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2014 North Carolina

6–⁠7 (4–⁠4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Larry Fedora.

Schedule and results

North Carolina in 2014, game by game: won vs. Liberty 56–29; won vs. San Diego State 31–27; lost at East Carolina 41–70; lost at Clemson 35–50; lost vs. Virginia Tech 17–34; lost at No. 6 Notre Dame 43–50; won vs. Georgia Tech 48–43; won at Virginia 28–27; lost at Miami 20–47; won vs. Pittsburgh 40–35; won at No. 25 Duke 45–20; lost vs. NC State 7–35; lost vs. Rutgers 21–40+27−29Won 56–29 vs. Liberty+27LibertyWon 31–27 vs. San Diego State+4San Diego StateLost 41–70 at East Carolina-29East CarolinaLost 35–50 at Clemson-15ClemsonLost 17–34 vs. Virginia Tech-17Virginia TechLost 43–50 at No. 6 Notre Dame-7No. 6 Notre DameWon 48–43 vs. Georgia Tech+5Georgia TechWon 28–27 at Virginia+1VirginiaLost 20–47 at Miami-27MiamiWon 40–35 vs. Pittsburgh+5PittsburghWon 45–20 at No. 25 Duke+25No. 25 DukeLost 7–35 vs. NC State-28NC StateLost 21–40 vs. Rutgers-19Rutgers
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsLibertyW 56–⁠2981%
Sep 6vsSan Diego StateW 31–⁠2764%
Sep 20atEast CarolinaL 41–⁠7045%
Sep 27atClemsonL 35–⁠5035%
Oct 4vsVirginia TechL 17–⁠3455%
Oct 11at6Notre DameL 43–⁠5020%
Oct 18vsGeorgia TechW 48–⁠4347%
Oct 25atVirginiaW 28–⁠2753%
Nov 1atMiamiL 20–⁠4731%
Nov 15vsPittsburghW 40–⁠3565%
Nov 20at25DukeW 45–⁠2028%
Nov 29vsNC StateL 7–⁠3574%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsRutgersQuick Lane BowlL 21–⁠4051%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Rutgers 40–⁠21 in the Quick Lane Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 80th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 127 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 23
  2. Wk 2: 21
Record
6–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 21
Points
432–⁠507
Coach
Larry Fedora
Elo
1495 −83 this season
SP+ rating
0.0 No. 69 of 128; offense No. 30, defense No. 108, special teams No. 90
SRS
−1.4 No. 68 of 128 in FBS
Returning
49% of last season’s EPA, No. 87 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 30
Offensive coordinators
Seth Littrell and Chris Kapilovic
Defensive coordinators
Dan Disch and Ron West
Captains
Marquise Williams, Landon Turner, Ethan Farmer, Norkeithus Otis and Mack Hollins
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense51st of 128
  • Defense125th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted45th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted121st of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1745%1.2451st of 128
Defense0.3050%1.26125th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.19 off
0.25 def		46% off
47% def		—45th off
121st 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 322% allowed
Defense4.3own 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 yardsMarquise Williams QB3,068 yds
Passing touchdownsMarquise Williams QB21 TD
Rushing yardsMarquise Williams QB788 yds
Rushing touchdownsMarquise Williams QB13 TD
Receiving yardsRyan Switzer WR757 yds
Receiving touchdownsMack Hollins WR8 TD
InterceptionsBrian Walker CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Elijah Hood RB★★★★No. 44
Bentley Spain OT★★★★No. 115
Caleb Henderson PRO★★★★No. 205
Jeremiah Clarke SDE★★★No. 355
Cayson Collins OLB★★★No. 373

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.920
Running backs14.00.977
Receivers32.70.824
Offensive line33.30.897
Defensive line33.00.864
Linebackers13.00.886
Defensive backs23.00.841
Athletes and specialists13.00.833
Whole class153.10.870

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 123

The 2014 roster

123 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2014 line; 32 have a stat line. See the roster

2014 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida State8–⁠013–⁠15
Georgia Tech6–⁠211–⁠38
Clemson6–⁠210–⁠315
Louisville5–⁠39–⁠424
Duke5–⁠39–⁠4
Boston College4–⁠47–⁠6
Pittsburgh4–⁠46–⁠7
North Carolina4–⁠46–⁠7
NC State3–⁠58–⁠5
Virginia Tech3–⁠57–⁠6
Miami3–⁠56–⁠7
Virginia3–⁠55–⁠7
Syracuse1–⁠73–⁠9
Wake Forest1–⁠73–⁠9

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