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2014 Georgia Tech

11–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Paul Johnson, finished No. 8 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Georgia Tech in 2014, game by game: won vs. Wofford 38–19; won at Tulane 38–21; won vs. Georgia Southern 42–38; won at Virginia Tech 27–24; won vs. Miami 28–17; lost vs. Duke 25–31; lost at North Carolina 43–48; won at Pittsburgh 56–28; won vs. Virginia 35–10; won at NC State 56–23; won vs. No. 18 Clemson 28–6; won at No. 8 Georgia 30–24; lost vs. No. 2 Florida State 35–37; won vs. No. 8 Mississippi State 49–34+33−6Won 38–19 vs. Wofford+19WoffordWon 38–21 at Tulane+17TulaneWon 42–38 vs. Georgia Southern+4Georgia SouthernWon 27–24 at Virginia Tech+3Virginia TechWon 28–17 vs. Miami+11MiamiLost 25–31 vs. Duke-6DukeLost 43–48 at North Carolina-5North CarolinaWon 56–28 at Pittsburgh+28PittsburghWon 35–10 vs. Virginia+25VirginiaWon 56–23 at NC State+33NC StateWon 28–6 vs. No. 18 Clemson+22No. 18 ClemsonWon 30–24 at No. 8 Georgia+6No. 8 GeorgiaLost 35–37 vs. No. 2 Florida State-2No. 2 Florida StateWon 49–34 vs. No. 8 Mississippi State+15No. 8 Mississippi Sta…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsWoffordW 38–⁠1982%
Sep 6atTulaneW 38–⁠2159%
Sep 13vsGeorgia SouthernW 42–⁠3879%
Sep 20atVirginia TechW 27–⁠2442%
Oct 4vsMiamiW 28–⁠1760%
Oct 11vsDukeL 25–⁠3161%
Oct 18atNorth CarolinaL 43–⁠4853%
Oct 25atPittsburghW 56–⁠2850%
Nov 1vsVirginiaW 35–⁠1077%
Nov 8atNC StateW 56–⁠2365%
Nov 15vs18ClemsonW 28–⁠648%
Nov 29at8GeorgiaW 30–⁠2434%
Dec 6vs2Florida StateACC Championship GameL 35–⁠3730%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs8Mississippi StateOrange BowlW 49–⁠3450%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Mississippi State 49–⁠34 in the Orange Bowl; No. 8 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 7: 22
  2. Wk 12: 24
  3. Wk 13: 17
  4. Wk 14: 16
  5. Wk 15: 12
  6. Wk 16: 10
  7. Final: 8

ACC Coastal champions6–⁠2 in the conference

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 8 peak No. 8
Points
530–⁠360
Coach
Paul Johnson
Elo
1719 +184 this season
SP+ rating
11.2 No. 33 of 128; offense No. 7, defense No. 92, special teams No. 98
SRS
16.1 No. 13 of 128 in FBS
Returning
44% of last season’s EPA, No. 96 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 54
Defensive coordinator
Ted Roof
Offense
Flexbone triple option
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense3rd of 128
  • Defense85th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted2nd of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted68th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.3354%1.133rd of 128
Defense0.1850%1.1585th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.34 off
0.17 def		55% off
46% def		—2nd off
68th 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 291% allowed
Defense3.2own 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 yardsJustin Thomas QB1,719 yds
Passing touchdownsJustin Thomas QB18 TD
Rushing yardsJustin Thomas QB1,086 yds
Rushing touchdownsSynjyn Days RB9 TD
Receiving yardsDeAndre Smelter WR715 yds
Receiving touchdownsDeAndre Smelter WR7 TD
InterceptionsD.J. White DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Myles Autry ATH★★★★No. 343
Stepheny Durham CB★★★No. 398
C.J. Leggett RB★★★No. 438
Qua Searcy CB★★★No. 779
Andrew Marshall OC★★★No. 803

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs13.00.877
Receivers12.00.782
Offensive line43.00.837
Defensive line13.00.848
Defensive backs33.00.861
Athletes and specialists14.00.891
Whole class113.00.848

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 4Shaq Mason CNew England Patriots
Rd 4DeAndre Smelter WRSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 6Darren Waller WRBaltimore Ravens

Roster 114

The 2014 roster

114 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2014 line; 31 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.