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2014 South Alabama

6–⁠7 (5–⁠3 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Joey Jones.

Schedule and results

South Alabama in 2014, game by game: won at Kent State 23–13; lost vs. Mississippi State 3–35; lost vs. Georgia Southern 6–28; won at Idaho 34–10; won at App State 47–21; won vs. Georgia State 30–27; won vs. Troy 27–13; lost at Louisiana 9–19; lost at Arkansas State 10–45; won vs. Texas State 24–20; lost at South Carolina 12–37; lost vs. Navy 40–42; lost vs. Bowling Green 28–33+26−35Won 23–13 at Kent State+10Kent StateLost 3–35 vs. Mississippi State-32Mississippi Sta…Lost 6–28 vs. Georgia Southern-22Georgia SouthernWon 34–10 at Idaho+24IdahoWon 47–21 at App State+26App StateWon 30–27 vs. Georgia State+3Georgia StateWon 27–13 vs. Troy+14TroyLost 9–19 at Louisiana-10LouisianaLost 10–45 at Arkansas State-35Arkansas StateWon 24–20 vs. Texas State+4Texas StateLost 12–37 at South Carolina-25South CarolinaLost 40–42 vs. Navy-2NavyLost 28–33 vs. Bowling Green-5Bowling Green
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6atKent StateW 23–⁠1342%
Sep 13vsMississippi StateL 3–⁠3544%
Sep 20vsGeorgia SouthernL 6–⁠2866%
Sep 27atIdahoW 34–⁠1064%
Oct 4atApp StateW 47–⁠2159%
Oct 18vsGeorgia StateW 30–⁠2786%
Oct 24vsTroyW 27–⁠1377%
Nov 1atLouisianaL 9–⁠1936%
Nov 8atArkansas StateL 10–⁠4532%
Nov 15vsTexas StateW 24–⁠2062%
Nov 22atSouth CarolinaL 12–⁠3720%
Nov 28vsNavyL 40–⁠4244%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffvsBowling GreenCamellia BowlL 28–⁠3342%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Bowling Green 33–⁠28 in the Camellia Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Sun Belt Conference.

In program history: The 7th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 16 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Sun Belt Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
293–⁠343
Coach
Joey Jones
Elo
1408 −44 this season
SP+ rating
-4.3 No. 84 of 128; offense No. 98, defense No. 72, special teams No. 39
SRS
−9.6 No. 97 of 128 in FBS
Returning
56% of last season’s EPA, No. 70 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 115
Offensive coordinators
Robert Matthews and Bryant Vincent
Defensive coordinator
Travis Pearson
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense106th of 128
  • Defense71st of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted118th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted74th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0541%1.10106th of 128
Defense0.1642%1.2071st of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.17 def		39% off
43% def		—118th off
74th 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
Offense2.7own 314% allowed
Defense3.4own 322% 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 yardsBrandon Bridge QB1,927 yds
Passing touchdownsBrandon Bridge QB15 TD
Rushing yardsKendall Houston RB705 yds
Rushing touchdownsBrandon Bridge QB4 TD
Receiving yardsShavarez Smith WR748 yds
Receiving touchdownsShavarez Smith WR8 TD
InterceptionsMontell Garner CB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

C.J. Johnson S★★★No. 1624
Corliss Waitman P★★★No. 1817
Malcolm Buggs S★★★No. 1868
Marice Fluellen CB★★No. 2584
Christopher Wilkerson S★★No. 2945

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.753
Offensive line22.00.752
Defensive line22.00.748
Linebackers12.00.733
Defensive backs62.30.777
Athletes and specialists32.30.762
Whole class152.20.762

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.

Roster 118

The 2014 roster

118 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2014 line; 29 have a stat line. See the roster

2014 Sun Belt Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia Southern8–⁠09–⁠3
Louisiana7–⁠19–⁠4
App State6–⁠27–⁠5
Texas State5–⁠37–⁠5
Arkansas State5–⁠37–⁠6
South Alabama5–⁠36–⁠7
UL Monroe3–⁠54–⁠8
Troy3–⁠53–⁠9
New Mexico State1–⁠72–⁠10
Idaho1–⁠71–⁠10
Georgia State0–⁠81–⁠11

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