2014 Penn State
7–6 (2–6 Big Ten), coached by James Franklin. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Massachusetts 48–7Sep 20
By 41 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to Maryland 19–20Nov 1
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30 | vs UCF | W 26–24 | 38% |
| Sep 6 | vs Akron | W 21–3 | 78% |
| Sep 13 | at Rutgers | W 13–10 | 55% |
| Sep 20 | vs Massachusetts | W 48–7 | 90% |
| Sep 27 | vs Northwestern | L 6–29 | 76% |
| Oct 11 | at Michigan | L 13–18 | 53% |
| Oct 25 | vs 13Ohio State | L 24–31 | 33% |
| Nov 1 | vs Maryland | L 19–20 | 56% |
| Nov 8 | at Indiana | W 13–7 | 52% |
| Nov 15 | vs Temple | W 30–13 | 63% |
| Nov 22 | at Illinois | L 14–16 | 64% |
| Nov 29 | vs 10Michigan State | L 10–34 | 30% |
| Dec 27Bowls & playoff | vs Boston CollegePinstripe Bowl | W 31–30 | 47% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat Boston College 31–30 in the Pinstripe Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 12th in the Big Ten.
In program history: The 104th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 139 on file).
- Record
- 7–6
- Conference
- 2–6 12th in Big Ten
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 268–242
- Coach
- James Franklin
- Elo
- 1530 −36 this season
- SP+ rating
- 9.2 No. 36 of 128; offense No. 110, defense No. 2, special teams No. 78
- SRS
- 1.5 No. 58 of 128 in FBS
- Returning
- 54% of last season’s EPA, No. 80 of 125
- Recruiting class
- No. 24
- Offensive coordinator
- John Donovan
- Defensive coordinator
- Bob Shoop
- Offense
- Multiple
- Defense
- 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.00 | 39% | 1.10 | 118th of 128 |
| Defense | -0.04 | 36% | 1.05 | 1st of 128 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.04 off 0.01 def | 40% off 36% def | — | 120th off 3rd 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 2.5 | own 31 | 2% allowed |
| Defense | 2.5 | own 33 | 3% 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 yards | Christian Hackenberg QB | 2,977 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Christian Hackenberg QB | 12 TD |
| Rushing yards | Akeel Lynch RB | 678 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Bill Belton RB | 6 TD |
| Receiving yards | DaeSean Hamilton WR | 899 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Jesse James TE | 3 TD |
| Interceptions | Adrian Amos S | 3 INT |
Top recruits in the 2014 class
| Saeed Blacknall WR | ★★★★ | No. 140 |
| Chris Godwin WR | ★★★★ | No. 173 |
| Mike Gesicki TE | ★★★★ | No. 216 |
| DeAndre Thompkins WR | ★★★★ | No. 230 |
| Michael O’Connor PRO | ★★★★ | No. 258 |
| Marcus Allen S | ★★★★ | No. 344 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2014 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 2 | 3.5 | 0.885 |
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.838 |
| Receivers | 4 | 4.0 | 0.924 |
| Defensive line | 1 | 3.0 | 0.858 |
| Defensive backs | 4 | 3.3 | 0.868 |
| Athletes and specialists | 3 | 3.0 | 0.846 |
| Whole class | 15 | 3.4 | 0.878 |
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 2 | Donovan Smith OT | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Rd 5 | Adrian Amos S | Chicago Bears |
| Rd 5 | Jesse James TE | Pittsburgh Steelers |
Roster 130
The 2014 roster130 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2014 line; 31 have a stat line. See the roster
All-Big Ten
2 first team, 2 second teamFirst team
Anthony ZettelDLCoaches-1; Media-1
Mike HullLBCoaches-1; Media-1
Second team
- DaeSean HamiltonWRMedia-2
- Sam FickenKCoaches-2; Media-2
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| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 8–0 | 14–1 | 1 |
| Michigan State | 7–1 | 11–2 | 5 |
 Wisconsin | 7–1 | 11–3 | 13 |
 Nebraska | 5–3 | 9–4 | |
 Minnesota | 5–3 | 8–5 | |
| Maryland | 4–4 | 7–6 | |
 Iowa | 4–4 | 7–6 | |
| Rutgers | 3–5 | 8–5 | |
| Illinois | 3–5 | 6–7 | |
| Michigan | 3–5 | 5–7 | |
| Northwestern | 3–5 | 5–7 | |
| Penn State | 2–6 | 7–6 | |
| Indiana | 1–7 | 4–8 | |
 Purdue | 1–7 | 3–9 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.