CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2014 Notre Dame

8–⁠5, coached by Brian Kelly.

Schedule and results

Notre Dame in 2014, game by game: won vs. Rice 48–17; won vs. Michigan 31–0; won vs. Purdue 30–14; won vs. Syracuse 31–15; won vs. No. 14 Stanford 17–14; won vs. North Carolina 50–43; lost at No. 2 Florida State 27–31; won vs. Navy 49–39; lost at No. 11 Arizona State 31–55; lost vs. Northwestern 40–43; lost vs. Louisville 28–31; lost at USC 14–49; won vs. No. 22 LSU 31–28+31−35Won 48–17 vs. Rice+31RiceWon 31–0 vs. Michigan+31MichiganWon 30–14 vs. Purdue+16PurdueWon 31–15 vs. Syracuse+16SyracuseWon 17–14 vs. No. 14 Stanford+3No. 14 StanfordWon 50–43 vs. North Carolina+7North CarolinaLost 27–31 at No. 2 Florida State-4No. 2 Florida StateWon 49–39 vs. Navy+10NavyLost 31–55 at No. 11 Arizona State-24No. 11 Arizona StateLost 40–43 vs. Northwestern-3NorthwesternLost 28–31 vs. Louisville-3LouisvilleLost 14–49 at USC-35USCWon 31–28 vs. No. 22 LSU+3No. 22 LSU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsRiceW 48–⁠1770%
Sep 6vsMichiganW 31–⁠067%
Sep 13vsPurdueW 30–⁠1485%
Sep 27vsSyracuseW 31–⁠1567%
Oct 4vs14StanfordW 17–⁠1456%
Oct 11vsNorth CarolinaW 50–⁠4380%
Oct 18at2Florida StateL 27–⁠3130%
Nov 1vsNavyW 49–⁠3975%
Nov 8at11Arizona StateL 31–⁠5546%
Nov 15vsNorthwesternL 40–⁠4382%
Nov 22vsLouisvilleL 28–⁠3152%
Nov 29atUSCL 14–⁠4942%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvs22LSUMusic City BowlW 31–⁠2843%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat LSU 31–⁠28 in the Music City Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 87th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 131 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 17
  2. Wk 2: 16
  3. Wk 3: 11
  4. Wk 4: 9
  5. Wk 5: 8
  6. Wk 6: 9
  7. Wk 7: 6
  8. Wk 8: 5
  9. Wk 9: 7
  10. Wk 10: 6
  11. Wk 11: 8
  12. Wk 12: 15
Record
8–⁠5
Conference
—
AP final
Unranked peak No. 5
Points
427–⁠379
Coach
Brian Kelly
Elo
1627 +6 this season
SP+ rating
10.8 No. 34 of 128; offense No. 23, defense No. 59, special teams No. 87
SRS
8.1 No. 33 of 128 in FBS
Returning
46% of last season’s EPA, No. 92 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 11
Offensive coordinator
Mike Denbrock
Defensive coordinator
Brian VanGorder
Captains
Cam McDaniel, Nick Martin, Austin Collinsworth and Sheldon Day
Most valuable player
Joe Schmidt
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠4 multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense50th of 128
  • Defense83rd of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted29th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted73rd of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1745%1.2850th of 128
Defense0.1845%1.2083rd of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.22 off
0.17 def		47% off
44% def		—29th off
73rd 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
Offense3.8own 322% allowed
Defense3.4own 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 yardsEverett Golson QB3,445 yds
Passing touchdownsEverett Golson QB29 TD
Rushing yardsTarean Folston RB889 yds
Rushing touchdownsEverett Golson QB8 TD
Receiving yardsChris Brown WR548 yds
Receiving touchdownsCorey Robinson WR5 TD
InterceptionsCole Luke CB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Nyles Morgan ILB★★★★No. 54
Quenton Nelson OT★★★★No. 61
Justin Brent WR★★★★No. 95
Alex Bars OT★★★★No. 109
Andrew Trumbetti SDE★★★★No. 147
Nick Watkins CB★★★★No. 185
Corey Holmes WR★★★★No. 189
Sam Mustipher OG★★★★No. 218

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.910
Receivers44.00.921
Offensive line53.60.893
Defensive line44.00.910
Linebackers23.50.930
Defensive backs24.00.912
Athletes and specialists13.00.808
Whole class193.80.905

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 7Ben Koyack TEJacksonville Jaguars

Roster 110

The 2014 roster

110 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2014 line; 26 have a stat line. See the roster