2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season

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2014 NCAA Division I FBS season
AP Poll No. 1
Ohio State[1]
Coaches Poll No. 1Ohio State[2]
Heisman TrophyMarcus Mariota (quarterback, Oregon)
College Football Playoff
2015 College Football Playoff National Championship
SiteAT&T Stadium
Arlington, Texas
Champion(s)Ohio State
NCAA Division I FBS football seasons
← 2013
 →

The 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

The regular season began on August 27, 2014 and ended on December 13, 2014. The postseason concluded on January 12, 2015 with the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The 2014 season marked a major change to the postseason with the introduction of the College Football Playoff, a four-team knockout tournament to determine the national champion of Division I FBS. The College Football Playoff system replaced the Bowl Championship Series, which had been in use since 1998.

Coaches' Poll for the season, making the Buckeyes consensus national champions among the major polls.[1][2]

Rule changes

The following rule changes have been made by the NCAA Football Rules Committee for the 2014 season:[3]

  • Modifying the "targeting" rule enacted for the 2013 season whereby if a targeting ejection is overturned on review, the 15 yard penalty will be overturned as well, unless the foul was committed in conjunction with another foul (such as an above-the-shoulders hit on a quarterback not deemed as targeting, a roughing the passer penalty would still apply).
  • Targeting definition expanded from "Initiate contact" to "Make forcible contact" and defining that any forcible contact with the crown of the helmet to an opponent is a targeting foul.
  • Allowing all conferences the option to experiment with eight-man officiating crews. The Big 12 Conference experimented with eight-man officiating crews during the 2013 season. The eighth official is referred to as the "Center Judge", positioned opposite the Referee in the offensive backfield, and wears a "C" on the shirt. In 2014, the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten Conference, Big 12 Conference, the Mountain West Conference, and the American Athletic Conference used eight-official crews. The Southeastern Conference experimented with eight officials in selected games in the 2014 season. The Pac-12 Conference made no plans to implement eight-official crews. The eight-man crews were used in bowl games (including the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship) if one of the conferences (Big 12, Big Ten, ACC, MW, or American) provided a crew for a particular game.[4]
  • Modifying the 15-yard roughing the passer penalty to include hits (including lunging and/or rolling) at or below the knees from defenders that are not fouled/blocked into the quarterback, not engaged in tackling the quarterback, or are rushing unabated to the quarterback (similar to the NFL's "Tom Brady" Rule adopted in the 2009 NFL season).
  • The chain crew will work the first half on the same side as the press box, then switch to the side opposite the press box for the second half, the procedure used in the NFL. Prior to 2014, the chain crew worked the entire game on the sideline opposite the press box, the procedure used in high school football.

A rule meant to slow down the hurry-up offense by preventing teams from snapping the ball within the first ten seconds of the 40-second play clock to allow for defensive substitutions, or be penalized five yards for delay of game (except within the final 2:00 of each half or when the play clock is set to 25 seconds) was tabled by the Rules Committee and not voted on.[5]

Conference realignment

Main article: 2010–2014 NCAA conference realignment
See also:
2010–14 Big Ten Conference realignment

Membership changes

Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to FBS. 2014 was expected to be the final season for UAB football, who dropped their program at the conclusion of the season due to financial reasons. The UAB football program later restarted in 2017.[6]

School Former conference New conference
Appalachian State Southern Conference (FCS) Sun Belt
East Carolina Conference USA The American
Georgia Southern Southern Conference (FCS) Sun Belt
Idaho FBS independent Sun Belt
Louisville The American ACC
Maryland ACC Big Ten
New Mexico State FBS independent Sun Belt
Old Dominion FCS Independent Conference USA
Rutgers The American Big Ten
Tulane Conference USA The American
Tulsa Conference USA The American
Western Kentucky Sun Belt Conference USA

