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Paul-Henri Mathieu.


2008 Open 13 – Singles
Fourth-seeded Andy Murray won in the final 6–3, 6–4, against unseeded Mario Ančić.


2008 Open Championship
The 2008 Open Championship was a men's major golf championship and the 137th Open Championship, played from 17 to 20 July at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Pádraig Harrington successfully defended his Open Championship title, his second; he shot four under par over the final nine holes and was four strokes ahead of runner-up Ian Poulter. Harrington was the last golfer to win the same major back-to-back for a decade until Brooks Koepka won consecutive U.S. Opens in 2017 and 2018.


2008 Open Championship
Television coverage was provided as usual by the BBC in the UK, and by ABC and TNT in the United States.


2008 Open Championship, Field
World Number One Tiger Woods was the most notable absentee, as he was recovering from knee surgery following his victory at the U.S. Open.


2008 Open Championship, Field
About two-thirds of the field each year consists of players that are fully exempt from qualifying for the Open. Below is the list of the exemption categories and the players who are exempt. Each player is classified according to the first category by which he qualified, but other categories are shown in parentheses. Some categories are not shown as all players in that category had already qualified from an earlier category:


2008 Open Championship, Field
1. First 10 and anyone tying for 10th place in the 2007 Open ChampionshipK. J. Choi (7,15,19), Stewart Cink (7,19), Ben Curtis (3,4), Ernie Els (3,4,5,7,15,19), Sergio García (5,7,14,15), Richard Green, Pádraig Harrington (3,4,5,7), Hunter Mahan (7,15,19), Andrés Romero (5,7), Steve Stricker (7,15,19), Mike Weir (7,19)


2008 Open Championship, Field
2. Past Open Champions born between 20 July 1942 and 19 July 1948(Eligible but not competing: Tony Jacklin, Johnny Miller, Tom Weiskopf)


2008 Open Championship, Field
3. Past Open Champions aged 60 or under on 20 July 2008Mark Calcavecchia (15), John Daly, David Duval (4), Todd Hamilton (4), Paul Lawrie (4), Tom Lehman, Justin Leonard (7), Sandy Lyle, Greg Norman, Mark O'Meara (4), Tom Watson (28)(Eligible but not competing: Ian Baker-Finch, Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Nick Price, Bill Rogers, Tiger Woods)


2008 Open Championship, Field
5. First 20 in the PGA European Tour Final Order of Merit for 2007Ángel Cabrera (7,11,19), Paul Casey (7), Nick Dougherty, Niclas Fasth (7), Retief Goosen (7,11,19), Anders Hansen (6), Søren Hansen (7), Peter Hanson, Grégory Havret, Søren Kjeldsen, Colin Montgomerie, Justin Rose (7,15), Henrik Stenson (7), Richard Sterne (7), Graeme Storm, Lee Westwood (7)


2008 Open Championship, Field
6. The BMW PGA Championship winners for 2006-2008David Howell, Miguel Ángel Jiménez (7)


2008 Open Championship, Field
7.


2008 Open Championship, Field
The first 50 players on the Official World Golf Rankings for Week 21, 2008Robert Allenby, Stephen Ames (14), Stuart Appleby (19), Woody Austin (15,19), Aaron Baddeley (15), Tim Clark, Jim Furyk (15,19,23), J. B. Holmes, Trevor Immelman (12,19), Zach Johnson (12,15,19), Robert Karlsson, Martin Kaymer, Anthony Kim, Phil Mickelson (12,13,14,15,19), Geoff Ogilvy (11,15,19), Sean O'Hair, Rod Pampling, Ian Poulter, Jeff Quinney, Rory Sabbatini (15,19), Adam Scott (15,19), Vijay Singh (13,15,19), Brandt Snedeker (15), Scott Verplank (15,19), Boo Weekley, Oliver Wilson(Eligible but not competing: Shingo Katayama, Luke Donald withdrew prior to start of tournament with a wrist injury, Toru Taniguchi withdrew prior to start of tournament with a back injury)


2008 Open Championship, Field
8. First 3 and anyone tying for 3rd place, not exempt having applied above, in the top 20 of the 2008 PGA European Tour Order of Merit on completion of the 2008 BMW PGA ChampionshipRichard Finch, Graeme McDowell, Damien McGrane


2008 Open Championship, Field
9. First 2 European Tour members and any European Tour members tying for 2nd place, not exempt, in a cumulative money list taken from all official PGA European Tour events from OWGR Week 19 up to and including the Open de France and including the U.S. OpenPablo Larrazábal, Scott Strange


