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2014 North Dakota State

15–⁠1 (8–⁠1 Missouri Valley Football Conference).

Schedule and results

North Dakota State in 2014, game by game: won at Iowa State 34–14; won at Weber State 24–7; won vs. Incarnate Word 58–0; won vs. Montana 22–10; won at Western Illinois 17–10; won vs. Southern Illinois 38–10; won vs. Indiana State 34–17; won at South Dakota 47–7; won vs. South Dakota State 37–17; lost at Northern Iowa 3–23; won at Missouri State 45–10; won vs. Youngstown State 38–14; won vs. South Dakota State 27–24; won vs. Coastal Carolina 39–32; won vs. Sam Houston 35–3; won vs. Illinois State 29–27+58−20Won 34–14 at Iowa State+20Iowa StateWon 24–7 at Weber State+17Weber StateWon 58–0 vs. Incarnate Word+58Incarnate WordWon 22–10 vs. Montana+12MontanaWon 17–10 at Western Illinois+7Western IllinoisWon 38–10 vs. Southern Illinois+28Southern Illino…Won 34–17 vs. Indiana State+17Indiana StateWon 47–7 at South Dakota+40South DakotaWon 37–17 vs. South Dakota State+20South Dakota St…Lost 3–23 at Northern Iowa-20Northern IowaWon 45–10 at Missouri State+35Missouri StateWon 38–14 vs. Youngstown State+24Youngstown StateWon 27–24 vs. South Dakota State+3South Dakota St…Won 39–32 vs. Coastal Carolina+7Coastal CarolinaWon 35–3 vs. Sam Houston+32Sam HoustonWon 29–27 vs. Illinois State+2Illinois State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atIowa StateW 34–⁠1453%
Sep 6atWeber StateW 24–⁠786%
Sep 13vsIncarnate WordW 58–⁠093%
Sep 20vsMontanaW 22–⁠1076%
Oct 4atWestern IllinoisW 17–⁠1085%
Oct 11vsSouthern IllinoisW 38–⁠1080%
Oct 18vsIndiana StateW 34–⁠1788%
Oct 25atSouth DakotaW 47–⁠788%
Nov 1vsSouth Dakota StateW 37–⁠1780%
Nov 8atNorthern IowaL 3–⁠2371%
Nov 15atMissouri StateW 45–⁠1080%
Nov 22vsYoungstown StateW 38–⁠1482%
Dec 6vsSouth Dakota StateW 27–⁠2473%
Dec 13vsCoastal CarolinaW 39–⁠3266%
Dec 19Bowls & playoffvsSam HoustonW 35–⁠368%
Jan 10Bowls & playoffvsIllinois StateW 29–⁠2763%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Illinois State 29–⁠27; unranked in the final AP poll; Missouri Valley Football Conference champions.

In program history: The 7th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 51 on file).

Missouri Valley Football Conference champions8–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Illinois State

Record
15–⁠1
Conference
8–⁠1 shared first in Missouri Valley Football Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
527–⁠225
Coach
—
Elo
1666 +119 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
2.0 No. 1 of 124 in FCS
Recruiting class
No. 142
Offensive coordinator
Tim Polasek
Defensive coordinator
Matt Entz
Offense
West Coast
Defense
3–⁠4

Leaders

Passing yardsCarson Wentz QB204 yds
Rushing yardsJohn Crockett RB139 yds
Rushing touchdownsJohn Crockett RB3 TD
Receiving yardsZach Vraa WR96 yds

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Greg Menard WDE★★★No. 1846
Easton Stick DUAL★★No. 2400
Marcus Collins ATH★★No. 2466
Brandon Hines DT★★No. 2648
Eric Bachmeier WR★★No. 3208

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.778
Receivers22.00.747
Defensive line32.30.756
Athletes and specialists22.00.737
Whole class82.10.752

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 5Kyle Emanuel OLBSan Diego Chargers

2014 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
North Dakota State8–⁠115–⁠1
Illinois State8–⁠113–⁠2
Northern Iowa6–⁠39–⁠5
South Dakota State5–⁠49–⁠5
Youngstown State4–⁠47–⁠5
Indiana State4–⁠48–⁠6
Southern Illinois3–⁠56–⁠6
Western Illinois3–⁠55–⁠7
Missouri State1–⁠74–⁠8
South Dakota0–⁠82–⁠10

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