Other headlines

  • May 14
    • The NCAA announced its Academic Progress Rate (APR) sanctions for the 2014–15 school year. Two FBS teams, Idaho and UNLV, were among the 36 programs in 11 sports declared ineligible for postseason play due to failure to meet the required APR benchmark.[7]
    • Boise State announced that it had received a waiver from the NCAA allowing the school to immediately provide assistance to incoming freshman recruit Antoine Turner, a defensive end originally from New Orleans who had been homeless due to financial and family issues.[8]
  • June 26 – UNLV announced that the school would be eligible for postseason after the upcoming season; they stated that the NCAA had accepted an updated Academic Progress Rate score submitted by the university.[9]
  • September 8 – The NCAA restored Penn State's postseason eligibility effective immediately, and full complement of 85 scholarships effective with the 2015 season. This means Penn State could qualify for a bowl game for the 2014 season. Penn State was originally banned from postseason play from 2012 to 2015 because of the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal.[10]
  • October 4
    • For the first time since Week 11 of the
      AP Poll lost during the week. Additionally, five of the top eight of the AP Poll lost in the same week for the first time ever.[12] The week's upsets began on Thursday, when No. 2 Oregon lost 31–24 at home to Arizona. Saturday saw No. 3 Alabama lose 23–17 at No. 11 Ole Miss, No. 4 Oklahoma lose 37–33 at No. 25 TCU, No. 6 Texas A&M lose 48–31 at No. 12 Mississippi State, and No. 8 UCLA lose 30–28 at home to Utah.[11]
    • Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday set a new FBS record for single-game passing yards, throwing for 734 yards in a 60–59 loss to Cal. This broke the previous record of 716, set in 1990 by Houston's David Klingler, and was five short of the all-divisions NCAA record of 739 set by Sam Durley of Division III Eureka in 2012. In the same game, Cal's Jared Goff threw for 527 yards, giving the two teams an FBS-record 1,261 passing yards in the game.[13]
  • October 12 – The release of the Week 8 AP Poll saw Mississippi State, previously tied for No. 3 with cross-state rival Ole Miss, leapfrog Florida State to reach No. 1 for the first time in school history. Mississippi State had just beaten No. 2 Auburn at home by a score of 38–23, the Bulldogs' third straight over a team then ranked in the top 10. Most significantly, the Bulldogs became the first team in the history of the AP Poll to go from unranked to No. 1 in five weeks, surpassing the previous record of six weeks set by Ohio State in 1954.[14]
  • October 18 –
    Mike Reilly.[16]
  • November 16 – Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon set a new FBS record with 408 rushing yards in the Badgers' 59–24 win over Nebraska. The previous record of 406 yards had been set by TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson in 1999.[17]
  • November 22 – Melvin Gordon's single-game FBS rushing record, which had been set less than a week earlier, is broken by Oklahoma's Samaje Perine, who ran for 427 yards in the Sooners' 44–7 win over Kansas.[18]
  • November 29 – Louisville safety Gerod Holliman intercepted his 14th pass of the season, tying the single-season FBS record set in 1968 by Washington's Al Worley. The interception in the final minute sealed the Cardinals' 44–40 win over archrival Kentucky.[19]
  • November 30 – Police in
    Kosta Karageorge, a wrestler at Ohio State who had walked on to the football team but had yet to appear in a game. Karageorge, who disappeared on November 26, was found with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. He had been complaining about post-concussion symptoms in the last weeks of his life.[20]
  • December 2 – UAB announced that it would drop football at the end of the season. The Blazers, under first-year head coach Bill Clark, became bowl-eligible for only the second time in program history with a win on November 29 over Southern Miss. UAB became the first FBS-level program to fold since Pacific dropped football after the 1995 season.[21] (The Blazers would ultimately reinstate football in 2017.)
  • December 5 – The board of governors of Colorado State approved the construction of a new on-campus stadium to replace the Rams' then-current off-campus home of Hughes Stadium. No date for completion had been set; potential capacities ranged from 35,872 to 41,200.[22] The venue would open in 2017 as Colorado State Stadium with the full 41,200 capacity, and since 2018 has been known as Canvas Stadium.
  • December 8 –
    Sporting News reported that the Big 12 Conference had been planning to expand beyond its current ten teams even before being left out of the inaugural College Football Playoff. Specifically, conference officials met with officials from the University of Cincinnati.[23]
    These expansion plans were later dropped.