2008 Open Championship, Field
10. The leading player, not exempt having applied above, in the first 5 and ties of each of the 2008 European Open and the 2008 Barclays Scottish Open. David Frost, Simon Khan


2008 Open Championship, Field
13. The U.S. PGA Champions for 2003-2007(Eligible but not competing: Shaun Micheel)


2008 Open Championship, Field
15. Top 20 on the Official Money List of the 2007 PGA TourCharles Howell III (19)


2008 Open Championship, Field
16. First 3 and anyone tying for 3rd place, not exempt having applied above, in the top 20 of the Official Money List of the 2008 PGA Tour on completion of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at ColonialBart Bryant, Ryuji Imada


2008 Open Championship, Field
17. First 2 PGA Tour members and any PGA Tour members tying for 2nd place, not exempt, in a cumulative money list taken from The Players Championship and the five PGA Tour events leading up to and including the 2008 AT&T NationalRocco Mediate(Eligible but not competing: Kenny Perry)


2008 Open Championship, Field
18. The leading player, not exempt having applied above, in the first 5 and ties of each of the 2008 AT&T National and the 2008 John Deere ClassicFreddie Jacobson, Jay Williamson


2008 Open Championship, Field
19. Playing members of the 2007 Presidents Cup teamsLucas Glover, Nick O'Hern (David Toms withdrew prior to start of tournament)


2008 Open Championship, Field
20. First place on the 2007 Asian Tour Order of MeritLiang Wenchong


2008 Open Championship, Field
21. First 2 on the Order of Merit of the PGA Tour of Australasia for 2007Craig Parry, David Smail


2008 Open Championship, Field
22. First place on the Order of Merit of the Southern Africa Sunshine Tour for 2007 James Kingston


2008 Open Championship, Field
25. First 2 on the Official Money List of the Japan Golf Tour for 2007Brendan Jones, Hideto Tanihara


2008 Open Championship, Field
26. The leading 4 players, not exempt, in the 2008 Mizuno Open Yomiuri ClassicMichio Matsumura, Prayad Marksaeng, Yoshinobu Tsukada, Azuma Yano


2008 Open Championship, Field
27. First 2 and anyone tying for 2nd place, not exempt having applied (26) above, in a cumulative money list taken from all official Japan Golf Tour events from the 2008 Japan PGA Championship up to and including the 2008 Mizuno Open Yomiuri ClassicHiroshi Iwata, Shintaro Kai


2008 Open Championship, Field
30. The U.S. Amateur Champion for 2007(Colt Knost turned professional and forfeited his invitation.)


2008 Open Championship, Field
31. The European Individual Amateur Champion for 2007Benjamin Hébert (a)


2008 Open Championship, Field
Local Final Qualifying  (Monday 7 July and Tuesday 8 July)


2008 Open Championship, Round summaries, First round
Rocco Mediate, 2008 U.S. Open runner-up, shot a one-under par round of 69 to take the 18-hole lead alongside Graeme McDowell and Robert Allenby. One shot back at even-par was 53-year old two-time champion Greg Norman with fellow countryman Adam Scott.


2008 Open Championship, Round summaries, Second round
The cut was at 149 (+9) and 83 advanced, including Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson, who played in the terrible morning conditions in the first round.


2008 Open Championship, Round summaries, Second round
Amateurs: Wood (+5), Sherreard (+6), Hébert (+12), Blizard (+15), Saxton (+17).


2008 Open Championship, Round summaries, Third round
Greg Norman, age 53, became the oldest to hold at least a share of the 54-hole lead (it lasted just one year, as Tom Watson led after three rounds in 2009 at age 59). Due to extremely high winds, there were no under-par rounds, and it was first time since 1986 when the 54-hole leader was not under par.


2008 Open Championship, Round summaries, Final round
Despite a wrist injury that almost forced him to withdraw prior to the tournament, Pádraig Harrington successfully defended his Open Championship title. Harrington pulled away from the field with a tremendous back nine and became only the fifth to repeat at the Open in the last fifty years. Runner-up Ian Poulter matched Harrington's 69 and was four strokes back, while Greg Norman faltered with eight bogeys for 77 and tied for third place with Henrik Stenson.


2008 Open Gaz de France
The 2008 Open Gaz de France is the 2008 Tier II WTA Tour tournament of the annually-held Open Gaz de France tennis tournament. It was held from 4 February through 10 February 2008.


2008 Open Gaz de France
The total prize money for the tournament was US$600,000 with the winner of the singles receiving $95,500 and the losing finalist $51,000. The winners of the doubles competition received $30,000.


