CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2014 Louisiana Tech

9–⁠5 (7–⁠1 Conference USA), coached by Skip Holtz.

Schedule and results

Louisiana Tech in 2014, game by game: lost at No. 4 Oklahoma 16–48; won at Louisiana 48–20; won at North Texas 42–21; lost vs. Northwestern State 27–30; lost at No. 5 Auburn 17–45; won vs. UTEP 55–3; won vs. UTSA 27–20; won at Southern Miss 31–20; won vs. Western Kentucky 59–10; won at UAB 40–24; lost at Old Dominion 27–30; won vs. Rice 76–31; lost at Marshall 23–26; won vs. Illinois 35–18+52−32Lost 16–48 at No. 4 Oklahoma-32No. 4 OklahomaWon 48–20 at Louisiana+28LouisianaWon 42–21 at North Texas+21North TexasLost 27–30 vs. Northwestern State-3Northwestern St…Lost 17–45 at No. 5 Auburn-28No. 5 AuburnWon 55–3 vs. UTEP+52UTEPWon 27–20 vs. UTSA+7UTSAWon 31–20 at Southern Miss+11Southern MissWon 59–10 vs. Western Kentucky+49Western KentuckyWon 40–24 at UAB+16UABLost 27–30 at Old Dominion-3Old DominionWon 76–31 vs. Rice+45RiceLost 23–26 at Marshall-3MarshallWon 35–18 vs. Illinois+17Illinois
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30at4OklahomaL 16–⁠4813%
Sep 6atLouisianaW 48–⁠2026%
Sep 11atNorth TexasW 42–⁠2132%
Sep 20vsNorthwestern StateL 27–⁠3082%
Sep 27at5AuburnL 17–⁠4518%
Oct 4vsUTEPW 55–⁠371%
Oct 18vsUTSAW 27–⁠2063%
Oct 25atSouthern MissW 31–⁠2064%
Nov 1vsWestern KentuckyW 59–⁠1061%
Nov 8atUABW 40–⁠2465%
Nov 22atOld DominionL 27–⁠3073%
Nov 29vsRiceW 76–⁠3155%
Dec 6atMarshallConference USA Championship GameL 23–⁠2629%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsIllinoisHeart of Dallas BowlW 35–⁠1867%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Illinois 35–⁠18 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 94 on file).

C-USA West champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Record
9–⁠5
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
523–⁠346
Coach
Skip Holtz
Elo
1598 +179 this season
SP+ rating
-1.7 No. 76 of 128; offense No. 76, defense No. 64, special teams No. 106
SRS
6.1 No. 41 of 128 in FBS
Returning
54% of last season’s EPA, No. 78 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 89
Offensive coordinator
Tony Petersen
Defensive coordinator
Manny Diaz
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense29th of 128
  • Defense15th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted34th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted17th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2243%1.3329th of 128
Defense0.0437%1.2615th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.21 off
0.07 def		43% off
37% def		—34th off
17th 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
Offense3.9own 352% allowed
Defense3.0own 323% 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 yardsCody Sokol QB3,436 yds
Passing touchdownsCody Sokol QB30 TD
Rushing yardsKenneth Dixon RB1,299 yds
Rushing touchdownsKenneth Dixon RB22 TD
Receiving yardsTrent Taylor WR834 yds
Receiving touchdownsTrent Taylor WR9 TD
InterceptionsXavier Woods S6 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Cedric Johnson DT★★★No. 764
Jay Ferguson WDE★★★No. 1319
Price Wilson PRO★★★No. 1733
Alex Woodall ATH★★★No. 1740
Deldrick Canty DT★★★No. 1876

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.806
Running backs12.00.779
Receivers22.00.777
Offensive line32.00.776
Defensive line33.00.827
Linebackers22.00.774
Defensive backs12.00.752
Athletes and specialists32.30.789
Whole class162.30.788

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 107

The 2014 roster

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

2014 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Marshall7–⁠113–⁠123
Louisiana Tech7–⁠19–⁠5
Rice5–⁠38–⁠5
UTEP5–⁠37–⁠6
Middle Tennessee5–⁠36–⁠6
Western Kentucky4–⁠48–⁠5
UAB4–⁠46–⁠6
Old Dominion4–⁠46–⁠6
Florida International3–⁠54–⁠8
UTSA3–⁠54–⁠8
North Texas2–⁠64–⁠8
Florida Atlantic2–⁠63–⁠9
Southern Miss1–⁠73–⁠9

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