CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2014 Iowa

7–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Big Ten), coached by Kirk Ferentz.

Schedule and results

Iowa in 2014, game by game: won vs. Northern Iowa 31–23; won vs. Ball State 17–13; lost vs. Iowa State 17–20; won at Pittsburgh 24–20; won at Purdue 24–10; won vs. Indiana 45–29; lost at Maryland 31–38; won vs. Northwestern 48–7; lost at Minnesota 14–51; won at Illinois 30–14; lost vs. No. 14 Wisconsin 24–26; lost vs. Nebraska 34–37; lost vs. Tennessee 28–45+41−37Won 31–23 vs. Northern Iowa+8Northern IowaWon 17–13 vs. Ball State+4Ball StateLost 17–20 vs. Iowa State-3Iowa StateWon 24–20 at Pittsburgh+4PittsburghWon 24–10 at Purdue+14PurdueWon 45–29 vs. Indiana+16IndianaLost 31–38 at Maryland-7MarylandWon 48–7 vs. Northwestern+41NorthwesternLost 14–51 at Minnesota-37MinnesotaWon 30–14 at Illinois+16IllinoisLost 24–26 vs. No. 14 Wisconsin-2No. 14 WisconsinLost 34–37 vs. Nebraska-3NebraskaLost 28–45 vs. Tennessee-17Tennessee
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsNorthern IowaW 31–⁠2380%
Sep 6vsBall StateW 17–⁠1357%
Sep 13vsIowa StateL 17–⁠2076%
Sep 20atPittsburghW 24–⁠2040%
Sep 27atPurdueW 24–⁠1068%
Oct 11vsIndianaW 45–⁠2970%
Oct 18atMarylandL 31–⁠3852%
Nov 1vsNorthwesternW 48–⁠769%
Nov 8atMinnesotaL 14–⁠5148%
Nov 15atIllinoisW 30–⁠1464%
Nov 22vs14WisconsinL 24–⁠2640%
Nov 28vsNebraskaL 34–⁠3751%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvsTennesseeTaxSlayer BowlL 28–⁠4552%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Tennessee 45–⁠28 in the TaxSlayer Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 63rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

Outland TrophyBrandon Scherff, OT

Consensus All-AmericanBrandon Scherff, OT

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
367–⁠333
Coach
Kirk Ferentz
Elo
1542 −17 this season
SP+ rating
6.8 No. 49 of 128; offense No. 45, defense No. 48, special teams No. 114
SRS
3.1 No. 48 of 128 in FBS
Returning
83% of last season’s EPA, No. 19 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 58
Offensive coordinator
Greg Davis
Defensive coordinator
Phil Parker
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense66th of 128
  • Defense49th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted69th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted46th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1342%1.1666th of 128
Defense0.1242%1.1549th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.14 off
0.13 def		42% off
41% def		—69th off
46th 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
Offense3.8own 301% allowed
Defense3.4own 352% 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 yardsJake Rudock QB2,436 yds
Passing touchdownsJake Rudock QB16 TD
Rushing yardsMark Weisman RB812 yds
Rushing touchdownsMark Weisman RB16 TD
Receiving yardsTevaun Smith WR596 yds
Receiving touchdownsDamond Powell WR3 TD
InterceptionsDesmond King DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Jay Scheel ATH★★★No. 374
Markel Smith RB★★★No. 397
Matt Nelson TE★★★No. 577
Miles Taylor S★★★No. 720
Lucas LeGrand OT★★★No. 818

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs23.00.867
Receivers13.00.865
Offensive line22.50.817
Defensive line13.00.808
Linebackers13.00.818
Defensive backs43.00.836
Athletes and specialists23.00.851
Whole class132.90.839

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 1Brandon Scherff OTWashington Redskins
Rd 3Carl Davis DTBaltimore Ravens
Rd 4Andrew Donnal OTSt. Louis Rams

Roster 121

The 2014 roster

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

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 5 second team

First 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.