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2014 Nebraska

9–⁠4 (5–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Bo Pelini, then Barney Cotton (interim, bowl game).

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 2014, game by game: won vs. Florida Atlantic 55–7; won vs. McNeese 31–24; won at Fresno State 55–19; won vs. Miami 41–31; won vs. Illinois 45–14; lost at No. 10 Michigan State 22–27; won at Northwestern 38–17; won vs. Rutgers 42–24; won vs. Purdue 35–14; lost at No. 22 Wisconsin 24–59; lost vs. Minnesota 24–28; won at Iowa 37–34; lost vs. No. 24 USC 42–45+48−35Won 55–7 vs. Florida Atlantic+48Florida AtlanticWon 31–24 vs. McNeese+7McNeeseWon 55–19 at Fresno State+36Fresno StateWon 41–31 vs. Miami+10MiamiWon 45–14 vs. Illinois+31IllinoisLost 22–27 at No. 10 Michigan State-5No. 10 Michigan StateWon 38–17 at Northwestern+21NorthwesternWon 42–24 vs. Rutgers+18RutgersWon 35–14 vs. Purdue+21PurdueLost 24–59 at No. 22 Wisconsin-35No. 22 WisconsinLost 24–28 vs. Minnesota-4MinnesotaWon 37–34 at Iowa+3IowaLost 42–45 vs. No. 24 USC-3No. 24 USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsFlorida AtlanticW 55–⁠771%
Sep 6vsMcNeeseW 31–⁠2478%
Sep 13atFresno StateW 55–⁠1954%
Sep 20vsMiamiW 41–⁠3166%
Sep 27vsIllinoisW 45–⁠1480%
Oct 4at10Michigan StateL 22–⁠2737%
Oct 18atNorthwesternW 38–⁠1758%
Oct 25vsRutgersW 42–⁠2475%
Nov 1vsPurdueW 35–⁠1488%
Nov 15at22WisconsinL 24–⁠5942%
Nov 22vsMinnesotaL 24–⁠2867%
Nov 28atIowaW 37–⁠3449%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvs24USCHoliday BowlL 42–⁠4547%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to USC 45–⁠42 in the Holiday Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 64th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 22
  2. Wk 2: 19
  3. Wk 4: 24
  4. Wk 5: 21
  5. Wk 6: 19
  6. Wk 7: 21
  7. Wk 8: 19
  8. Wk 9: 16
  9. Wk 10: 17
  10. Wk 11: 15
  11. Wk 12: 11
  12. Wk 13: 21
  13. Wk 15: 25
  14. Wk 16: 25
Record
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 11
Points
491–⁠343
Coach
Bo Pelini, then Barney Cotton (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1637 +72 this season
SP+ rating
13.1 No. 29 of 128; offense No. 37, defense No. 28, special teams No. 50
SRS
10.2 No. 31 of 128 in FBS
Returning
56% of last season’s EPA, No. 73 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 35
Offensive coordinator
Tim Beck
Defensive coordinator
John Papuchis
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense39th of 128
  • Defense31st of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted37th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted33rd of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1946%1.1639th of 128
Defense0.0939%1.2431st of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.21 off
0.10 def		47% off
39% def		—37th off
33rd 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
Offense3.6own 362% allowed
Defense3.5own 302% 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 yardsTommy Armstrong Jr. QB2,695 yds
Passing touchdownsTommy Armstrong Jr. QB22 TD
Rushing yardsAmeer Abdullah RB1,611 yds
Rushing touchdownsAmeer Abdullah RB19 TD
Receiving yardsKenny Bell WR788 yds
Receiving touchdownsKenny Bell WR6 TD
InterceptionsNathan Gerry S5 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Tanner Farmer OG★★★★No. 254
Nick Gates OT★★★★No. 300
Jerald Foster OG★★★★No. 335
Peyton Newell DT★★★★No. 339
Mikale Wilbon RB★★★No. 377

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.842
Running backs13.00.885
Receivers22.50.808
Offensive line34.00.897
Defensive line23.50.851
Linebackers23.00.825
Defensive backs23.00.847
Athletes and specialists13.00.826
Whole class153.20.850

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 2Ameer Abdullah RBDetroit Lions
Rd 2Randy Gregory OLBDallas Cowboys
Rd 5Kenny Bell WRTampa Bay Buccaneers

Roster 140

The 2014 roster

140 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2014 line; 34 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 3 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.