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2014 Boise State

12–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Mountain West Conference), coached by Bryan Harsin, finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Boise State in 2014, game by game: lost vs. No. 18 Ole Miss 13–35; won vs. Colorado State 37–24; won at UConn 38–21; won vs. Louisiana 34–9; lost at Air Force 14–28; won at Nevada 51–46; won vs. Fresno State 37–27; won vs. BYU 55–30; won at New Mexico 60–49; won vs. San Diego State 38–29; won at Wyoming 63–14; won vs. Utah State 50–19; won vs. Fresno State 28–14; won vs. No. 12 Arizona 38–30+49−22Lost 13–35 vs. No. 18 Ole Miss-22No. 18 Ole MissWon 37–24 vs. Colorado State+13Colorado StateWon 38–21 at UConn+17UConnWon 34–9 vs. Louisiana+25LouisianaLost 14–28 at Air Force-14Air ForceWon 51–46 at Nevada+5NevadaWon 37–27 vs. Fresno State+10Fresno StateWon 55–30 vs. BYU+25BYUWon 60–49 at New Mexico+11New MexicoWon 38–29 vs. San Diego State+9San Diego StateWon 63–14 at Wyoming+49WyomingWon 50–19 vs. Utah State+31Utah StateWon 28–14 vs. Fresno State+14Fresno StateWon 38–30 vs. No. 12 Arizona+8No. 12 Arizona
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vs18Ole MissL 13–⁠3554%
Sep 6vsColorado StateW 37–⁠2462%
Sep 13atUConnW 38–⁠2163%
Sep 20vsLouisianaW 34–⁠973%
Sep 27atAir ForceL 14–⁠2872%
Oct 4atNevadaW 51–⁠4650%
Oct 17vsFresno StateW 37–⁠2767%
Oct 24vsBYUW 55–⁠3062%
Nov 8atNew MexicoW 60–⁠4977%
Nov 15vsSan Diego StateW 38–⁠2973%
Nov 22atWyomingW 63–⁠1473%
Nov 29vsUtah StateW 50–⁠1960%
Dec 6vsFresno StateMountain West Championship GameW 28–⁠1479%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs12ArizonaFiesta BowlW 38–⁠3054%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Arizona 38–⁠30 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 16 in the final AP poll; Mountain West Conference champions.

In program history: The 9th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 56 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 14: 25
  2. Wk 15: 22
  3. Wk 16: 21
  4. Final: 16

Mountain West Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference, won the Mountain West Championship Game

Record
12–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 first in Mountain West Conference
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 16
Points
556–⁠375
Coach
Bryan Harsin
Elo
1719 +136 this season
SP+ rating
11.6 No. 32 of 128; offense No. 25, defense No. 53, special teams No. 72
SRS
8.5 No. 32 of 128 in FBS
Returning
56% of last season’s EPA, No. 72 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 63
Offensive coordinator
Mike Sanford Jr.
Defensive coordinator
Marcel Yates
Offense
Multiple
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense13th of 128
  • Defense20th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted23rd of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted25th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2647%1.3113th of 128
Defense0.0536%1.3320th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.23 off
0.09 def		46% off
39% def		—23rd off
25th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.1own 322% allowed
Defense3.1own 293% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsGrant Hedrick QB3,696 yds
Passing touchdownsGrant Hedrick QB23 TD
Rushing yardsJay Ajayi RB1,823 yds
Rushing touchdownsJay Ajayi RB28 TD
Receiving yardsThomas Sperbeck WR877 yds
Receiving touchdownsShane Williams-Rhodes WR7 TD
InterceptionsDarian Thompson S7 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Dylan Sumner-Gardner S★★★★No. 86
Cory Young RB★★★No. 818
David Lucero TE★★★No. 1111
Tennessee Su’esu’e OG★★★No. 1438
Kaleb Hill OLB★★★No. 1584

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.789
Running backs13.00.852
Receivers43.00.816
Offensive line32.70.799
Defensive line12.00.780
Linebackers22.50.796
Defensive backs23.50.883
Whole class142.80.817

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2015

The 2015 draft
Rd 5Jay Ajayi RBMiami Dolphins

Roster 106

The 2014 roster

106 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2014 line; 32 have a stat line. See the roster

2014 Mountain West Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Boise State7–⁠112–⁠216
Colorado State6–⁠210–⁠3
Utah State6–⁠210–⁠4
Air Force5–⁠310–⁠3
San Diego State5–⁠37–⁠6
Fresno State5–⁠36–⁠8
Nevada4–⁠47–⁠6
Hawai’i3–⁠54–⁠9
Wyoming2–⁠64–⁠8
New Mexico2–⁠64–⁠8
San José State2–⁠63–⁠9
UNLV1–⁠72–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.