2008 Open Gaz de France
Seven of the top twenty players in the world competed in the tournament. Among them were Daniela Hantuchová and Ágnes Szávay. There was a strong Russian presence on display, with Anna Chakvetadze, Elena Dementieva and defending champion Nadia Petrova all present. Local fans had Marion Bartoli, Amélie Mauresmo and Virginie Razzano to support.


2008 Open Gaz de France, Finals, Doubles
Alona Bondarenko /  Kateryna Bondarenko defeated  Eva Hrdinová /  Vladimíra Uhlířová 6–1, 6–4


2008 Open Gaz de France – Doubles
Cara Black and Liezel Huber were the defending champions, but the pair lost in the first round to Julie Ditty and Yuliana Fedak.


2008 Open Gaz de France – Doubles
Alona Bondarenko and Kateryna Bondarenko won the title, defeating Eva Hrdinová and Vladimíra Uhlířová in the final 6–1, 6–4.


2008 Open Gaz de France – Singles
Nadia Petrova was the defending champion, but lost in the first round to Kateryna Bondarenko.


2008 Open Gaz de France – Singles
Anna Chakvetadze won the title, defeating Ágnes Szávay in the final 6–3, 2–6, 6–2.


2008 Open Sabadell Atlántico Barcelona
The 2008 Open Sabadell Atlántico Barcelona (also known traditionally as the Torneo Godó) was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 56th edition of the Torneo Godó, and was part of the International Series Gold of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, from April 28 through May 4, 2008.


2008 Open Sabadell Atlántico Barcelona
The singles draw featured ATP No. 2, Monte Carlo Masters singles and doubles titlist, three-time Barcelona defending champion Rafael Nadal, Australian Open quarterfinalist and Valencia winner David Ferrer, and Acapulco finalist and Buenos Aires champion David Nalbandian. Among other players were Delray Beach and Houston runner-up James Blake, Costa do Sauípe finalist Carlos Moyá, Tommy Robredo, Andy Murray and Ivo Karlović.


2008 Open Sabadell Atlántico Barcelona, Champions, Doubles
Bob Bryan /  Mike Bryan defeated  Mariusz Fyrstenberg /  Marcin Matkowski 6–3, 6–2


2008 Open Sabadell Atlántico Barcelona – Doubles
Andrei Pavel and Alexander Waske were the defending champions, but chose not to participate that year.


2008 Open Sabadell Atlántico Barcelona – Doubles
Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan won in the final 6–3, 6–2, against Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski.


2008 Open Sabadell Atlántico Barcelona – Singles
Three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal successfully defended his title, defeating David Ferrer in the final 6–1, 4–6, 6–1, to win the Singles title at the 2008 Barcelona Open. It was his record fourth title at the Barcelona Open.


2008 Open Sabadell Atlántico Barcelona – Singles, Seeds
The top eight seeds receive a bye into the second round.


2008 Open de Moselle
The 2008 Open de Moselle was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts. It was the sixth edition of the Open de Moselle, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Arènes de Metz in Metz, France, from September 29 through October 5, 2008.


2008 Open de Moselle
The announced field featured ATP No. 14, Cincinnati Masters semifinalist, two-time Nottingham champion Ivo Karlović, Casablanca, Toronto Masters semifinalist, Indianapolis and Bucharest titlist Gilles Simon, and Costa do Sauípe, Acapulco winner Nicolás Almagro. Also lined up were Marseille and Munich semifinalist Paul-Henri Mathieu, Sydney champion Dmitry Tursunov, Andreas Seppi, Radek Štěpánek and Mario Ančić.


2008 Open de Moselle, Finals, Doubles
Arnaud Clément /  Michaël Llodra defeated  Mariusz Fyrstenberg /  Marcin Matkowski, 5–7, 6–3, [10–8]


2008 Open de Moselle – Doubles
Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra were the defending champions, and won in the final 5–7, 6–3, [10–8], against Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski.


2008 Open de Moselle – Singles
Tommy Robredo was the defending champion, but chose not to participate that year.


2008 Open de Moselle – Singles
Dmitry Tursunov won in the final 7–6(8–6), 1–6, 6–4, against Paul-Henri Mathieu.


2008 Open de Suède Vårgårda TTT
The 2008 Open de Suède Vårgårda – team time trial was the first team time trial running on the Open de Suède Vårgårda. It was held on 1 August 2008 over a distance of 32 kilometres (19.9 miles) and was the ninth race of the 2008 UCI Women's Road World Cup season.


2008 Open de Suède Vårgårda TTT, Race
Top Girls-Fassa Bortolo-Raxy Line was the first of the thirteen teams to set off due to its lowly position on the World Cup overall standings. The team returned with a time of 44:27.5, giving the others something to aim at. Third team to start, Norway, caught its Scandinavian rival Finland in the closing stages to take more than a minute off the Top Girls time with 43:13.7. The first really fast time was posted by the Vrienden Van Het Platteland team, pushing it closer to the 40 minute mark with 40:52.9.


