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2014 Colorado State

10–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Mountain West Conference), coached by Jim McElwain, then Dave Baldwin (interim, bowl game).

Schedule and results

Colorado State in 2014, game by game: won vs. Colorado 31–17; lost at Boise State 24–37; won vs. UC Davis 49–21; won at Boston College 24–21; won vs. Tulsa 42–17; won at Nevada 31–24; won vs. Utah State 16–13; won vs. Wyoming 45–31; won at San José State 38–31; won vs. Hawai’i 49–22; won vs. New Mexico 58–20; lost at Air Force 24–27; lost vs. No. 23 Utah 10–45+38−35Won 31–17 vs. Colorado+14ColoradoLost 24–37 at Boise State-13Boise StateWon 49–21 vs. UC Davis+28UC DavisWon 24–21 at Boston College+3Boston CollegeWon 42–17 vs. Tulsa+25TulsaWon 31–24 at Nevada+7NevadaWon 16–13 vs. Utah State+3Utah StateWon 45–31 vs. Wyoming+14WyomingWon 38–31 at San José State+7San José StateWon 49–22 vs. Hawai’i+27Hawai’iWon 58–20 vs. New Mexico+38New MexicoLost 24–27 at Air Force-3Air ForceLost 10–45 vs. No. 23 Utah-35No. 23 Utah
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29vsColoradoW 31–⁠1764%
Sep 6atBoise StateL 24–⁠3738%
Sep 13vsUC DavisW 49–⁠2175%
Sep 27atBoston CollegeW 24–⁠2142%
Oct 4vsTulsaW 42–⁠1776%
Oct 11atNevadaW 31–⁠2450%
Oct 18vsUtah StateW 16–⁠1353%
Oct 25vsWyomingW 45–⁠3181%
Nov 1atSan José StateW 38–⁠3160%
Nov 8vsHawai’iW 49–⁠2288%
Nov 22vsNew MexicoW 58–⁠2087%
Nov 28atAir ForceL 24–⁠2760%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffvs23UtahLas Vegas BowlL 10–⁠4555%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Utah 45–⁠10 in the Las Vegas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 25th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 12: 23
  2. Wk 13: 22
  3. Wk 14: 21

Led the nationRashard Higgins: receiving yards (1,750 yds), receiving touchdowns (18 TD)

Consensus All-AmericanRashard Higgins, WR

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Mountain West Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 21
Points
441–⁠326
Coach
Jim McElwain, then Dave Baldwin (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1566 +64 this season
SP+ rating
4.5 No. 59 of 128; offense No. 40, defense No. 75, special teams No. 39
SRS
2.7 No. 50 of 128 in FBS
Returning
67% of last season’s EPA, No. 45 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 86
Offensive coordinator
Dave Baldwin
Defensive coordinators
Marty English and Al Simmons
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense9th of 128
  • Defense76th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted16th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted77th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2944%1.469th of 128
Defense0.1743%1.1776th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.25 off
0.17 def		44% off
45% def		—16th off
77th 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
Offense4.0own 272% allowed
Defense3.4own 282% 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 yardsGarrett Grayson QB4,006 yds
Passing touchdownsGarrett Grayson QB32 TD
Rushing yardsDee Hart RB1,275 yds
Rushing touchdownsDee Hart RB16 TD
Receiving yardsRashard Higgins WR1,750 yds
Receiving touchdownsRashard Higgins WR17 TD
InterceptionsTrent Matthews S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Silvester Hayes WDE★★★No. 748
Deionte Gaines WR★★★No. 901
Deron Thompson APB★★★No. 1157
Kevin Nutt RB★★No. 1942
Johnathan Lewis APB★★No. 2054

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs42.30.788
Receivers13.00.848
Offensive line22.00.772
Defensive line22.50.805
Linebackers32.00.766
Defensive backs42.00.754
Athletes and specialists32.00.746
Whole class192.20.774

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 2Ty Sambrailo OTDenver Broncos
Rd 3Garrett Grayson QBNew Orleans Saints

Roster 114

The 2014 roster

114 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2014 line; 34 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.