CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2014 West Virginia

7–⁠6 (5–⁠4 Big 12), coached by Dana Holgorsen.

Schedule and results

West Virginia in 2014, game by game: lost vs. No. 2 Alabama 23–33; won vs. Towson 54–0; won at Maryland 40–37; lost vs. No. 4 Oklahoma 33–45; won vs. Kansas 33–14; won at Texas Tech 37–34; won vs. No. 4 Baylor 41–27; won at Oklahoma State 34–10; lost vs. No. 10 TCU 30–31; lost at Texas 16–33; lost vs. No. 12 Kansas State 20–26; won at Iowa State 37–24; lost vs. Texas A&M 37–45+54−17Lost 23–33 vs. No. 2 Alabama-10No. 2 AlabamaWon 54–0 vs. Towson+54TowsonWon 40–37 at Maryland+3MarylandLost 33–45 vs. No. 4 Oklahoma-12No. 4 OklahomaWon 33–14 vs. Kansas+19KansasWon 37–34 at Texas Tech+3Texas TechWon 41–27 vs. No. 4 Baylor+14No. 4 BaylorWon 34–10 at Oklahoma State+24Oklahoma StateLost 30–31 vs. No. 10 TCU-1No. 10 TCULost 16–33 at Texas-17TexasLost 20–26 vs. No. 12 Kansas State-6No. 12 Kansas StateWon 37–24 at Iowa State+13Iowa StateLost 37–45 vs. Texas A&M-8Texas A&M
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vs2AlabamaL 23–⁠3320%
Sep 6vsTowsonW 54–⁠060%
Sep 13atMarylandW 40–⁠3737%
Sep 20vs4OklahomaL 33–⁠4526%
Oct 4vsKansasW 33–⁠1470%
Oct 11atTexas TechW 37–⁠3443%
Oct 18vs4BaylorW 41–⁠2727%
Oct 25atOklahoma StateW 34–⁠1030%
Nov 1vs10TCUL 30–⁠3150%
Nov 8atTexasL 16–⁠3347%
Nov 20vs12Kansas StateL 20–⁠2645%
Nov 29atIowa StateW 37–⁠2466%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsTexas A&MLiberty BowlL 37–⁠4544%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Texas A&M 45–⁠37 in the Liberty Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big 12.

In program history: The 50th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 9: 22
  2. Wk 10: 20
  3. Wk 11: 24
Record
7–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠4 tied for 4th in Big 12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 20
Points
435–⁠359
Coach
Dana Holgorsen
Elo
1550 +100 this season
SP+ rating
8.4 No. 41 of 128; offense No. 52, defense No. 49, special teams No. 16
SRS
10.6 No. 28 of 128 in FBS
Returning
70% of last season’s EPA, No. 41 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 39
Offensive coordinator
Shannon Dawson
Defensive coordinator
Tony Gibson
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense63rd of 128
  • Defense44th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted47th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted20th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1442%1.2063rd of 128
Defense0.1140%1.2644th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.18 off
0.08 def		44% off
37% def		—47th off
20th 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
Offense3.2own 292% allowed
Defense3.1own 331% 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 yardsClint Trickett QB3,285 yds
Passing touchdownsClint Trickett QB18 TD
Rushing yardsRushel Shell RB788 yds
Rushing touchdownsRushel Shell RB7 TD
Receiving yardsKevin White WR1,447 yds
Receiving touchdownsMario Alford WR11 TD
InterceptionsDaryl Worley CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Dravon Askew-Henry ATH★★★★No. 141
Donte Thomas-Williams RB★★★★No. 231
William Crest PRO★★★No. 368
Jaleel Fields SDE★★★No. 1177
Xavier Preston OLB★★★No. 1310

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.887
Running backs14.00.911
Offensive line13.00.819
Defensive line13.00.834
Linebackers13.00.828
Defensive backs12.00.720
Athletes and specialists23.00.819
Whole class83.00.829

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 1Kevin White WRChicago Bears
Rd 4Mark Glowinski OGSeattle Seahawks
Rd 5Shaq Riddick DEArizona Cardinals
Rd 7Mario Alford WRCincinnati Bengals

Roster 127

The 2014 roster

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

All-Big 12

4 first team

First 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 Big 12 standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
TCU8–⁠112–⁠13
Baylor8–⁠111–⁠27
Kansas State7–⁠29–⁠418
Oklahoma5–⁠48–⁠5
West Virginia5–⁠47–⁠6
Texas5–⁠46–⁠7
Oklahoma State4–⁠57–⁠6
Texas Tech2–⁠74–⁠8
Kansas1–⁠83–⁠9
Iowa State0–⁠92–⁠10

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