2008 Open de Suède Vårgårda TTT, Race
The very next team, Flexpoint pushed it still lower though with 40:26.4. Despite being outstanding favourites, the Cervelo-Lifeforce team was - because of its position in the World Cup standings - fourth from last to go. The team blitzed around the course knocking all but a minute and a half off the Flexpoint time with an incredible 38:26.7.


2008 Open de Suède Vårgårda TTT, Race
The last two teams to go - Equipe Nürnberger Versicherung and Columbia - were the only ones who looked capable of besting the Cervelo-Lifeforce time, but although they were both faster than Flexpoint, neither were able to come within a minute of the Swiss team. Equipe Nürnberger Versicherung finished three seconds quicker than flexpoint to take a provisional second place, but Columbia were consistently faster all the way around and pushed them into third.


2008 Open de Tenis Comunidad Valenciana
The 2008 Open de Tenis Comunidad Valenciana was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 14th edition of the Open de Tenis Comunidad Valenciana, and was part of the International Series of the 2008 ATP Tour. It took place at the Club de Tenis Valencia in Valencia, Spain, from 12 April through 20 April 2008.


2008 Open de Tenis Comunidad Valenciana
The singles field featured ATP No. 5, 2007 Tennis Masters Cup runner-up and Australian Open quarterfinalist David Ferrer, Viña del Mar runner-up Juan Mónaco, and 2007 Metz titlist Tommy Robredo. Other players competing were Auckland finalist Juan Carlos Ferrero, Costa do Sauípe and Acapulco champion Nicolás Almagro, Igor Andreev, Fernando Verdasco and Potito Starace.


2008 Open de Tenis Comunidad Valenciana, Finals, Doubles
Máximo González /  Juan Mónaco defeated  Travis Parrott /  Filip Polášek, 7–5, 7–5


2008 Open de Tenis Comunidad Valenciana – Doubles
Wesley Moodie and Todd Perry were the defending champions, but chose not to participate that year.


2008 Open de Tenis Comunidad Valenciana – Doubles
Máximo González and Juan Mónaco won in the final 7–5, 7–5, against Travis Parrott and Filip Polášek.


2008 Open de Tenis Comunidad Valenciana – Singles
Nicolás Almagro was the defending champion, but first-seeded David Ferrer defeated him 4–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–2), in the final.


2008 Orakzai bombing
The 10 October 2008 Orakzai bombing occurred when a suicide bomber drove and detonated a pick-up truck packed with 300 kg of explosives into a meeting of 600 people, killing 40 instantly and injuring 81, although the toll later rose to 110 as many died in hospitals. The attack occurred in a remote region where the injured could not get medical attention for several hours.


2008 Orakzai bombing
The attack was preceded by a row between Taliban militants and local Shia tribesmen. Angry tribesmen clashed with the Taliban the day before and destroyed the homes of militants in the area. At the time of the attack, the Ali Khel tribesmen had gathered to discuss ways to evict the Taliban from the region.


2008 Orakzai bombing, Background
On 28 September, the Taliban had asked the Ali Khel tribe, the biggest and the most influential tribe in the area, and its sub-clans to leave the region because they belonged to the minority Shia community. The tribesmen initially left, although a political agent summoned a grand jirga of all 18 tribes of the Orakzai Agency on 30 September to clear the area of the Taliban by a lashkar, or local militia.


2008 Orakzai bombing, Background
The Ali Khel tribe then returned to the area where they held a jirga on 7 October to take collective action against the Taliban along with representatives of the Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat, which is another name for Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan. On 10 October, the tribesmen gathered at Khadizai village to destroy the local Taliban headquarters and homes of people sheltering the militants.


2008 Orange Bowl
The 2008 FedEx Orange Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Kansas Jayhawks on January 3, 2008, at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Spread bettors favored Virginia Tech by three points, but in a game dominated by defensive and special teams play, Kansas defeated Virginia Tech 24–21. The game was part of the 2007–08 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season and was the concluding game of the season for both teams. This 74th edition of the Orange Bowl was televised in the United States on FOX and was watched by more than eight million viewers.


2008 Orange Bowl
The game between the fifth-ranked ACC champion Virginia Tech Hokies and the eighth-ranked Kansas Jayhawks from the Big 12 Conference (Big 12) was played at neutral-site Dolphins Stadium. Tech served as the home team in the contest. Virginia Tech automatically qualified for the Orange Bowl by virtue of the ACC's tie-in with the bowl, while Orange Bowl selected Kansas over West Virginia, which had been upset by then 4–7 Pittsburgh, and conference rival Missouri. Two weeks after Kansas's selection, controversy erupted when a deal was revealed to put 4th-ranked Oklahoma against Virginia Tech. The deal was vetoed by BCS commissioners, and the selection of Kansas was upheld.


