CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2014 Illinois

6–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Big Ten), coached by Tim Beckman.

Schedule and results

Illinois in 2014, game by game: won vs. Youngstown State 28–17; won vs. Western Kentucky 42–34; lost at Washington 19–44; won vs. Texas State 42–35; lost at No. 21 Nebraska 14–45; lost vs. Purdue 27–38; lost at Wisconsin 28–38; won vs. Minnesota 28–24; lost at No. 13 Ohio State 14–55; lost vs. Iowa 14–30; won vs. Penn State 16–14; won at Northwestern 47–33; lost vs. Louisiana Tech 18–35+14−41Won 28–17 vs. Youngstown State+11Youngstown StateWon 42–34 vs. Western Kentucky+8Western KentuckyLost 19–44 at Washington-25WashingtonWon 42–35 vs. Texas State+7Texas StateLost 14–45 at No. 21 Nebraska-31No. 21 NebraskaLost 27–38 vs. Purdue-11PurdueLost 28–38 at Wisconsin-10WisconsinWon 28–24 vs. Minnesota+4MinnesotaLost 14–55 at No. 13 Ohio State-41No. 13 Ohio StateLost 14–30 vs. Iowa-16IowaWon 16–14 vs. Penn State+2Penn StateWon 47–33 at Northwestern+14NorthwesternLost 18–35 vs. Louisiana Tech-17Louisiana Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsYoungstown StateW 28–⁠1765%
Sep 6vsWestern KentuckyW 42–⁠3442%
Sep 13atWashingtonL 19–⁠4423%
Sep 20vsTexas StateW 42–⁠3565%
Sep 27at21NebraskaL 14–⁠4520%
Oct 4vsPurdueL 27–⁠3868%
Oct 11atWisconsinL 28–⁠3818%
Oct 25vsMinnesotaW 28–⁠2432%
Nov 1at13Ohio StateL 14–⁠5512%
Nov 15vsIowaL 14–⁠3036%
Nov 22vsPenn StateW 16–⁠1436%
Nov 29atNorthwesternW 47–⁠3328%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsLouisiana TechHeart of Dallas BowlL 18–⁠3533%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Louisiana Tech 35–⁠18 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 100th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 8th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
337–⁠442
Coach
Tim Beckman
Elo
1440 +22 this season
SP+ rating
0.4 No. 68 of 128; offense No. 71, defense No. 67, special teams No. 64
SRS
−4.5 No. 82 of 128 in FBS
Returning
26% of last season’s EPA, No. 115 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 72
Offensive coordinator
Bill Cubit
Defensive coordinator
Tim Banks
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense103rd of 128
  • Defense99th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted89th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted93rd of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0640%1.24103rd of 128
Defense0.2045%1.3199th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.12 off
0.20 def		42% off
43% def		—89th off
93rd 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
Offense3.1own 332% allowed
Defense3.5own 302% 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 yardsWes Lunt QB1,763 yds
Passing touchdownsWes Lunt QB14 TD
Rushing yardsJosh Ferguson RB735 yds
Rushing touchdownsJosh Ferguson RB8 TD
Receiving yardsMike Dudek WR1,038 yds
Receiving touchdownsMike Dudek WR6 TD
InterceptionsMason Monheim LB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Matt Domer RB★★★No. 843
Malik Turner WR★★★No. 1631
Austin Roberts ILB★★★No. 1751
Henry McGrew ILB★★★No. 1763
Julian Hylton RB★★No. 1959

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.783
Running backs22.50.822
Receivers13.00.811
Linebackers23.00.805
Defensive backs12.00.782
Whole class72.60.804

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.

Roster 116

The 2014 roster

116 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2014 line; 27 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

2 second team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2014 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2014 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠014–⁠11
Michigan State7–⁠111–⁠25
Wisconsin7–⁠111–⁠313
Nebraska5–⁠39–⁠4
Minnesota5–⁠38–⁠5
Maryland4–⁠47–⁠6
Iowa4–⁠47–⁠6
Rutgers3–⁠58–⁠5
Illinois3–⁠56–⁠7
Michigan3–⁠55–⁠7
Northwestern3–⁠55–⁠7
Penn State2–⁠67–⁠6
Indiana1–⁠74–⁠8
Purdue1–⁠73–⁠9

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