Updated stadiums

New stadiums

  • Baylor opened McLane Stadium, returning home games to its campus for the first time since 1935. The stadium opened with 42,000 permanent seats plus 3,000 standing-room places, and is designed for future expansion to 55,000. The first game was a high school contest on August 29;[24] Baylor's first game was a 45–0 win over SMU on August 31.[25]
  • Houston opened TDECU Stadium, a 40,000-seat venue, designed to be easily expandable to 60,000, and built on the site of the school's former Robertson Stadium. The opening game was a 27–7 loss to UTSA on August 29.[26]
  • Superdome opened. The first game was a 38–21 loss to Georgia Tech on September 6.[27]

The three schools that moved from FCS to FBS this season use existing on-campus stadiums:

  • Appalachian State plays at Kidd Brewer Stadium, home to the Mountaineers since 1962 and affectionately known to the school's fans as "The Rock". It has an official capacity of 24,050, but has frequently hosted significantly larger crowds, with the record being 31,531.
  • Georgia Southern plays at Paulson Stadium, home to the Eagles since 1984. The stadium was expanded to 24,300 for GSU's move to FBS.
  • Foreman Field. The 20,118-seat stadium first opened in 1936 for the football program of what was then known as the Norfolk Division of The College of William & Mary. After football was dropped after the 1941 season, the stadium was used for other football games (notably the former Oyster Bowl), plus other ODU sports, until the school reinstated football in 2009
    .

Renovated stadiums

Other

Regular season top 10 matchups

Rankings reflect the

AP Poll
second. Teams that fail to be a top 10 team for one poll or the other will be noted.

Conference standings

2014 American Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 25 Memphis +   7 – 1     10 – 3  
Cincinnati +   7 – 1     9 – 4  
UCF +   7 – 1     9 – 4  
East Carolina   5 – 3     8 – 5  
Houston   5 – 3     8 – 5  
Temple   4 – 4     6 – 6  
South Florida   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Tulane   2 – 6     3 – 9  
Tulsa   2 – 6     2 – 10  
UConn   1 – 7     2 – 10  
SMU   1 – 7     1 – 11  
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from
AP Poll
2014 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Atlantic Division
No. T–5 Florida State x$^   8 – 0     13 – 1  
No. 15 Clemson   6 – 2     10 – 3  
No. 24 Louisville   5 – 3     9 – 4  
Boston College   4 – 4     7 – 6  
NC State   3 – 5     8 – 5  
Syracuse   1 – 7     3 – 9  
Wake Forest   1 – 7     3 – 9  
Coastal Division
No. 8 Georgia Tech x   6 – 2     11 – 3  
Duke   5 – 3     9 – 4  
North Carolina   4 – 4     6 – 7  
Pittsburgh   4 – 4     6 – 7  
Miami (FL)   3 – 5     6 – 7  
Virginia Tech   3 – 5     7 – 6  
Virginia   3 – 5     5 – 7  
Championship: Florida State 37, Georgia Tech 35
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from
AP Poll
2014 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 1 Ohio State x$#^   8 – 0     14 – 1  
No. T–5 Michigan State   7 – 1     11 – 2  
Maryland   4 – 4     7 – 6  
Rutgers   3 – 5     8 – 5  
Michigan   3 – 5     5 – 7  
Penn State   2 – 6     7 – 6  
Indiana   1 – 7     4 – 8  
West Division
No. 13 Wisconsin x   7 – 1     11 – 3  
Minnesota   5 – 3     8 – 5  
Nebraska   5 – 3     9 – 4  
Iowa   4 – 4     7 – 6  
Illinois   3 – 5     6 – 7  
Northwestern   3 – 5     5 – 7  
Purdue   1 – 7     3 – 9  
Championship: Ohio State 59, Wisconsin 0
  • # – College Football Playoff champion
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from
AP Poll
2014 Big 12 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 7 Baylor +   8 – 1     11 – 2  
No. 3 TCU +   8 – 1     12 – 1  
No. 18 Kansas State   7 – 2     9 – 4  
Oklahoma   5 – 4     8 – 5  
West Virginia   5 – 4     7 – 6  
Texas   5 – 4     6 – 7  
Oklahoma State   4 – 5     7 – 6  
Texas Tech   2 – 7     4 – 8  
Kansas   1 – 8     3 – 9  
Iowa State   0 – 9     2 – 10  
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from
AP Poll
2014 Conference USA football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 23 Marshall x$   7 – 1     13 – 1  
Middle Tennessee   5 – 3     6 – 6  
Western Kentucky   4 – 4     8 – 5  
UAB   4 – 4     6 – 6  
Old Dominion*   4 – 4     6 – 6  
FIU   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Florida Atlantic   2 – 6     3 – 9  
West Division
Louisiana Tech x   7 – 1     9 – 5  
Rice   5 – 3     8 – 5  
UTEP   5 – 3     7 – 6  
UTSA   3 – 5     4 – 8  
North Texas   2 – 6     4 – 8  
Southern Miss   1 – 7     3 – 9  
Championship: Marshall 26, Louisiana Tech 23
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • * Ineligible for postseason bowl due to transition from FCS
As of 22:24, 20 December 2014 (UTC)
Rankings from
AP Poll
2014 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
Bowling Green x   5 – 3     8 – 6  
Ohio   4 – 4     6 – 6  
Buffalo   3 – 4     5 – 6  
Akron   3 – 5     5 – 7  
UMass   3 – 5     3 – 9  
Miami (OH)   2 – 6     2 – 10  
Kent State   1 – 6     2 – 9  
West Division
Northern Illinois xy$   7 – 1     11 – 3  
Toledo x   7 – 1     9 – 4  
Western Michigan   6 – 2     8 – 5  
Central Michigan   5 – 3     7 – 6  
Ball State   4 – 4     5 – 7  
Eastern Michigan   1 – 7     2 – 10  
Championship: Northern Illinois 51, Bowling Green 17