2008 Orange Bowl
The game marked the first time the Jayhawks had been to the Orange Bowl since the 1969 Orange Bowl and was their first bowl game since the 2005 Fort Worth Bowl, when they defeated Houston 41–13. Virginia Tech last played in the Orange Bowl game in December 1996, losing to Nebraska 21–41. The 2008 Orange Bowl was Virginia Tech's 15th consecutive season with a bowl game, a streak dating to the 1993 Independence Bowl.


2008 Orange Bowl
Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing completed 20 of his 37 passes for 227 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. On the opposite side of the ball, Virginia Tech quarterback Sean Glennon finished the game 13 for 28 passing, earning 160 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Kansas cornerback Aqib Talib, whose 60-yard interception return for a touchdown gave Kansas its first lead of the game, won the game's Most Valuable Player award. After the game, Talib was one of several players from both teams to announce an intention to enter the 2008 NFL Draft.


2008 Orange Bowl, Team selection
As champions of the Atlantic Coast Conference, Virginia Tech was awarded an automatic bid to the Orange Bowl game. The automatic ACC bid was the result of an off-season deal following the inaugural ACC Championship Game which granted the winner of the ACC Championship Game an automatic bid to the Orange Bowl unless it was ranked high enough in the Bowl Championship Series standings to play in the National Championship Game.


2008 Orange Bowl, Team selection, Virginia Tech
The Virginia Tech Hokies began their 2007 football season with emotion and remembrance. As Virginia Tech recovered from the worst school shooting in American history, football served as a way to help the university community emotionally heal. The opening game of the season, on September 1, 2007, was against East Carolina University and featured numerous remembrance ceremonies and commemorations. Buoyed by the emotion of the day, the Hokies earned a 17–7 victory. Their next game would not be as easy. One week later, Virginia Tech traveled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to face the No. 2 Louisiana State University Tigers. The Tigers were widely regarded in pre-season polls as favorites to play in the National Championship Game and overwhelmed the Hokies in front of a home crowd, 48–7.


2008 Orange Bowl, Team selection, Virginia Tech
In the wake of the Hokies's defeat, Virginia Tech chose to start a new quarterback and a new offensive plan. Behind freshman Tyrod Taylor, the Hokies rolled to five straight victories, including a win over No. 22 Clemson by 18 points. During the winning streak, Sean Glennon, who had started at quarterback for the Hokies during the first two games of the season, returned to alternate possessions with Taylor in an unusual two-quarterback system.


2008 Orange Bowl, Team selection, Virginia Tech
On October 25, the Hokies had a chance to make up for their early-season loss to LSU when they faced No. 2 Boston College on a Thursday night in Blacksburg, Virginia. Though the Hokies dominated for most of the game, Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan managed a late-game comeback to win the game 14–10 with 11 seconds remaining.


2008 Orange Bowl, Team selection, Virginia Tech
With four consecutive victories after the loss, including a win over then-No. 16 Virginia, the Hokies won the Coastal division and secured a bid to the 2007 ACC Championship Game in Jacksonville, Florida. There, they faced a rematch with Boston College, champions of the Atlantic Division. As in the previous matchup, defense dominated, but unlike in the earlier matchup, Matt Ryan was unable to seize the victory. Two fourth-quarter interceptions by Virginia Tech sealed the Hokie win and an automatic bid to the Orange Bowl game.


2008 Orange Bowl, Team selection, Kansas
Kansas began its 2007 football season unregarded and without much consideration from the national media. In the opening Associated Press football poll of the 2007 season, Kansas did not receive a single vote. From their opening game of the year, however, the Jayhawks began to impress voters with their offensive efficiency. Against Mid-American Conference Champion Central Michigan University, Kansas scored 52 points while allowing only a single touchdown.


2008 Orange Bowl, Team selection, Kansas
Over the next three games, Kansas outscored its opponents 162–16. As Kansas's Big 12 schedule began, the Jayhawks' winning ways continued, as they proved themselves against legitimate competition. On October 6, Kansas traveled to Manhattan, Kansas, home of then-ranked No. 24 Kansas State University for the opening game of its Big 12 schedule. In front of 50,924 hostile fans, Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing struggled for the first time in the season. Late in the fourth quarter, Reesing threw a ball that bounced off the facemask of wide receiver Dexton Fields before being intercepted. The interception set up a Kansas State touchdown that put Kansas into a 24–21 hole with seven and a half minutes remaining. Reesing and the Jayhawks struck back quickly, however, and scored a 30-yard touchdown to take the lead for good.


