CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2014 USC

9–⁠4 (6–⁠3 Pac-12), coached by Steve Sarkisian, finished No. 20 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

USC in 2014, game by game: won vs. Fresno State 52–13; won at No. 13 Stanford 13–10; lost at Boston College 31–37; won vs. Oregon State 35–10; lost vs. Arizona State 34–38; won at No. 10 Arizona 28–26; won vs. Colorado 56–28; lost at No. 19 Utah 21–24; won at Washington State 44–17; won vs. California 38–30; lost at No. 11 UCLA 20–38; won vs. Notre Dame 49–14; won vs. No. 25 Nebraska 45–42+39−18Won 52–13 vs. Fresno State+39Fresno StateWon 13–10 at No. 13 Stanford+3No. 13 StanfordLost 31–37 at Boston College-6Boston CollegeWon 35–10 vs. Oregon State+25Oregon StateLost 34–38 vs. Arizona State-4Arizona StateWon 28–26 at No. 10 Arizona+2No. 10 ArizonaWon 56–28 vs. Colorado+28ColoradoLost 21–24 at No. 19 Utah-3No. 19 UtahWon 44–17 at Washington State+27Washington StateWon 38–30 vs. California+8CaliforniaLost 20–38 at No. 11 UCLA-18No. 11 UCLAWon 49–14 vs. Notre Dame+35Notre DameWon 45–42 vs. No. 25 Nebraska+3No. 25 Nebraska
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsFresno StateW 52–⁠1363%
Sep 6at13StanfordW 13–⁠1035%
Sep 13atBoston CollegeL 31–⁠3768%
Sep 27vsOregon StateW 35–⁠1064%
Oct 4vsArizona StateL 34–⁠3866%
Oct 11at10ArizonaW 28–⁠2639%
Oct 18vsColoradoW 56–⁠2886%
Oct 25at19UtahL 21–⁠2449%
Nov 1atWashington StateW 44–⁠1771%
Nov 13vsCaliforniaW 38–⁠3082%
Nov 22at11UCLAL 20–⁠3836%
Nov 29vsNotre DameW 49–⁠1458%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvs25NebraskaHoliday BowlW 45–⁠4253%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Nebraska 45–⁠42 in the Holiday Bowl; No. 20 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 42nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 15
  2. Wk 2: 14
  3. Wk 3: 9
  4. Wk 4: 17
  5. Wk 5: 18
  6. Wk 6: 16
  7. Wk 8: 22
  8. Wk 9: 20
  9. Wk 13: 24
  10. Wk 16: 24
  11. Final: 20
Record
9–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Pac-12
AP final
No. 20 peak No. 9
Points
466–⁠327
Coach
Steve Sarkisian
Elo
1683 +73 this season
SP+ rating
17.1 No. 22 of 128; offense No. 18, defense No. 36, special teams No. 33
SRS
14.3 No. 15 of 128 in FBS
Returning
71% of last season’s EPA, No. 40 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 10
Offensive coordinator
Clay Helton
Defensive coordinator
Justin Wilcox
Captains
Nelson Agholor, Cody Kessler, Hayes Pullard, [[Josh Shaw, Max Tuerk and [[Leonard Williams
Offense
Multiple
Defense
Multiple 3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense23rd of 128
  • Defense45th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted24th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted40th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2444%1.3323rd of 128
Defense0.1142%1.1645th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.23 off
0.12 def		45% off
41% def		—24th off
40th 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
Offense3.9own 301% allowed
Defense3.0own 301% 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 yardsCody Kessler QB3,826 yds
Passing touchdownsCody Kessler QB39 TD
Rushing yardsJavorius Allen 1,489 yds
Rushing touchdownsJavorius Allen 11 TD
Receiving yardsNelson Agholor WR1,313 yds
Receiving touchdownsNelson Agholor WR12 TD
InterceptionsSu’a Cravens S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Adoree’ Jackson CB★★★★★No. 7
JuJu Smith-Schuster ATH★★★★★No. 21
Damien Mama OG★★★★No. 38
Viane Talamaivao OG★★★★No. 84
Bryce Dixon TE★★★★No. 105
Toa Lobendahn OG★★★★No. 133
Jonathan Lockett CB★★★★No. 181
Rahshead Johnson WR★★★★No. 184

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.781
Receivers24.00.938
Offensive line53.80.923
Defensive line23.00.873
Linebackers32.70.823
Defensive backs53.20.874
Athletes and specialists15.00.990
Whole class193.40.887

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 1Leonard Williams DENew York Jets
Rd 1Nelson Agholor WRPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 4Josh Shaw SCincinnati Bengals
Rd 4Buck Allen RBBaltimore Ravens
Rd 6Randall Telfer TECleveland Browns
Rd 7Hayes Pullard ILBCleveland Browns

Roster 117

The 2014 roster

117 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2014 line; 30 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Pac-12

5 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second 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 Pac-12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oregon8–⁠113–⁠22
Arizona7–⁠210–⁠419
Arizona State6–⁠310–⁠312
UCLA6–⁠310–⁠310
USC6–⁠39–⁠420
Utah5–⁠49–⁠421
Stanford5–⁠48–⁠5
Washington4–⁠58–⁠6
California3–⁠65–⁠7
Oregon State2–⁠75–⁠7
Washington State2–⁠73–⁠9
Colorado0–⁠92–⁠10

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