CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2014 Minnesota

8–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Jerry Kill.

Schedule and results

Minnesota in 2014, game by game: won vs. Eastern Illinois 42–20; won vs. Middle Tennessee 35–24; lost at TCU 7–30; won vs. San José State 24–7; won at Michigan 30–14; won vs. Northwestern 24–17; won vs. Purdue 39–38; lost at Illinois 24–28; won vs. Iowa 51–14; lost vs. No. 8 Ohio State 24–31; won at No. 21 Nebraska 28–24; lost at No. 14 Wisconsin 24–34; lost vs. No. 16 Missouri 17–33+37−23Won 42–20 vs. Eastern Illinois+22Eastern IllinoisWon 35–24 vs. Middle Tennessee+11Middle TennesseeLost 7–30 at TCU-23TCUWon 24–7 vs. San José State+17San José StateWon 30–14 at Michigan+16MichiganWon 24–17 vs. Northwestern+7NorthwesternWon 39–38 vs. Purdue+1PurdueLost 24–28 at Illinois-4IllinoisWon 51–14 vs. Iowa+37IowaLost 24–31 vs. No. 8 Ohio State-7No. 8 Ohio StateWon 28–24 at No. 21 Nebraska+4No. 21 NebraskaLost 24–34 at No. 14 Wisconsin-10No. 14 WisconsinLost 17–33 vs. No. 16 Missouri-16No. 16 Missouri
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vsEastern IllinoisW 42–⁠2077%
Sep 6vsMiddle TennesseeW 35–⁠2465%
Sep 13atTCUL 7–⁠3046%
Sep 20vsSan José StateW 24–⁠761%
Sep 27atMichiganW 30–⁠1445%
Oct 11vsNorthwesternW 24–⁠1762%
Oct 18vsPurdueW 39–⁠3880%
Oct 25atIllinoisL 24–⁠2868%
Nov 8vsIowaW 51–⁠1452%
Nov 15vs8Ohio StateL 24–⁠3135%
Nov 22at21NebraskaW 28–⁠2433%
Nov 29at14WisconsinL 24–⁠3427%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs16MissouriCitrus BowlL 17–⁠3335%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Missouri 33–⁠17 in the Citrus Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 51st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 14: 22
Record
8–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 22
Points
369–⁠314
Coach
Jerry Kill
Elo
1582 +62 this season
SP+ rating
6.8 No. 49 of 128; offense No. 63, defense No. 49, special teams No. 23
SRS
6.2 No. 38 of 128 in FBS
Returning
62% of last season’s EPA, No. 57 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 57
Offensive coordinator
Matt Limegrover
Defensive coordinator
Tracy Claeys
Captain
Mitch Leidner, Cedric Thompson
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense70th of 128
  • Defense58th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted54th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted57th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1243%1.1470th of 128
Defense0.1342%1.2158th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
0.14 def		45% off
40% def		—54th off
57th 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 323% allowed
Defense3.2own 282% 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 yardsMitch Leidner QB1,798 yds
Passing touchdownsMitch Leidner QB11 TD
Rushing yardsDavid Cobb RB1,629 yds
Rushing touchdownsDavid Cobb RB13 TD
Receiving yardsMaxx Williams TE569 yds
Receiving touchdownsMaxx Williams TE8 TD
InterceptionsBriean Boddy-Calhoun DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Jeff Jones RB★★★★No. 58
Melvin Holland WR★★★No. 596
Dimonic Roden-McKinzy DUAL★★★No. 720
Isaiah Gentry WR★★★No. 920
Rodney Smith RB★★★No. 1111

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.50.812
Running backs33.00.859
Receivers53.00.834
Offensive line23.00.802
Defensive line32.70.803
Linebackers23.00.805
Defensive backs12.00.767
Athletes and specialists42.30.770
Whole class222.70.811

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 2Maxx Williams TEBaltimore Ravens
Rd 4Damien Wilson ILBDallas Cowboys
Rd 5David Cobb RBTennessee Titans
Rd 5Ced Thompson SMiami Dolphins

Roster 125

The 2014 roster

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

All-Big Ten

5 first team, 2 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.