after breaking his leg in the very first game of the 2007 season at oregon state, asiata returned in 2008 and played in all 13 games with one start. he led the utes in carries with 146, rushing with a career-high 707 yards (4.8 ypc and 54.4 ypg) and touchdowns with 12, which tied for second-best in the mountain west conference. he also had 13 receptions for 111 yards and one touchdown and completed 2-of-3 passes out of the "asiata formation," with both completions going for touchdowns. his biggest outcome of the season came in week 4 against the air force when he had 19 carries for 116 yards. other big games included 85 yards against new mexico on november 1 and 83 against san diego state on november 15. the utes went undefeated, going 13-0, and went on to face alabama in the 2009 sugar bowl. the utes won the game, and created controversy over the fact that the utes were not in the bcs championship bowl that was played between two teams with 1 losses each. at the end of the season, utah was the only remaining undefeated team in the country and was ranked #2 on the associated press (ap) final poll.