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2014 Marshall

13–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Conference USA), coached by Doc Holliday, finished No. 23 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Marshall in 2014, game by game: won at Miami (OH) 42–27; won vs. Rhode Island 48–7; won vs. Ohio 44–14; won at Akron 48–17; won at Old Dominion 56–14; won vs. Middle Tennessee 49–24; won at Florida International 45–13; won vs. Florida Atlantic 35–16; won at Southern Miss 63–17; won vs. Rice 41–14; won at UAB 23–18; lost vs. Western Kentucky 66–67; won vs. Louisiana Tech 26–23; won vs. Northern Illinois 52–23+46−1Won 42–27 at Miami (OH)+15Miami (OH)Won 48–7 vs. Rhode Island+41Rhode IslandWon 44–14 vs. Ohio+30OhioWon 48–17 at Akron+31AkronWon 56–14 at Old Dominion+42Old DominionWon 49–24 vs. Middle Tennessee+25Middle TennesseeWon 45–13 at Florida International+32Florida Interna…Won 35–16 vs. Florida Atlantic+19Florida AtlanticWon 63–17 at Southern Miss+46Southern MissWon 41–14 vs. Rice+27RiceWon 23–18 at UAB+5UABLost 66–67 vs. Western Kentucky-1Western KentuckyWon 26–23 vs. Louisiana Tech+3Louisiana TechWon 52–23 vs. Northern Illinois+29Northern Illino…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atMiami (OH)W 42–⁠2775%
Sep 6vsRhode IslandW 48–⁠792%
Sep 13vsOhioW 44–⁠1473%
Sep 20atAkronW 48–⁠1768%
Oct 4atOld DominionW 56–⁠1469%
Oct 11vsMiddle TennesseeW 49–⁠2475%
Oct 18atFlorida InternationalW 45–⁠1377%
Oct 25vsFlorida AtlanticW 35–⁠1682%
Nov 8atSouthern MissW 63–⁠1784%
Nov 15vsRiceW 41–⁠1471%
Nov 22atUABW 23–⁠1882%
Nov 28vsWestern KentuckyL 66–⁠6779%
Dec 6vsLouisiana TechConference USA Championship GameW 26–⁠2371%
Dec 23Bowls & playoffvsNorthern IllinoisBoca Raton BowlW 52–⁠2355%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Northern Illinois 52–⁠23 in the Boca Raton Bowl; No. 23 in the final AP poll; Conference USA champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 8: 25
  2. Wk 9: 23
  3. Wk 10: 23
  4. Wk 11: 23
  5. Wk 12: 21
  6. Wk 13: 18
  7. Wk 14: 19
  8. Final: 23

Conference USA champions7–⁠1 in the conference, won the Conference USA Championship Game

Record
13–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Conference USA
AP final
No. 23 peak No. 18
Points
638–⁠294
Coach
Doc Holliday
Elo
1724 +177 this season
SP+ rating
16.8 No. 24 of 128; offense No. 20, defense No. 40, special teams No. 16
SRS
11.4 No. 25 of 128 in FBS
Returning
79% of last season’s EPA, No. 28 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 62
Offensive coordinator
Bill Legg
Defensive coordinator
Chuck Heater
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense2nd of 128
  • Defense21st of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted7th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted28th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.3548%1.362nd of 128
Defense0.0542%0.9921st of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.30 off
0.09 def		46% off
44% def		—7th off
28th 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 342% allowed
Defense3.2own 312% 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 yardsRakeem Cato QB3,903 yds
Passing touchdownsRakeem Cato QB40 TD
Rushing yardsDevon Johnson RB1,767 yds
Rushing touchdownsDevon Johnson RB17 TD
Receiving yardsTommy Shuler WR1,138 yds
Receiving touchdownsTommy Shuler WR9 TD
InterceptionsA.J. Leggett S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Kendall Gant S★★★★No. 264
Keion Davis ATH★★★No. 1143
Nyquan Harris DT★★★No. 1314
Cole Garvin PRO★★★No. 1321
Donquell Green ATH★★★No. 1330

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.827
Receivers42.30.773
Offensive line12.00.700
Defensive line52.40.797
Linebackers13.00.820
Defensive backs42.80.800
Athletes and specialists33.00.824
Whole class192.60.794

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 7Darryl Roberts CBNew England Patriots

Roster 109

The 2014 roster

109 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2014 line; 36 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.