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2014 Michigan State

11–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Mark Dantonio, finished No. 5 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 2014, game by game: won vs. Jacksonville State 45–7; lost at No. 3 Oregon 27–46; won vs. Eastern Michigan 73–14; won vs. Wyoming 56–14; won vs. No. 19 Nebraska 27–22; won at Purdue 45–31; won at Indiana 56–17; won vs. Michigan 35–11; lost vs. No. 13 Ohio State 37–49; won at Maryland 37–15; won vs. Rutgers 45–3; won at Penn State 34–10; won vs. No. 4 Baylor 42–41+59−19Won 45–7 vs. Jacksonville State+38Jacksonville St…Lost 27–46 at No. 3 Oregon-19No. 3 OregonWon 73–14 vs. Eastern Michigan+59Eastern MichiganWon 56–14 vs. Wyoming+42WyomingWon 27–22 vs. No. 19 Nebraska+5No. 19 NebraskaWon 45–31 at Purdue+14PurdueWon 56–17 at Indiana+39IndianaWon 35–11 vs. Michigan+24MichiganLost 37–49 vs. No. 13 Ohio State-12No. 13 Ohio StateWon 37–15 at Maryland+22MarylandWon 45–3 vs. Rutgers+42RutgersWon 34–10 at Penn State+24Penn StateWon 42–41 vs. No. 4 Baylor+1No. 4 Baylor
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29vsJacksonville StateW 45–⁠789%
Sep 6at3OregonL 27–⁠4645%
Sep 20vsEastern MichiganW 73–⁠1492%
Sep 27vsWyomingW 56–⁠1484%
Oct 4vs19NebraskaW 27–⁠2263%
Oct 11atPurdueW 45–⁠3180%
Oct 18atIndianaW 56–⁠1773%
Oct 25vsMichiganW 35–⁠1184%
Nov 8vs13Ohio StateL 37–⁠4959%
Nov 15atMarylandW 37–⁠1565%
Nov 22vsRutgersW 45–⁠383%
Nov 29atPenn StateW 34–⁠1070%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs4BaylorCotton BowlW 42–⁠4148%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Baylor 42–⁠41 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 5 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 8
  2. Wk 2: 7
  3. Wk 3: 13
  4. Wk 4: 11
  5. Wk 5: 9
  6. Wk 6: 10
  7. Wk 7: 8
  8. Wk 8: 8
  9. Wk 9: 8
  10. Wk 10: 8
  11. Wk 11: 7
  12. Wk 12: 12
  13. Wk 13: 10
  14. Wk 14: 10
  15. Wk 15: 7
  16. Wk 16: 7
  17. Final: 5
Record
11–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 tied for 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 5 peak No. 5
Points
559–⁠280
Coach
Mark Dantonio
Elo
1768 +74 this season
SP+ rating
24.1 No. 7 of 128; offense No. 12, defense No. 14, special teams No. 78
SRS
17.8 No. 10 of 128 in FBS
Returning
102% of last season’s EPA, No. 2 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 26
Offensive coordinators
Dave Warner and Jim Bollman
Defensive coordinator
Pat Narduzzi
Captains
Shilique Calhoun, Kurtis Drummond and Travis Jackson
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense10th of 128
  • Defense28th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted8th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted22nd of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2849%1.2110th of 128
Defense0.0736%1.3928th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.29 off
0.09 def		49% off
35% def		—8th off
22nd 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
Offense4.3own 342% allowed
Defense2.9own 292% 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 yardsConnor Cook QB3,214 yds
Passing touchdownsConnor Cook QB24 TD
Rushing yardsJeremy Langford RB1,522 yds
Rushing touchdownsJeremy Langford RB22 TD
Receiving yardsTony Lippett WR1,198 yds
Receiving touchdownsTony Lippett WR11 TD
InterceptionsKurtis Drummond S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Malik McDowell SDE★★★★★No. 31
Montae Nicholson S★★★★No. 198
Craig Evans DT★★★★No. 222
Brian Allen OC★★★★No. 308
Vayante Copeland RB★★★★No. 338

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.776
Running backs23.50.888
Receivers13.00.822
Offensive line23.50.860
Defensive line53.60.896
Defensive backs23.50.884
Athletes and specialists23.00.857
Whole class153.30.871

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 1Trae Waynes CBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 4Jeremy Langford RBChicago Bears
Rd 5Tony Lippett WRMiami Dolphins
Rd 5Keith Mumphery WRHouston Texans

Roster 115

The 2014 roster

115 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2014 line; 37 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

5 first team, 4 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.