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2014 Western Michigan

8–⁠5 (6–⁠2 Mid-American Conference), coached by P.J. Fleck.

Schedule and results

Western Michigan in 2014, game by game: lost at Purdue 34–43; won at Idaho 45–33; won vs. Murray State 45–14; lost at Virginia Tech 17–35; lost vs. Toledo 19–20; won at Ball State 42–38; won at Bowling Green 26–14; won vs. Ohio 42–21; won at Miami (OH) 41–10; won vs. Eastern Michigan 51–7; won at Central Michigan 32–20; lost vs. Northern Illinois 21–31; lost vs. Air Force 24–38+44−18Lost 34–43 at Purdue-9PurdueWon 45–33 at Idaho+12IdahoWon 45–14 vs. Murray State+31Murray StateLost 17–35 at Virginia Tech-18Virginia TechLost 19–20 vs. Toledo-1ToledoWon 42–38 at Ball State+4Ball StateWon 26–14 at Bowling Green+12Bowling GreenWon 42–21 vs. Ohio+21OhioWon 41–10 at Miami (OH)+31Miami (OH)Won 51–7 vs. Eastern Michigan+44Eastern MichiganWon 32–20 at Central Michigan+12Central MichiganLost 21–31 vs. Northern Illinois-10Northern Illino…Lost 24–38 vs. Air Force-14Air Force
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atPurdueL 34–⁠4337%
Sep 13atIdahoW 45–⁠3348%
Sep 20vsMurray StateW 45–⁠1463%
Sep 27atVirginia TechL 17–⁠3520%
Oct 4vsToledoL 19–⁠2034%
Oct 11atBall StateW 42–⁠3829%
Oct 18atBowling GreenW 26–⁠1420%
Oct 25vsOhioW 42–⁠2160%
Nov 1atMiami (OH)W 41–⁠1068%
Nov 15vsEastern MichiganW 51–⁠782%
Nov 22atCentral MichiganW 32–⁠2038%
Nov 28vsNorthern IllinoisL 21–⁠3144%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffvsAir ForceFamous Idaho Potato BowlL 24–⁠3849%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Air Force 38–⁠24 in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 33rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

Led the nationJarvion Franklin: points (150 pts)

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 3rd in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
439–⁠324
Coach
P.J. Fleck
Elo
1476 +134 this season
SP+ rating
-0.8 No. 73 of 128; offense No. 57, defense No. 91, special teams No. 33
SRS
−3.1 No. 76 of 128 in FBS
Returning
81% of last season’s EPA, No. 24 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 71
Offensive coordinator
Kirk Ciarrocca
Defensive coordinator
Ed Pinkham
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense20th of 128
  • Defense33rd of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted36th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted59th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2445%1.3220th of 128
Defense0.0940%1.2633rd of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.21 off
0.15 def		43% off
43% def		—36th off
59th 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
Offense3.8own 293% allowed
Defense3.3own 303% 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 yardsZach Terrell QB3,443 yds
Passing touchdownsZach Terrell QB26 TD
Rushing yardsJarvion Franklin RB1,551 yds
Rushing touchdownsJarvion Franklin RB24 TD
Receiving yardsCorey Davis WR1,408 yds
Receiving touchdownsCorey Davis WR15 TD
InterceptionsDonald Celiscar CB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Lonnie Johnson S★★★No. 423
Chukwuma Okorafor OT★★★No. 720
Robert Spillane ATH★★★No. 1452
Jordan Van Dort TE★★★No. 1590
Jamauri Bogan APB★★★No. 1598

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs33.00.808
Receivers52.20.773
Offensive line52.40.810
Defensive line13.00.809
Defensive backs32.30.815
Athletes and specialists32.30.788
Whole class202.40.798

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 110

The 2014 roster

110 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2014 line; 24 have a stat line. See the roster

2014 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Northern Illinois7–⁠111–⁠3
Toledo7–⁠19–⁠4
Western Michigan6–⁠28–⁠5
Bowling Green5–⁠38–⁠6
Central Michigan5–⁠37–⁠6
Ohio4–⁠46–⁠6
Ball State4–⁠45–⁠7
Buffalo3–⁠45–⁠6
Akron3–⁠55–⁠7
Massachusetts3–⁠53–⁠9
Miami (OH)2–⁠62–⁠10
Kent State1–⁠62–⁠9
Eastern Michigan1–⁠72–⁠10

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