CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2014 Rutgers

8–⁠5 (3–⁠5 Big Ten), coached by Kyle Flood.

Schedule and results

Rutgers in 2014, game by game: won at Washington State 41–38; won vs. Howard 38–25; lost vs. Penn State 10–13; won at Navy 31–24; won vs. Tulane 31–6; won vs. Michigan 26–24; lost at No. 13 Ohio State 17–56; lost at No. 16 Nebraska 24–42; lost vs. Wisconsin 0–37; won vs. Indiana 45–23; lost at No. 10 Michigan State 3–45; won at Maryland 41–38; won vs. North Carolina 40–21+25−42Won 41–38 at Washington State+3Washington StateWon 38–25 vs. Howard+13HowardLost 10–13 vs. Penn State-3Penn StateWon 31–24 at Navy+7NavyWon 31–6 vs. Tulane+25TulaneWon 26–24 vs. Michigan+2MichiganLost 17–56 at No. 13 Ohio State-39No. 13 Ohio StateLost 24–42 at No. 16 Nebraska-18No. 16 NebraskaLost 0–37 vs. Wisconsin-37WisconsinWon 45–23 vs. Indiana+22IndianaLost 3–45 at No. 10 Michigan State-42No. 10 Michigan StateWon 41–38 at Maryland+3MarylandWon 40–21 vs. North Carolina+19North Carolina
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28atWashington StateW 41–⁠3843%
Sep 6vsHowardW 38–⁠2578%
Sep 13vsPenn StateL 10–⁠1345%
Sep 20atNavyW 31–⁠2431%
Sep 27vsTulaneW 31–⁠671%
Oct 4vsMichiganW 26–⁠2464%
Oct 18at13Ohio StateL 17–⁠5623%
Oct 25at16NebraskaL 24–⁠4225%
Nov 1vsWisconsinL 0–⁠3738%
Nov 15vsIndianaW 45–⁠2366%
Nov 22at10Michigan StateL 3–⁠4517%
Nov 29atMarylandW 41–⁠3835%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsNorth CarolinaQuick Lane BowlW 40–⁠2149%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat North Carolina 40–⁠21 in the Quick Lane Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 16th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 152 on file).

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 8th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
347–⁠392
Coach
Kyle Flood
Elo
1548 +73 this season
SP+ rating
-1.5 No. 75 of 128; offense No. 48, defense No. 98, special teams No. 78
SRS
−0.2 No. 64 of 128 in FBS
Returning
57% of last season’s EPA, No. 69 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 56
Offensive coordinator
Ralph Friedgen
Defensive coordinator
Joe Rossi
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense54th of 128
  • Defense108th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted46th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted107th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1645%1.1454th of 128
Defense0.2346%1.27108th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.18 off
0.22 def		46% off
43% def		—46th off
107th 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
Offense3.7own 303% allowed
Defense3.5own 321% 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 yardsGary Nova QB2,851 yds
Passing touchdownsGary Nova QB22 TD
Rushing yardsDesmon Peoples RB447 yds
Rushing touchdownsRobert Martin RB7 TD
Receiving yardsLeonte Carroo WR1,086 yds
Receiving touchdownsLeonte Carroo WR10 TD
InterceptionsAnthony Cioffi DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Justin Nelson OLB★★★No. 500
Josh Hicks APB★★★No. 566
Sidney Gopre OLB★★★No. 715
Tariq Cole OT★★★No. 930
Kevin Wilkins OG★★★No. 1123

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.798
Running backs13.00.866
Receivers12.00.786
Offensive line23.00.842
Defensive line13.00.826
Linebackers52.40.800
Defensive backs32.30.789
Athletes and specialists12.00.733
Whole class152.50.804

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 3Tyler Kroft TECincinnati Bengals
Rd 5Michael Burton FBDetroit Lions

Roster 108

The 2014 roster

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

All-Big Ten

1 first team

First team

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
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠014–⁠11
Michigan State7–⁠111–⁠25
Wisconsin7–⁠111–⁠313
Nebraska5–⁠39–⁠4
Minnesota5–⁠38–⁠5
Maryland4–⁠47–⁠6
Iowa4–⁠47–⁠6
Rutgers3–⁠58–⁠5
Illinois3–⁠56–⁠7
Michigan3–⁠55–⁠7
Northwestern3–⁠55–⁠7
Penn State2–⁠67–⁠6
Indiana1–⁠74–⁠8
Purdue1–⁠73–⁠9

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