CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2014 Northern Illinois

11–⁠3 (7–⁠1 Mid-American Conference), coached by Rod Carey.

Schedule and results

Northern Illinois in 2014, game by game: won vs. Presbyterian 55–3; won at Northwestern 23–15; won at UNLV 48–34; lost at Arkansas 14–52; won vs. Kent State 17–14; lost vs. Central Michigan 17–34; won vs. Miami (OH) 51–41; won at Eastern Michigan 28–17; won at Ball State 35–21; won vs. Toledo 27–24; won at Ohio 21–14; won at Western Michigan 31–21; won vs. Bowling Green 51–17; lost vs. Marshall 23–52+52−38Won 55–3 vs. Presbyterian+52PresbyterianWon 23–15 at Northwestern+8NorthwesternWon 48–34 at UNLV+14UNLVLost 14–52 at Arkansas-38ArkansasWon 17–14 vs. Kent State+3Kent StateLost 17–34 vs. Central Michigan-17Central MichiganWon 51–41 vs. Miami (OH)+10Miami (OH)Won 28–17 at Eastern Michigan+11Eastern MichiganWon 35–21 at Ball State+14Ball StateWon 27–24 vs. Toledo+3ToledoWon 21–14 at Ohio+7OhioWon 31–21 at Western Michigan+10Western MichiganWon 51–17 vs. Bowling Green+34Bowling GreenLost 23–52 vs. Marshall-29Marshall
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vsPresbyterianW 55–⁠393%
Sep 6atNorthwesternW 23–⁠1564%
Sep 13atUNLVW 48–⁠3470%
Sep 20atArkansasL 14–⁠5264%
Oct 4vsKent StateW 17–⁠1483%
Oct 11vsCentral MichiganL 17–⁠3478%
Oct 18vsMiami (OH)W 51–⁠4189%
Oct 25atEastern MichiganW 28–⁠1777%
Nov 5atBall StateW 35–⁠2156%
Nov 11vsToledoW 27–⁠2466%
Nov 18atOhioW 21–⁠1468%
Nov 28atWestern MichiganW 31–⁠2156%
Dec 5vsBowling GreenMid-American Championship GameW 51–⁠1770%
Dec 23Bowls & playoffvsMarshallBoca Raton BowlL 23–⁠5245%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Marshall 52–⁠23 in the Boca Raton Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Mid-American Conference champions.

In program history: The 5th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Mid-American Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference, won the Mid-American Championship Game

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
441–⁠359
Coach
Rod Carey
Elo
1630 +10 this season
SP+ rating
-0.6 No. 71 of 128; offense No. 60, defense No. 79, special teams No. 94
SRS
−1.9 No. 69 of 128 in FBS
Returning
59% of last season’s EPA, No. 64 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 98
Offensive coordinator
Bob Cole
Defensive coordinator
Jay Niemann
Captains
Luke Eakes, Tyler Loos, Jason Meehan, Rob Sterling, Ryan Brown and Da’Ron Brown
Most valuable player
Da’Ron Brown
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense34th of 128
  • Defense77th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted48th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted86th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2046%1.1534th of 128
Defense0.1744%1.1977th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.18 off
0.19 def		44% off
45% def		—48th off
86th 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
Offense3.5own 321% allowed
Defense3.7own 273% 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 yardsDrew Hare QB2,322 yds
Passing touchdownsDrew Hare QB18 TD
Rushing yardsCameron Stingily 971 yds
Rushing touchdownsCameron Stingily 14 TD
Receiving yardsDa’Ron Brown WR1,065 yds
Receiving touchdownsDa’Ron Brown WR6 TD
InterceptionsDechane Durante S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Mayomi Olootu CB★★★No. 1428
Christian Blake WR★★★No. 1905
David Senior WR★★No. 2174
Max Scharping OT★★No. 2242
Denzel Tolliver TE★★No. 2259

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.775
Running backs12.00.700
Receivers72.10.765
Offensive line32.00.728
Defensive line52.00.742
Linebackers22.00.724
Defensive backs52.20.760
Athletes and specialists22.00.733
Whole class262.10.748

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 7Da’Ron Brown WRKansas City Chiefs

Roster 116

The 2014 roster

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

2014 Mid-American Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Northern Illinois7–⁠111–⁠3
Toledo7–⁠19–⁠4
Western Michigan6–⁠28–⁠5
Bowling Green5–⁠38–⁠6
Central Michigan5–⁠37–⁠6
Ohio4–⁠46–⁠6
Ball State4–⁠45–⁠7
Buffalo3–⁠45–⁠6
Akron3–⁠55–⁠7
Massachusetts3–⁠53–⁠9
Miami (OH)2–⁠62–⁠10
Kent State1–⁠62–⁠9
Eastern Michigan1–⁠72–⁠10

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