  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
2014 Mountain West Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Mountain Division
No. 16 Boise State x$   7 – 1     12 – 2  
Colorado State   6 – 2     10 – 3  
Utah State   6 – 2     10 – 4  
Air Force   5 – 3     10 – 3  
New Mexico   2 – 6     4 – 8  
Wyoming   2 – 6     4 – 8  
West Division
Fresno State x   5 – 3     6 – 8  
San Diego State   5 – 3     7 – 6  
Nevada   4 – 4     7 – 6  
Hawaii   3 – 5     4 – 9  
San Jose State   2 – 6     3 – 9  
UNLV   1 – 7     2 – 11  
Championship: Boise State 28, Fresno State 14
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from
AP Poll
2014 Pac-12 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
North Division
No. 2 Oregon x$^   8 – 1     13 – 2  
Stanford   5 – 4     8 – 5  
Washington   4 – 5     8 – 6  
California   3 – 6     5 – 7  
Oregon State   2 – 7     5 – 7  
Washington State   2 – 7     3 – 9  
South Division
No. 19 Arizona x   7 – 2     10 – 4  
No. 10 UCLA   6 – 3     10 – 3  
No. 12 Arizona State   6 – 3     10 – 3  
No. 20 USC   6 – 3     9 – 4  
No. 21 Utah   5 – 4     9 – 4  
Colorado   0 – 9     2 – 10  
Championship: Oregon 51, Arizona 13
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
2014 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Eastern Division
No. 14 Missouri x   7 – 1     11 – 3  
No. 9 Georgia   6 – 2     10 – 3  
Florida   4 – 4     7 – 5  
Tennessee   3 – 5     7 – 6  
South Carolina   3 – 5     7 – 6  
Kentucky   2 – 6     5 – 7  
Vanderbilt   0 – 8     3 – 9  
Western Division
No. 4 Alabama x$^   7 – 1     12 – 2  
No. 11 Mississippi State   6 – 2     10 – 3  
No. 17 Ole Miss *   5 – 3     9 – 4  
No. 22 Auburn   4 – 4     8 – 5  
LSU *   4 – 4     8 – 5  
Texas A&M   3 – 5     8 – 5  
Arkansas   2 – 6     7 – 6  
Championship: Alabama 42, Missouri 13
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • * LSU and Ole Miss vacated all wins (except for Ole Miss' win over Presbyterian) due to NCAA violations.
Rankings from AP Poll
2014 Sun Belt Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Georgia Southern * $   8 – 0     9 – 3  
Louisiana–Lafayette ***   5 – 1     7 – 4  
Appalachian State *   6 – 2     7 – 5  
Texas State   5 – 3     7 – 5  
Arkansas State   5 – 3     7 – 6  
South Alabama   5 – 3     6 – 7  
Louisiana–Monroe   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Troy   3 – 5     3 – 9  
New Mexico State   1 – 7     2 – 10  
Idaho **   1 – 7     1 – 10  
Georgia State   0 – 8     1 – 11  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • * – Appalachian State and Georgia Southern ineligible for postseason play due to FCS-to-FBS transition rules
    ** – Idaho ineligible for postseason play due to APR penalties
    *** – Louisiana–Lafayette vacated 2 wins due to NCAA violations
2014 NCAA Division I FBS independents football records
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
BYU     –       8 – 5  
Notre Dame     –       8 – 5  
Navy     –       8 – 5  
Army     –       4 – 8  
Rankings from
AP Poll