2008 Orange Bowl, Team selection, Kansas
With the win, Kansas broke into the rankings of the top 25 college football teams in the country for the first time since 1996, entering the AP Poll at No. 20. Over the next six weeks, Kansas continued to find ways to win. Traditional Jayhawk rivals such as Nebraska, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M were defeated during the course of the season, and Kansas climbed the national rankings. By the 13th week of the season, the stage had been set for an epic game against Kansas's traditional rival, Missouri.


2008 Orange Bowl, Team selection, Kansas
Due to prior agreement, the 2007 edition of the Border War was held in Kansas City, Missouri, at Arrowhead Stadium, home of the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs. In front of over 80,000 fans, No. 4 Missouri defeated No. 2 Kansas 36–28 to hand the Jayhawks their first loss of the season. Missouri, with the win, earned a trip to the Big 12 Championship Game. In that game, Oklahoma defeated Missouri 38–17 to earn an automatic bid to the 2008 Fiesta Bowl. Because the loss gave Missouri its second of the year, Kansas, which lost to the Tigers, was selected as an at-large pick by the BCS and earned a trip to the Orange Bowl.


2008 Orange Bowl, Team selection, Controversy
Although Virginia Tech's selection via automatic bid was relatively quiet, Kansas' selection caused a great deal of controversy. Kansas had lost to Big 12 runner-up Missouri and had a lower Bowl Championship Poll ranking than the Tigers. Some believed Missouri should have been selected ahead of Kansas because they had defeated Kansas and because they had played in the Big 12 Championship Game. According to BCS officials, however, Missouri's two losses were more of a detriment than Kansas's one loss and subsequent championship game absence.


2008 Orange Bowl, Team selection, Controversy
Pundits and fans who opposed Kansas' selection pointed to the Jayhawks' strength of schedule, which at one point during the season was as low as 109th out of 119 Division I teams. By the time of the BCS selection, however, Kansas's strength of schedule had climbed by a small amount, reaching 88th in the Sagarin rankings and 74th in the CBS rankings. The final rankings rated Kansas' schedule as more difficult than Hawaii, which was also selected to play in the BCS. Aggravating the situation was the fact that Kansas and Missouri had one of the most intense rivalries in college football. Known as the Border War, the roots of the rivalry dated to the years before the American Civil War.


2008 Orange Bowl, Team selection, Controversy
Two weeks after the selection of Kansas, yet another controversy arose when it was revealed that Big 12 and ACC officials had worked out an agreement to feature an Oklahoma/Virginia Tech matchup in the Orange Bowl in the hours leading up to the final selection. Oklahoma, who initiated the proposal, requested that it face the highest-ranked BCS opponent then available, which would have been Virginia Tech (ranked 3rd in the BCS). Normally, Oklahoma, the 2007 Big 12 Champion, would have played in the Fiesta Bowl, which holds the automatic rights to the Big 12 Champion's BCS bid.


2008 Orange Bowl, Team selection, Controversy
A little-known clause in the Bowl Championship Series contract, however, allows for the commissioners of the BCS to override that bid if the automatically selected team had played in the game the previous year, or to create a more interesting matchup. Oklahoma had played in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl and seemed a perfect candidate for execution of the clause. Representatives from the Orange and Fiesta bowls reportedly worked out a deal to swap Oklahoma and Kansas and Dan Beebe, the commissioner from the Big 12, presented the plan to the BCS committee.


2008 Orange Bowl, Team selection, Controversy
The remaining BCS commissioners rejected the request (with only the Big 12, ACC and Big East commissioners in favor) and honored the original selection of Kansas for the Orange Bowl and forced Oklahoma to accept its automatic Fiesta Bowl Bid. The release of this plan upset many fans at both schools and across the country, who perceived that an (4)Oklahoma-(3)Virginia Tech matchup would have been superior to a (8)Kansas-(3)Virginia Tech game. Ironically, while Oklahoma-Virginia Tech was perceived as a better match-up due to their high rankings, both teams went on to be upset by the lower ranked team with Oklahoma losing 48-28 to (9)West Virginia.


2008 Orange Bowl, Pregame buildup
Most pre-game media and popular coverage of the 2008 Orange Bowl focused on the matchup between Kansas's No. 2 scoring offense and Virginia Tech's No. 2 scoring defense. Outside factors, such as coaching, previous experience, and fan support were also considered in pre-game analysis of the matchup. Outside story lines included Virginia Tech's recovery from the Virginia Tech Massacre, recovery from late-season losses suffered by each team (against Missouri for Kansas and against Boston College for Virginia Tech).


