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2014 Utah State

10–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Mountain West Conference), coached by Matt Wells.

Schedule and results

Utah State in 2014, game by game: lost at Tennessee 7–38; won vs. Idaho State 40–20; won vs. Wake Forest 36–24; lost at Arkansas State 14–21; won at No. 18 BYU 35–20; won vs. Air Force 34–16; lost at Colorado State 13–16; won vs. UNLV 34–20; won at Hawai’i 35–14; won at Wyoming 20–3; won vs. New Mexico 28–21; won vs. San José State 41–7; lost at No. 25 Boise State 19–50; won vs. UTEP 21–6+34−31Lost 7–38 at Tennessee-31TennesseeWon 40–20 vs. Idaho State+20Idaho StateWon 36–24 vs. Wake Forest+12Wake ForestLost 14–21 at Arkansas State-7Arkansas StateWon 35–20 at No. 18 BYU+15No. 18 BYUWon 34–16 vs. Air Force+18Air ForceLost 13–16 at Colorado State-3Colorado StateWon 34–20 vs. UNLV+14UNLVWon 35–14 at Hawai’i+21Hawai’iWon 20–3 at Wyoming+17WyomingWon 28–21 vs. New Mexico+7New MexicoWon 41–7 vs. San José State+34San José StateLost 19–50 at No. 25 Boise State-31No. 25 Boise StateWon 21–6 vs. UTEP+15UTEP
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31atTennesseeL 7–⁠3857%
Sep 6vsIdaho StateW 40–⁠2092%
Sep 13vsWake ForestW 36–⁠2472%
Sep 20atArkansas StateL 14–⁠2153%
Oct 3at18BYUW 35–⁠2027%
Oct 11vsAir ForceW 34–⁠1675%
Oct 18atColorado StateL 13–⁠1647%
Oct 25vsUNLVW 34–⁠2082%
Nov 1atHawai’iW 35–⁠1477%
Nov 7atWyomingW 20–⁠367%
Nov 15vsNew MexicoW 28–⁠2187%
Nov 21vsSan José StateW 41–⁠785%
Nov 29at25Boise StateL 19–⁠5040%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffvsUTEPNew Mexico BowlW 21–⁠673%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat UTEP 21–⁠6 in the New Mexico Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 8th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 120 on file).

Record
10–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Mountain West Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
377–⁠276
Coach
Matt Wells
Elo
1632 +40 this season
SP+ rating
6.0 No. 52 of 128; offense No. 88, defense No. 16, special teams No. 84
SRS
1.7 No. 55 of 128 in FBS
Returning
53% of last season’s EPA, No. 83 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 111
Offensive coordinator
Kevin McGiven
Defensive coordinator
Todd Orlando
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense67th of 128
  • Defense13th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted84th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted24th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1339%1.3267th of 128
Defense0.0437%1.2113th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.12 off
0.09 def		39% off
39% def		—84th off
24th 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
Offense2.6own 322% allowed
Defense2.7own 292% 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 yardsDarell Garretson QB1,140 yds
Passing touchdownsDarell Garretson QB8 TD
Rushing yardsLaJuan Hunt RB540 yds
Rushing touchdownsKent Myers QB5 TD
Receiving yardsHunter Sharp WR939 yds
Receiving touchdownsHunter Sharp WR7 TD
InterceptionsFrankie Sutera S7 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Kent Myers DUAL★★★No. 1506
Marcus Mosely TE★★★No. 1603
Mohelika Uasike DT★★★No. 1631
Justen Hervey APB★★★No. 1831
Gasetoto Schuster DT★★No. 2126

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.818
Running backs32.30.778
Receivers42.30.762
Offensive line32.00.741
Defensive line62.20.748
Linebackers12.00.733
Defensive backs22.00.751
Athletes and specialists22.00.746
Whole class222.20.756

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 114

The 2014 roster

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

2014 Mountain West Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Boise State7–⁠112–⁠216
Colorado State6–⁠210–⁠3
Utah State6–⁠210–⁠4
Air Force5–⁠310–⁠3
San Diego State5–⁠37–⁠6
Fresno State5–⁠36–⁠8
Nevada4–⁠47–⁠6
Hawai’i3–⁠54–⁠9
Wyoming2–⁠64–⁠8
New Mexico2–⁠64–⁠8
San José State2–⁠63–⁠9
UNLV1–⁠72–⁠11

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