Conference summaries

Rankings reflect the Week 15 AP Poll before the conference championship games were played.

Power 5 Conferences

Conference Champion Runner-up Score Offensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Coach of the Year
ACC No. 2 Florida State CFP No. 12 Georgia Tech 37–35 James Conner, RB,
Pittsburgh
(Player of the Year)[29] 		Vic Beasley, DE,
Clemson[29]
Paul Johnson,
Georgia Tech[30]
Big 12 No. 5 Baylor

No. 4 TCU

N/A N/A Trevone Boykin, TCU Paul Dawson, TCU Gary Patterson, TCU
Big Ten No. 6 Ohio State CFP No. 11 Wisconsin 59–0 Melvin Gordon, RB,
Wisconsin[31] 		Joey Bosa, DE,
Ohio State[31] 		Jerry Kill,
Minnesota
(coaches and media)[31]
Pac-12 No. 3 Oregon CFP No. 8 Arizona 51–13 Marcus Mariota, QB,
Oregon 		Scooby Wright, LB,
Arizona 		Rich Rodriguez,
Arizona
SEC No. 1 Alabama CFP No. 14 Missouri 42–13 Amari Cooper, WR,
Alabama (AP, Coaches)[32] 		Shane Ray, DE,
Missouri (AP, Coaches)[32] 		Dan Mullen,
Mississippi State (AP)[32]
Gary Pinkel,
Missouri (Coaches)

Group of Five Conferences

Note: Records are regular-season only, and do not include playoff games.

Conference Champion Runner Up Score Record Offensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Coach of the Year
AAC Memphis
UCF
Cincinnati 		N/A N/A Memphis 9-3
Cincinnati 9-3
UCF 9-3 		Shane Carden, QB, East Carolina[33] Jacoby Glenn, CB, UCF &
Tank Jakes, LB, Memphis[33] 		Justin Fuente, Memphis[33]
C-USA Marshall Louisiana Tech 26–23 Marshall 12-1 Brandon Doughty, QB, Western Kentucky (MVP)[34]
Rakeem Cato, QB, Marshall (Offensive POY)[34] 		Neville Hewitt, LB, Marshall[34] Doc Holliday, Marshall[35]
MAC Northern Illinois Bowling Green 51–17 Northern Illinois 11-2 Jarvion Franklin, RB,
Western Michigan[36] 		Quinten Rollins, DB,
Miami (OH) 		P. J. Fleck,
Western Michigan
MW No. 22 Boise State Fresno State 28–14 Boise State 11-2 Garrett Grayson, QB,
Colorado State[37] 		Zach Vigil, LB,
Utah State[37] 		Jim McElwain,
Colorado State[37]
Sun Belt Georgia Southern N/A N/A Georgia Southern 8-3* Elijah McGuire, RB,
Louisiana–Lafayette[38] 		David Mayo, LB,
Texas State[38] 		Willie Fritz,
Georgia Southern[38]

