CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2014 Southern Miss

3–⁠9 (1–⁠7 Conference USA), coached by Todd Monken.

Schedule and results

Southern Miss in 2014, game by game: lost at Mississippi State 0–49; won vs. Alcorn State 26–20; lost at No. 3 Alabama 12–52; won vs. App State 21–20; lost vs. Rice 23–41; lost at Middle Tennessee 31–37; won at North Texas 30–20; lost vs. Louisiana Tech 20–31; lost at UTEP 14–35; lost vs. No. 23 Marshall 17–63; lost at UTSA 10–12; lost vs. UAB 24–45+10−49Lost 0–49 at Mississippi State-49Mississippi Sta…Won 26–20 vs. Alcorn State+6Alcorn StateLost 12–52 at No. 3 Alabama-40No. 3 AlabamaWon 21–20 vs. App State+1App StateLost 23–41 vs. Rice-18RiceLost 31–37 at Middle Tennessee-6Middle TennesseeWon 30–20 at North Texas+10North TexasLost 20–31 vs. Louisiana Tech-11Louisiana TechLost 14–35 at UTEP-21UTEPLost 17–63 vs. No. 23 Marshall-46No. 23 MarshallLost 10–12 at UTSA-2UTSALost 24–45 vs. UAB-21UAB
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atMississippi StateL 0–⁠4918%
Sep 6vsAlcorn StateW 26–⁠2055%
Sep 13at3AlabamaL 12–⁠528%
Sep 20vsApp StateW 21–⁠2059%
Sep 27vsRiceL 23–⁠4140%
Oct 4atMiddle TennesseeL 31–⁠3724%
Oct 18atNorth TexasW 30–⁠2027%
Oct 25vsLouisiana TechL 20–⁠3136%
Nov 1atUTEPL 14–⁠3531%
Nov 8vs23MarshallL 17–⁠6316%
Nov 13atUTSAL 10–⁠1233%
Nov 29vsUABL 24–⁠4548%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to UAB 45–⁠24; unranked in the final AP poll; 13th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 70th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 90 on file).

Record
3–⁠9
Conference
1–⁠7 13th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
228–⁠425
Coach
Todd Monken
Elo
1274 −71 this season
SP+ rating
-15.9 No. 117 of 128; offense No. 113, defense No. 105, special teams No. 64
SRS
−13.4 No. 114 of 128 in FBS
Returning
58% of last season’s EPA, No. 67 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 82
Offensive coordinator
Chip Lindsey
Defensive coordinator
David Duggan
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense104th of 128
  • Defense95th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted92nd of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted92nd of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0638%1.25104th of 128
Defense0.1945%1.1795th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.11 off
0.20 def		40% off
45% def		—92nd off
92nd 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
Offense2.8own 293% allowed
Defense3.7own 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 yardsNick Mullens QB2,470 yds
Passing touchdownsNick Mullens QB12 TD
Rushing yardsIto Smith RB536 yds
Rushing touchdownsGeorge Payne RB6 TD
Receiving yardsMichael Thomas WR592 yds
Receiving touchdownsMichael Thomas WR5 TD
InterceptionsJomez Applewhite DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Tez Parks S★★★No. 936
Jon Michael Edwards WDE★★★No. 1111
Ito Smith RB★★★No. 1434
Darian Yancey OLB★★★No. 1506
Cornell Armstrong CB★★★No. 1557

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.803
Running backs22.50.791
Receivers32.30.774
Offensive line12.00.733
Defensive line32.30.783
Linebackers32.30.779
Defensive backs62.50.800
Athletes and specialists12.00.700
Whole class202.40.781

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 6Rakeem Nunez-Roches DTKansas City Chiefs

Roster 115

The 2014 roster

115 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2014 line; 27 have a stat line. See the roster

2014 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Marshall7–⁠113–⁠123
Louisiana Tech7–⁠19–⁠5
Rice5–⁠38–⁠5
UTEP5–⁠37–⁠6
Middle Tennessee5–⁠36–⁠6
Western Kentucky4–⁠48–⁠5
UAB4–⁠46–⁠6
Old Dominion4–⁠46–⁠6
Florida International3–⁠54–⁠8
UTSA3–⁠54–⁠8
North Texas2–⁠64–⁠8
Florida Atlantic2–⁠63–⁠9
Southern Miss1–⁠73–⁠9

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