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2014 Syracuse

3–⁠9 (1–⁠7 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Scott Shafer.

Schedule and results

Syracuse in 2014, game by game: won vs. Villanova 27–26; won at Central Michigan 40–3; lost vs. Maryland 20–34; lost vs. No. 8 Notre Dame 15–31; lost vs. Louisville 6–28; lost vs. No. 1 Florida State 20–38; won at Wake Forest 30–7; lost at No. 21 Clemson 6–16; lost vs. NC State 17–24; lost vs. No. 22 Duke 10–27; lost at Pittsburgh 7–30; lost at Boston College 7–28+37−23Won 27–26 vs. Villanova+1VillanovaWon 40–3 at Central Michigan+37Central MichiganLost 20–34 vs. Maryland-14MarylandLost 15–31 vs. No. 8 Notre Dame-16No. 8 Notre DameLost 6–28 vs. Louisville-22LouisvilleLost 20–38 vs. No. 1 Florida State-18No. 1 Florida StateWon 30–7 at Wake Forest+23Wake ForestLost 6–16 at No. 21 Clemson-10No. 21 ClemsonLost 17–24 vs. NC State-7NC StateLost 10–27 vs. No. 22 Duke-17No. 22 DukeLost 7–30 at Pittsburgh-23PittsburghLost 7–28 at Boston College-21Boston College
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29vsVillanovaW 27–⁠2678%
Sep 13atCentral MichiganW 40–⁠350%
Sep 20vsMarylandL 20–⁠3470%
Sep 27vs8Notre DameL 15–⁠3133%
Oct 3vsLouisvilleL 6–⁠2837%
Oct 11vs1Florida StateL 20–⁠3822%
Oct 18atWake ForestW 30–⁠751%
Oct 25at21ClemsonL 6–⁠1622%
Nov 1vsNC StateL 17–⁠2471%
Nov 8vs22DukeL 10–⁠2738%
Nov 22atPittsburghL 7–⁠3044%
Nov 29atBoston CollegeL 7–⁠2831%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Boston College 28–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 13th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 109th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
3–⁠9
Conference
1–⁠7 tied for 13th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
205–⁠292
Coach
Scott Shafer
Elo
1420 −130 this season
SP+ rating
-2.1 No. 78 of 128; offense No. 116, defense No. 27, special teams No. 61
SRS
−5.2 No. 84 of 128 in FBS
Returning
89% of last season’s EPA, No. 12 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 52
Offensive coordinators
George McDonald and Tim Lester
Defensive coordinator
Chuck Bullough
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense116th of 128
  • Defense22nd of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted115th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted23rd of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0137%1.10116th of 128
Defense0.0542%1.0722nd of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.06 off
0.09 def		39% off
40% def		—115th off
23rd 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
Offense2.2own 263% allowed
Defense2.6own 312% 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 yardsTerrel Hunt QB983 yds
Passing touchdownsA.J. Long QB4 TD
Rushing yardsPrince-Tyson Gulley RB607 yds
Rushing touchdownsTerrel Hunt QB6 TD
Receiving yardsJarrod West WR700 yds
Receiving touchdownsSteve Ishmael WR3 TD
InterceptionsBrandon Reddish CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

K.J. Williams ATH★★★★No. 279
Chris Slayton WDE★★★No. 577
Zaire Franklin OLB★★★No. 710
Adly Enoicy WR★★★No. 728
Colton Moskal ILB★★★No. 1130

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers23.00.841
Offensive line13.00.818
Defensive line32.30.804
Linebackers33.00.843
Defensive backs33.00.817
Athletes and specialists23.00.837
Whole class142.90.826

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 112

The 2014 roster

112 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2014 line; 34 have a stat line. See the roster

2014 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida State8–⁠013–⁠15
Georgia Tech6–⁠211–⁠38
Clemson6–⁠210–⁠315
Louisville5–⁠39–⁠424
Duke5–⁠39–⁠4
Boston College4–⁠47–⁠6
Pittsburgh4–⁠46–⁠7
North Carolina4–⁠46–⁠7
NC State3–⁠58–⁠5
Virginia Tech3–⁠57–⁠6
Miami3–⁠56–⁠7
Virginia3–⁠55–⁠7
Syracuse1–⁠73–⁠9
Wake Forest1–⁠73–⁠9

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