CFP College Football Playoff participant

* On July 22, 2016, Georgia Southern announced that it had been ordered by the NCAA to vacate two wins from the 2013 season and one win from the 2014 season as punishment for fielding academically ineligible student athletes during those games. The ruling does not affect Georgia Southern's 2014 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship.[39]

Postseason

Bowl selections

Main article: 2014–15 NCAA football bowl games

Starting with the 2014–15 postseason, six College Football Playoff (CFP) bowl games host two semifinal playoff games on a rotating basis. For the 2014-15 season, the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl hosted the semifinal games, with the winners advancing to the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.[40]

Bowl-eligible teams

Number of bowl berths available: 76
Number of bowl-eligible teams: 81

Bowl-eligible teams that were not invited

Ohio, Texas State, Temple, UAB, Middle Tennessee

Bowl-ineligible teams

Number of bowl-ineligible teams: 47

† – Appalachian State (7–5), Georgia Southern (9–3, Sun Belt champions), and Old Dominion (6–6) were conditionally eligible based on win–loss record. However, under FCS-to-FBS transition rules, they were not eligible due to enough teams qualifying under normal circumstances.

‡ – Idaho was ineligible for postseason play due to an insufficient Academic Progress Rate. However, the Vandals would not have been eligible without the ban, as they finished with a 1-10 record.

College Football Playoff

Semifinals Championship
January 1 –
New Orleans
  1   Alabama 35  
  4   Ohio State 42   January 12 – National Championship
AT&T Stadium, Arlington
 
      4   Ohio State 42
January 1 – Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl, Pasadena 		    2   Oregon 20
 
  2   Oregon 59
  3   Florida State 20  
This bracket:


Conference performance in bowl games

Conference Total games Wins Losses Pct.
SEC 12 7 5 .583
ACC 11 4 7 .364
Big Ten 11 6 5 .545
Pac-12 9 6 3 .667
Big 12 7 2 5 .286
MW 7 3 4 .429
American 5 2 3 .400
C-USA 5 4 1 .800
MAC 5 2 3 .400
Independents 3 2 1 .667
Sun Belt 3 1 2 .333

Rankings

Main article: 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Final CFP rankings

CFP School Record Bowl Game
1 Alabama 12–1 Sugar Bowl
2 Oregon 12–1 Rose Bowl
3 Florida State 13–0 Rose Bowl
4 Ohio State 12–1 Sugar Bowl
5 Baylor 11–1 Cotton Bowl
6 TCU 11–1 Peach Bowl
7 Mississippi State 10–2 Orange Bowl
8 Michigan State 10–2 Cotton Bowl
9 Ole Miss 9–3 Peach Bowl
10 Arizona 10–3 Fiesta Bowl
11 Kansas State 9–3 Alamo Bowl
12 Georgia Tech 10–3 Orange Bowl
13 Georgia 9–3 Belk Bowl
14 UCLA 9–3 Alamo Bowl
15 Arizona State 9–3 Sun Bowl
16 Missouri 10–3 Citrus Bowl
17 Clemson 9–3 Russell Athletic Bowl
18 Wisconsin 10–3 Outback Bowl
19 Auburn 8–4 Outback Bowl
20 Boise State 11–2 Fiesta Bowl
21 Louisville 9–3 Belk Bowl
22 Utah 8–4 Las Vegas Bowl
23 LSU 8–4 Music City Bowl
24 USC 8–4 Holiday Bowl
25 Minnesota 8–4 Citrus Bowl

Final rankings

Rank Associated Press Coaches' Poll
1 Ohio State Ohio State
2 Oregon Oregon
3 TCU TCU
4 Alabama Alabama
5 Florida State Michigan State
6 Michigan State Florida State
7 Baylor Georgia Tech
8 Georgia Tech Baylor
9 Georgia Georgia
10 UCLA UCLA
11 Mississippi State Missouri
12 Arizona State Mississippi State
13 Wisconsin Wisconsin
14 Missouri Arizona State
15 Clemson Clemson
16 Boise State Boise State
17 Ole Miss Arizona
18 Kansas State Kansas State
19 Arizona Ole Miss
20 USC Utah
21 Utah USC
22 Auburn Marshall
23 Marshall Auburn
24 Louisville Louisville
25 Memphis Memphis

Unlike the BCS, the Coaches' Poll is not contractually obligated to name the CFP champion as its No. 1 team.[1][2][41]

Awards and honors

Heisman Trophy

The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player.

