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2014 Clemson

10–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Dabo Swinney, finished No. 15 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 2014, game by game: lost at No. 12 Georgia 21–45; won vs. South Carolina State 73–7; lost at No. 1 Florida State 17–23; won vs. North Carolina 50–35; won vs. NC State 41–0; won vs. Louisville 23–17; won at Boston College 17–13; won vs. Syracuse 16–6; won at Wake Forest 34–20; lost at No. 24 Georgia Tech 6–28; won vs. Georgia State 28–0; won vs. South Carolina 35–17; won vs. Oklahoma 40–6+66−24Lost 21–45 at No. 12 Georgia-24No. 12 GeorgiaWon 73–7 vs. South Carolina State+66South Carolina …Lost 17–23 at No. 1 Florida State-6No. 1 Florida StateWon 50–35 vs. North Carolina+15North CarolinaWon 41–0 vs. NC State+41NC StateWon 23–17 vs. Louisville+6LouisvilleWon 17–13 at Boston College+4Boston CollegeWon 16–6 vs. Syracuse+10SyracuseWon 34–20 at Wake Forest+14Wake ForestLost 6–28 at No. 24 Georgia Tech-22No. 24 Georgia TechWon 28–0 vs. Georgia State+28Georgia StateWon 35–17 vs. South Carolina+18South CarolinaWon 40–6 vs. Oklahoma+34Oklahoma
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30at12GeorgiaL 21–⁠4549%
Sep 6vsSouth Carolina StateW 73–⁠783%
Sep 20at1Florida StateL 17–⁠2326%
Sep 27vsNorth CarolinaW 50–⁠3565%
Oct 4vsNC StateW 41–⁠079%
Oct 11vsLouisvilleW 23–⁠1751%
Oct 18atBoston CollegeW 17–⁠1363%
Oct 25vsSyracuseW 16–⁠678%
Nov 6atWake ForestW 34–⁠2081%
Nov 15at24Georgia TechL 6–⁠2852%
Nov 22vsGeorgia StateW 28–⁠097%
Nov 29vsSouth CarolinaW 35–⁠1762%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsOklahomaRussell Athletic BowlW 40–⁠652%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Oklahoma 40–⁠6 in the Russell Athletic Bowl; No. 15 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 14th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 16
  2. Wk 2: 23
  3. Wk 3: 23
  4. Wk 4: 22
  5. Wk 8: 24
  6. Wk 9: 21
  7. Wk 10: 22
  8. Wk 11: 19
  9. Wk 12: 18
  10. Wk 14: 23
  11. Wk 15: 19
  12. Wk 16: 18
  13. Final: 15

Consensus All-AmericanVic Beasley, DL

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 15 peak No. 15
Points
401–⁠217
Coach
Dabo Swinney
Elo
1731 +78 this season
SP+ rating
18.1 No. 18 of 128; offense No. 67, defense No. 3, special teams No. 33
SRS
13.5 No. 18 of 128 in FBS
Returning
29% of last season’s EPA, No. 112 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 16
Offensive coordinator
Chad Morris
Defensive coordinator
Brent Venables
Captains
Stephone Anthony, Sam Cooper, Adam Humphries and Grady Jarrett
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense97th of 128
  • Defense4th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted103rd of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted2nd of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0740%1.0997th of 128
Defense-0.0133%1.234th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.10 off
0.01 def		40% off
32% def		—103rd off
2nd 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
Offense3.3own 312% allowed
Defense2.4own 303% 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 yardsCole Stoudt QB1,892 yds
Passing touchdownsDeshaun Watson QB14 TD
Rushing yardsWayne Gallman RB769 yds
Rushing touchdownsDeshaun Watson QB5 TD
Receiving yardsMike Williams WR1,030 yds
Receiving touchdownsArtavis Scott WR8 TD
InterceptionsJadar Johnson S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Deshaun Watson DUAL★★★★No. 42
Artavis Scott WR★★★★No. 70
Trevion Thompson WR★★★★No. 117
Korie Rogers OLB★★★★No. 143
Demarre Kitt WR★★★★No. 166
Richard Yeargin III OLB★★★★No. 269
Adam Choice ATH★★★★No. 270
Cannon Smith OT★★★★No. 283

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.979
Running backs13.00.889
Receivers44.00.934
Offensive line23.50.876
Defensive line13.00.825
Linebackers53.40.878
Defensive backs13.00.864
Athletes and specialists14.00.901
Whole class163.60.896

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 1Vic Beasley OLBAtlanta Falcons
Rd 1Stephone Anthony ILBNew Orleans Saints
Rd 5Grady Jarrett DTAtlanta Falcons
Rd 5Bradley Pinion PSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 6Tony Steward OLBBuffalo Bills

Roster 120

The 2014 roster

120 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2014 line; 38 have a stat line. See the roster

2014 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida State8–⁠013–⁠15
Georgia Tech6–⁠211–⁠38
Clemson6–⁠210–⁠315
Louisville5–⁠39–⁠424
Duke5–⁠39–⁠4
Boston College4–⁠47–⁠6
Pittsburgh4–⁠46–⁠7
North Carolina4–⁠46–⁠7
NC State3–⁠58–⁠5
Virginia Tech3–⁠57–⁠6
Miami3–⁠56–⁠7
Virginia3–⁠55–⁠7
Syracuse1–⁠73–⁠9
Wake Forest1–⁠73–⁠9

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