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2014 Wisconsin

11–⁠3 (7–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Gary Andersen, then Barry Alvarez (interim, bowl game), finished No. 13 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 2014, game by game: lost vs. No. 13 LSU 24–28; won vs. Western Illinois 37–3; won vs. Bowling Green 68–17; won vs. South Florida 27–10; lost at Northwestern 14–20; won vs. Illinois 38–28; won vs. Maryland 52–7; won at Rutgers 37–0; won at Purdue 34–16; won vs. No. 11 Nebraska 59–24; won at Iowa 26–24; won vs. No. 22 Minnesota 34–24; lost vs. No. 6 Ohio State 0–59; won vs. No. 19 Auburn 34–31+51−59Lost 24–28 vs. No. 13 LSU-4No. 13 LSUWon 37–3 vs. Western Illinois+34Western IllinoisWon 68–17 vs. Bowling Green+51Bowling GreenWon 27–10 vs. South Florida+17South FloridaLost 14–20 at Northwestern-6NorthwesternWon 38–28 vs. Illinois+10IllinoisWon 52–7 vs. Maryland+45MarylandWon 37–0 at Rutgers+37RutgersWon 34–16 at Purdue+18PurdueWon 59–24 vs. No. 11 Nebraska+35No. 11 NebraskaWon 26–24 at Iowa+2IowaWon 34–24 vs. No. 22 Minnesota+10No. 22 MinnesotaLost 0–59 vs. No. 6 Ohio State-59No. 6 Ohio StateWon 34–31 vs. No. 19 Auburn+3No. 19 Auburn
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vs13LSUL 24–⁠2843%
Sep 6vsWestern IllinoisW 37–⁠392%
Sep 20vsBowling GreenW 68–⁠1764%
Sep 27vsSouth FloridaW 27–⁠1089%
Oct 4atNorthwesternL 14–⁠2060%
Oct 11vsIllinoisW 38–⁠2882%
Oct 25vsMarylandW 52–⁠767%
Nov 1atRutgersW 37–⁠062%
Nov 8atPurdueW 34–⁠1680%
Nov 15vs11NebraskaW 59–⁠2458%
Nov 22atIowaW 26–⁠2460%
Nov 29vs22MinnesotaW 34–⁠2473%
Dec 6vs6Ohio StateBig Ten Championship GameL 0–⁠5943%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs19AuburnOutback BowlW 34–⁠3154%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Auburn 34–⁠31 in the Outback Bowl; No. 13 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 9th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 14
  2. Wk 2: 18
  3. Wk 3: 18
  4. Wk 4: 19
  5. Wk 5: 19
  6. Wk 6: 17
  7. Wk 11: 25
  8. Wk 12: 22
  9. Wk 13: 14
  10. Wk 14: 14
  11. Wk 15: 11
  12. Wk 16: 17
  13. Final: 13

Big Ten West champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Heisman voteMelvin Gordon, second

Led the nationMelvin Gordon: rushing yards (2,587 yds), rushing touchdowns (29 TD)

Doak Walker AwardMelvin Gordon, RB

Consensus All-AmericanMelvin Gordon, RB

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠1 tied for 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 13 peak No. 11
Points
484–⁠291
Coach
Gary Andersen, then Barry Alvarez (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1719 +97 this season
SP+ rating
20.8 No. 13 of 128; offense No. 19, defense No. 15, special teams No. 55
SRS
13.8 No. 16 of 128 in FBS
Returning
47% of last season’s EPA, No. 90 of 125
Recruiting class
No. 32
Offensive coordinator
Andy Ludwig
Defensive coordinator
Dave Aranda
Most valuable player
Melvin Gordon
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense22nd of 128
  • Defense24th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted15th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted32nd of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2448%1.1922nd of 128
Defense0.0737%1.2324th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.25 off
0.10 def		49% off
36% def		—15th off
32nd 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
Defense3.2own 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 yardsJoel Stave QB1,350 yds
Passing touchdownsJoel Stave QB9 TD
Rushing yardsMelvin Gordon RB2,587 yds
Rushing touchdownsMelvin Gordon RB29 TD
Receiving yardsAlex Erickson WR772 yds
Receiving touchdownsSam Arneson TE4 TD
InterceptionsPeniel Jean CB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2014 class

Jaden Gault OT★★★★No. 121
Dareian Watkins ATH★★★★No. 261
D.J. Gillins DUAL★★★★No. 304
Conor Sheehy WDE★★★No. 354
George Panos OG★★★No. 358

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

The 2014 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.895
Running backs23.00.849
Receivers13.00.877
Offensive line72.70.832
Defensive line33.00.877
Linebackers32.30.746
Defensive backs33.00.829
Athletes and specialists23.00.845
Whole class222.90.834

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 1Melvin Gordon RBSan Diego Chargers
Rd 2Robert Havenstein OTSt. Louis Rams

Roster 111

The 2014 roster

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

All-Big Ten

4 first team, 4 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 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠014–⁠11
Michigan State7–⁠111–⁠25
Wisconsin7–⁠111–⁠313
Nebraska5–⁠39–⁠4
Minnesota5–⁠38–⁠5
Maryland4–⁠47–⁠6
Iowa4–⁠47–⁠6
Rutgers3–⁠58–⁠5
Illinois3–⁠56–⁠7
Michigan3–⁠55–⁠7
Northwestern3–⁠55–⁠7
Penn State2–⁠67–⁠6
Indiana1–⁠74–⁠8
Purdue1–⁠73–⁠9

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