Player School Position 1st 2nd 3rd Total
Marcus Mariota Oregon QB 788 74 22 2,534
Melvin Gordon Wisconsin RB 37 432 275 1,250
Amari Cooper Alabama WR 49 280 316 1,023
Trevone Boykin TCU QB 8 45 104 218
J. T. Barrett Ohio State QB 0 19 40 78
Jameis Winston Florida State QB 4 10 19 51
Tevin Coleman Indiana RB 2 8 22 44
Dak Prescott Mississippi State QB 2 4 28 42
Scooby Wright Arizona LB 0 4 13 21
Bryce Petty Baylor QB 1 3 4 13

Other overall

Special overall

Offense

Quarterback

Running back

Wide receiver

Tight end

Lineman

Defense

Defensive line

Defensive back

Special teams

Coaches

Assistants

All-Americans

Main article: 2014 College Football All-America Team

Coaching changes

This is restricted to coaching changes taking place on or after May 1, 2014. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2014, see 2013 NCAA Division I FBS end-of-season coaching changes.

Team Outgoing coach Date Reason Replacement
Buffalo Jeff Quinn October 12, 2014 Fired Alex Wood (interim)
Buffalo Alex Wood (interim) November 30, 2014 Replaced [44] Lance Leipold (permanent)
Central Michigan Dan Enos January 22, 2015 Hired as offensive coordinator by Arkansas[45] John Bonamego
Colorado State Jim McElwain December 4, 2014 Hired by Florida[46] Dave Baldwin (interim)
Colorado State Dave Baldwin (interim) December 22, 2014 Replaced Mike Bobo (permanent)
Florida Will Muschamp November 16, 2014 Resigned [47] D. J. Durkin (interim – bowl game)
Florida D. J. Durkin (interim) December 4, 2014 Replaced[46] Jim McElwain (permanent)
Houston Tony Levine December 8, 2014 Fired David Gibbs (interim)
Houston David Gibbs (interim) December 16, 2014 Replaced
Tom Herman
(permanent)
Kansas Charlie Weis September 28, 2014 Fired [48] Clint Bowen (Interim)
Kansas Clint Bowen (interim) December 5, 2014 Replaced [49] David Beaty (permanent)
Michigan Brady Hoke December 2, 2014 Fired Jim Harbaugh[50]
Nebraska Bo Pelini November 30, 2014 Fired [51] Barney Cotton (interim)
Nebraska Barney Cotton (interim) December 4, 2014 Replaced Mike Riley (permanent)
Pittsburgh Paul Chryst December 17, 2014 Hired by Wisconsin Joe Rudolph (interim)
Pittsburgh Joe Rudolph (interim) December 23, 2014 Replaced Pat Narduzzi (permanent)
Oregon State Mike Riley December 4, 2014 Hired by Nebraska[52] Gary Andersen
SMU June Jones September 8, 2014 Resigned [53] Tom Mason (interim)
SMU Tom Mason (interim) November 30, 2014 Replaced [54] Chad Morris (permanent)
Troy Larry Blakeney October 5, 2014 Retired [55] Neal Brown
Tulsa Bill Blankenship December 1, 2014 Fired [56] Philip Montgomery
UAB Bill Clark December 2, 2014 School dropped football[21] None[57]
UNLV Bobby Hauck November 28, 2014 Resigned [58] Tony Sanchez
Wisconsin Gary Andersen December 10, 2014 Hired by Oregon State Barry Alvarez (interim – bowl game)[59]
Wisconsin Barry Alvarez (interim) December 17, 2014 for bowl game Paul Chryst (permanent)

Television viewers and ratings

Most watched regular season games

  • Excludes Kickoff Games

All times Eastern. Rankings are from the AP Poll before (10/28) and the CFP Rankings thereafter.

