CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2014 Western Kentucky

8–⁠5 (4–⁠4 Conference USA), coached by Jeff Brohm.

Schedule and results

Western Kentucky in 2014, game by game: won vs. Bowling Green 59–31; lost at Illinois 34–42; lost at Middle Tennessee 47–50; won at Navy 36–27; lost vs. UAB 39–42; lost at Florida Atlantic 38–45; won vs. Old Dominion 66–51; lost at Louisiana Tech 10–59; won vs. UTEP 35–27; won vs. Army 52–24; won vs. UTSA 45–7; won at No. 19 Marshall 67–66; won vs. Central Michigan 49–48+38−49Won 59–31 vs. Bowling Green+28Bowling GreenLost 34–42 at Illinois-8IllinoisLost 47–50 at Middle Tennessee-3Middle TennesseeWon 36–27 at Navy+9NavyLost 39–42 vs. UAB-3UABLost 38–45 at Florida Atlantic-7Florida AtlanticWon 66–51 vs. Old Dominion+15Old DominionLost 10–59 at Louisiana Tech-49Louisiana TechWon 35–27 vs. UTEP+8UTEPWon 52–24 vs. Army+28ArmyWon 45–7 vs. UTSA+38UTSAWon 67–66 at No. 19 Marshall+1No. 19 MarshallWon 49–48 vs. Central Michigan+1Central Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29vsBowling GreenW 59–⁠3145%
Sep 6atIllinoisL 34–⁠4258%
Sep 13atMiddle TennesseeL 47–⁠5050%
Sep 27atNavyW 36–⁠2737%
Oct 4vsUABL 39–⁠4281%
Oct 18atFlorida AtlanticL 38–⁠4554%
Oct 25vsOld DominionW 66–⁠5174%
Nov 1atLouisiana TechL 10–⁠5939%
Nov 8vsUTEPW 35–⁠2762%
Nov 15vsArmyW 52–⁠2477%
Nov 22vsUTSAW 45–⁠773%
Nov 28at19MarshallW 67–⁠6621%
Dec 24Bowls & playoffvsCentral MichiganBahamas BowlW 49–⁠4857%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Central Michigan 49–⁠48 in the Bahamas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 7th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 56 on file).

Led the nationBrandon Doughty: passing yards (4,830 yds), passing touchdowns (49 TD)

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
577–⁠519
Coach
Jeff Brohm
Elo
1540 +31 this season
SP+ rating
-2.6 No. 80 of 128; offense No. 13, defense No. 123, special teams No. 106
SRS
0.1 No. 62 of 128 in FBS
Returning
76% of last season’s EPA, No. 31 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 88
Offensive coordinator
Tyson Helton
Defensive coordinator
Nick Holt
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense4th of 128
  • Defense109th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted9th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted116th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.3250%1.314th of 128
Defense0.2449%1.33109th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.28 off
0.23 def		47% off
49% def		—9th off
116th 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
Offense4.6own 312% allowed
Defense3.4own 342% 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 yardsBrandon Doughty QB4,830 yds
Passing touchdownsBrandon Doughty QB49 TD
Rushing yardsLeon Allen RB1,542 yds
Rushing touchdownsLeon Allen RB13 TD
Receiving yardsJared Dangerfield WR825 yds
Receiving touchdownsJared Dangerfield WR11 TD
InterceptionsBranden Leston DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Dennis Edwards OC★★★No. 1588
DeAndre Farris RB★★No. 1942
Chaka Diarrassouba S★★No. 2087
Antonio Allen ILB★★No. 2174
Martavius Mims CB★★No. 2174

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs12.00.795
Receivers32.00.749
Offensive line13.00.814
Defensive line42.00.756
Linebackers22.00.774
Defensive backs32.00.784
Athletes and specialists12.00.733
Whole class152.10.768

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 111

The 2014 roster

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

2014 Conference USA standings

Conference page
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.