2008 Orange Bowl, Pregame buildup, Offensive matchups, Kansas
Heading into the Orange Bowl, Kansas was ranked second in the nation in scoring (44.3) and sixth in yards per game (491). Kansas scored 40 or more points eight times during the 2007 season and scored 50 points five times. Kansas's ground game was led by running back Brandon McAnderson, who averaged 87.5 yards per game during the 2007 season and earned 1,050 yards and 16 touchdowns in the season leading to the Orange Bowl. Through the air, Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing earned the 11th-highest passer rating in the country, averaging a 152.41 quarterback rating in 2007.


2008 Orange Bowl, Pregame buildup, Offensive matchups, Kansas
Reesing completed 62.6% of his passes during the 2007 season, earning 3,259 yards, 32 touchdowns, and just six interceptions. Reesing's favorite receiver was Marcus Henry, who was ranked No. 29 in the country for passing yardage, averaging over 82 receiving yards per game. During 2007, Henry earned 994 yards and nine touchdowns. On the offensive line, the Jayhawks were led by All-American left tackle Anthony Collins, who finished as a finalist for the Outland Trophy, awarded to college football's best offensive lineman. Because of the Jayhawks' effectiveness on offense, they punted the ball just 46 times during the 2007 season, the seventh-lowest total in Division I.


2008 Orange Bowl, Pregame buildup, Offensive matchups, Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech featured an unusual two-quarterback system on offense, as quarterbacks Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor shared time behind center. Though unusual, the system was successful in leading the Hokies to their second ACC Championship in four years. During the 2007 regular season, Glennon threw for 1,636 yards and 11 touchdowns, completing 63 percent of his passes. Taylor, meanwhile, passed for 916 yards and five touchdowns while also rushing for 431 yards.


2008 Orange Bowl, Pregame buildup, Offensive matchups, Virginia Tech
Some pundits predicted Kansas might have difficulty with Taylor's mobility, as his style of play was similar to that of Missouri's Chase Daniel, who gave Kansas its sole loss of the 2007 season. On the other end of the Virginia Tech aerial offense was a corps of capable receivers, led by senior wide receivers Eddie Royal and Josh Morgan. Morgan was the fifth-ranked receiver in Virginia Tech history, having earned 1,787 receiving yards. Royal was sixth, having earned 1,767 yards.


2008 Orange Bowl, Pregame buildup, Offensive matchups, Virginia Tech
Two of Tech's other receivers, Josh Hyman and Justin Harper, recorded 1,138 and 1,274 receiving yards each, marking the first time in Virginia Tech history that the Hokies had four different thousand-yard career receivers on the same team. On the ground, the Hokies were led by running back Branden Ore, who rushed for 876 yards and eight touchdowns during the regular season. One week before the Orange Bowl, Tech coaches revealed that Ore would be suspended for the first quarter of the game against Kansas as punishment for showing up late to the Hokies' final pre-bowl practice. Ore was replaced by sophomore rusher Kenny Lewis Jr.


2008 Orange Bowl, Pregame buildup, Defensive matchups, Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech finished the season ranked second nationally in points allowed per game (15.5) and fourth nationally in yardage allowed (293). The Hokies didn't allow a fourth-quarter point in the five games after giving up 14 fourth-quarter points to Boston College in Blacksburg. One key player in the Virginia Tech defense was linebacker Xavier Adibi, who had scored his third career defensive touchdown in the ACC Championship Game against Boston College. Adibi, together with fellow linebacker Vince Hall, made up "the best LB duo in the country," according to ESPN commentator Chris Spielman.


2008 Orange Bowl, Pregame buildup, Defensive matchups, Virginia Tech
Hall's effectiveness had, however, been limited in the 2007 season by a broken wrist suffered against Clemson. Hall missed four games with the injury, but returned to play the final three contests of the season for Virginia Tech and promised to be featured heavily in the 2008 Orange Bowl. Backing up the Virginia Tech linebackers was a strong backfield, which had produced 12 NFL draft picks in the nine years preceding the 2007 season. Primary among the backfield players were cornerbacks Victor Harris and Brandon Flowers, who Sports Illustrated.com called "maybe the best cornerback duo in the country".


2008 Orange Bowl, Pregame buildup, Defensive matchups, Kansas
Kansas, meanwhile, was less-highly regarded on defense and came into the 2008 Orange Bowl ranked 57th nationally in pass defense. On the ground, however, Kansas was ranked far higher, sixth in the nation. In addition, Kansas allowed an average of only 16 points per game, good enough for to be ranked fourth nationally. A key portion of that run defense was defensive tackle James McClinton, who was named the Big 12's Defensive Lineman of the Year and earned second-team All-America honors.