Rank Date Matchup Channel Viewers (millions) TV Rating [1] Significance
1 November 29, 7:45pm No. 15 Auburn 44 No. 1 Alabama 55 ESPN 13.53 7.4 College GameDay/Rivalry
2 October 18, 8:00pm No. 5 Notre Dame 27 No. 1 Florida State 31 ABC 13.25 7.9 College GameDay
3 November 15, 3:30pm No. 1 Mississippi State 20 No. 5 Alabama 25
CBS
 10.27 6.4 College GameDay/Rivalry
4 November 8, 8:00pm No. 5 Alabama 20 No. 16 LSU 13 9.11 5.3 Rivalry
5 November 15, 8:00pm No. 2 Florida State 30 Miami (FL) 26 ABC 8.74 5.3 Rivalry
6 November 29, 12:00pm Michigan 28 No. 6 Ohio State 42 8.23 4.9 Rivalry
7 September 20, 3:30pm Florida 21 No. 3 Alabama 42 CBS 7.95 5.1 Rivalry
8 September 20, 8:00pm No. 22 Clemson 17 No. 1 Florida State 23 ABC 7.34 4.5 Rivalry
9 November 8, 3:30pm Texas A&M 41 No. 3 Auburn 38 CBS 7.21 4.4
10 November 8, 8:00pm No. 14 Ohio State 49 No. 8 Michigan State 37 ABC 6.83 3.9 College GameDay

Kickoff games

All times Eastern. Rankings are from the AP Poll.

Rank Date Matchup Channel Viewers (millions) TV Rating Game Location
1 August 30, 3:30pm No. 2 Alabama 33 West Virginia 23 Regional ABC 6.4 4
Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game
 Georgia Dome, Atlanta
2 August 30, 8:00pm Oklahoma State 31 No. 1 Florida State 37 ABC 6.03 2.4
Cowboys Classic
 AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
3 August 30, 9:00pm No. 13 LSU 28 No. 14 Wisconsin 24 ESPN 4.68 2.8 Texas Kickoff
Reliant Stadium, Houston
4 August 28, 8:00pm Boise State 13 No. 18 Ole Miss 35 ESPN 2.42 1.5
Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game
 Georgia Dome, Atlanta

Conference championship games

All times Eastern. Rankings are from the CFP Rankings.

Rank Date Matchup Channel Viewers (millions) TV Rating Conference Location
1 December 6, 4:00pm No. 1 Alabama 42 No. 16 Missouri 13
CBS
 12.8 7.8 SEC Georgia Dome, Atlanta
2 December 6, 8:00pm No. 4 Florida State 37 No. 11 Georgia Tech 35 ABC 10.1 6.2 ACC Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
3 December 6, 8:00pm No. 13 Wisconsin 0 No. 5 Ohio State 59 FOX 6.13 3.5
Big Ten
 Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
4 December 5, 9:00pm No. 7 Arizona 13 No. 2 Oregon 51 FOX 6.00 3.7 Pac-12 Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California
5 December 6, 10:00pm Fresno State 14 No. 22 Boise State 28 CBS 1.53 1.0 MW Albertsons Stadium, Boise, Idaho
6 December 6, 12:00pm Louisiana Tech 23 Marshall 26 ESPN2 0.725 0.5 C-USA Joan C. Edwards Stadium, Huntington, West Virginia
7 December 5, 7:00pm Bowling Green 17 Northern Illinois 51 ESPN2 0.692 0.5 MAC Ford Field, Detroit

College Football Playoff

All times Eastern. Rankings are from the CFP Rankings.

Game Date Matchup Channel Viewers (millions) TV Rating
Rose Bowl January 1, 2015 5:00pm No. 3 Florida State 20 No. 2 Oregon 59 ESPN 28.2 14.8
Sugar Bowl January 1, 2015 8:00pm No. 4 Ohio State 42 No. 1 Alabama 35 28.3 15.2
National Championship January 12, 2015 8:30pm No. 4 Ohio State 42 No. 2 Oregon 20 33.4^ 18.2

^Does not include viewers from ESPN Megacast which also included channels ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Classic, and ESPN Deportes. 34.1 Million viewers for all channels combined.

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External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2014_NCAA_Division_I_FBS_football_season&oldid=1177863260"