2008 Orange Bowl, Pregame buildup, Defensive matchups, Kansas
McClinton finished the 2007 regular season with 10.5 tackles for loss and promised more of the same for the Orange Bowl. The team captain of the Jayhawk defense, meanwhile, was All-American cornerback Aqib Talib. Talib was also a threat on offense, catching eight passes, including four touchdowns, during the regular season.


2008 Orange Bowl, Game summary
The 2008 Orange Bowl kicked off at 8:30 p.m. EST at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The official attendance for the game was listed as 74,111 (the eighth consecutive Orange Bowl sellout), but actual attendance appeared to be lower, and several upper-deck sections of the stadium were sparsely filled. Approximately 15 million viewers watched the game, earning the broadcast a Nielsen rating of 7.4. The broadcast of the 2008 Orange Bowl was the only BCS bowl game to show a rise in television viewers over the previous season's broadcast, as the 2007 Orange Bowl had only earned a Nielsen rating of 7.0. The national anthem was sung by American Idol runner-up Katharine McPhee.


2008 Orange Bowl, Game summary
The coin toss featured former star players for both schools, Bruce Smith for Virginia Tech and Gale Sayers for Kansas. Kansas won the toss and elected to defer its choice until the second half. Virginia Tech chose to receive the ball to start the game. Kansas would receive the ball to begin the second half. At kickoff, the air temperature was unseasonably cold for Miami at 57 °F (14 °C), and the skies were cloudy with intermittent rain.


2008 Orange Bowl, Game summary, First quarter
Virginia Tech's Eddie Royal fielded the opening kickoff from Kansas kicker Scott Webb, returning it 59 yards to the 41-yard line of Kansas. The return gave the Virginia Tech offense excellent field position to begin the game. Tech quarterback Sean Glennon connected on an 11-yard pass to Justin Harper for a first down on the opening play of the game, but Kansas' defense stiffened on subsequent plays. After Virginia Tech's Tyrod Taylor entered the game at quarterback, Kansas sacked Taylor twice, pushing Virginia Tech 19 yards backward, out of field goal range. Because of the sacks, Virginia Tech was forced to punt the ball away without scoring any points.


2008 Orange Bowl, Game summary, First quarter
The punt was downed in the end zone for a touchback, and Kansas began its first offensive possession of the game at its 20-yard line. Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing proved remarkably effective, completing six of his eight passes during the drive and rushing for five yards on a quarterback scramble. Reesing drove Kansas' offense into Virginia Tech territory, but after Tech's Orion Martin sacked Reesing, Kansas was unable to gain another first down and kicker Scott Webb was sent into the game to attempt a 44-yard field goal. Webb's kick sailed wide of the uprights, however, and the game remained scoreless with 6:44 remaining in the first quarter.


2008 Orange Bowl, Game summary, First quarter
After the missed field goal, Virginia Tech took over on offense at its own 27-yard line. Running back Kenny Lewis, Jr., replacing the suspended Branden Ore, ran for a first down, and Tyrod Taylor connected on an 11-yard pass to Eddie Royal for another first down. Now inside Kansas territory, Taylor attempted another pass. Kansas All-American cornerback Aqib Talib jumped between Taylor's throw and the receiver, intercepting the ball. Talib returned the interception 60 yards to the end zone for a Kansas touchdown, the first points of the game. An extra point kick by Scott Webb made the score 7–0 Kansas with 5:15 remaining in the quarter.


2008 Orange Bowl, Game summary, First quarter
High-stepping into the endzone, Aqib Talib committed a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, which was enforced on the post-score kickoff. The penalty, coupled with a good kick return by Virginia Tech, gave the Hokies excellent field position for their third possession of the game. Quarterback Sean Glennon capitalized on that field position, connecting on a 24-yard pass to wide receiver Justin Harper. The catch pushed Virginia Tech inside Kansas territory and seemingly set up the Hokie offense for their first score of the game.


2008 Orange Bowl, Game summary, First quarter
After two plays for no gain and a five-yard loss when Glennon was sacked by James Holt, Virginia Tech was forced to attempt a 49-yard field goal. Jud Dunlevy's kick fell short, however, and Virginia Tech was denied a score. Kansas recovered the short kick, which landed in the end zone, and returned the ball 39 yards. Despite the momentum earned by the missed kick, Kansas went three plays without gaining a first down and was forced to punt the ball away. Virginia Tech recovered the ball at its 15-yard line and ran two plays before time ran out in the first quarter.