2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season

2014 NCAA Division I FBS season
Number of teams	125 full members, 3 transitional
Duration	August 27 – December 13
Preseason AP #1	Florida State Seminoles
Post-season
Duration	December 20, 2014 – January 12, 2015 (excluding all-star games)
Bowl games	39 (including national championship game)
AP Poll #1	Ohio State Buckeyes[1]
Coaches Poll #1	Ohio State Buckeyes[2]
Heisman Trophy	Marcus Mariota, Oregon
College Football Playoff
2015 College Football Playoff National Championship
Site	AT&T Stadium Arlington, Texas
Winner	Ohio State Buckeyes
Division I FBS football seasons
← 2013 2015 →

The 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season, play of college football in the United States in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), began on August 27, 2014,^[3] with the regular season ending on December 13, 2014, and, not including all-star games, concluded on January 12, 2015.

Appalachian State, Georgia Southern and Old Dominion made the move from FCS to FBS this season. This was the last season for UAB football, who dropped their program at the conclusion of the 2014 season due to financial reasons.

The 2014 season marked a major change to the post-season with the introduction of the College Football Playoff, replacing the Bowl Championship Series to determine a national champion of Division I FBS football through a four-team post-season tournament, with its participants decided by a selection committee rather than an aggregate of polls and statistics.

The 2015 Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl served as the semi-final games. In the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship game played on January 12, 2015 at AT&T Stadium, Ohio State beat Oregon to claim the first ever College Football Playoff championship title. Following the game, Ohio State was named the #1 team on the AP Poll and Coaches' Poll for the season, making the Buckeyes consensus national champions among the major polls.^[1][2]

Rule changes

The following rule changes have been made by the NCAA Football Rules Committee for the 2014 season:^[4]

• Modifying the "targeting" rule enacted for the 2013 season whereby if a targeting ejection is overturned on review, the 15 yard penalty will be overturned as well, unless the foul was committed in conjunction with another foul (such as an above-the-shoulders hit on a quarterback not deemed as targeting, a roughing the passer penalty would still apply).
• Allowing all conferences the option to experiment with eight-man officiating crews. The Big 12 Conference experimented with eight-man officiating crews during the 2013 season. The eighth official is referred to as the "Center Judge", positioned opposite the Referee in the offensive backfield, and wears a "C" on the shirt. In 2014, the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 10 Conference, Big 12 Conference, the Mountain West Conference, and the American Athletic Conference used eight-official crews. The Southeastern Conference experimented with eight officials in selected games in the 2014 season. The Pac-12 Conference made no plans to implement eight-official crews. The eight-man crews were used in bowl games (including the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship) if one of the conferences (Big 12, Big 10, ACC, MW, or American) provided a crew for a particular game.^[5]
• Modifying the 15-yard "Roughing the Passer" penalty to include hits (including lunging and/or rolling) at or below the knees from defenders that are not fouled/blocked into the quarterback, not engaged in tackling the quarterback, or are rushing unabated to the quarterback (similar to the NFL's "Tom Brady" Rule adopted in the 2009 NFL Season).

A rule meant to slow down the "hurry-up offense" by preventing teams from snapping the ball within the first ten seconds of the 40-second play clock to allow for defensive substitutions, or be penalized five yards for delay of game (except within the final 2:00 of each half or when the play clock is set to 25 seconds) was tabled by the Rules Committee and not voted on.^[6]

Conference realignment

Membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Appalachian State Mountaineers	Southern Conference (FCS)	Sun Belt
East Carolina Pirates	C-USA	American !The American
Georgia Southern Eagles	Southern Conference (FCS)	Sun Belt
Idaho Vandals	FBS Independent	Sun Belt
Louisville Cardinals	American !The American	ACC
Maryland Terrapins	ACC	Big Ten
New Mexico State Aggies	FBS Independent	Sun Belt
Old Dominion Monarchs	FCS Independent	C-USA
Rutgers Scarlet Knights	American !The American	Big Ten
Tulane Green Wave	C-USA	American !The American
Tulsa Golden Hurricane	C-USA	American !The American
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers	Sun Belt	C-USA

Other headlines

• May 14
  • The NCAA announces its Academic Progress Rate (APR) sanctions for the 2014–15 school year. Two FBS teams, Idaho and UNLV, are among the 36 programs in 11 sports declared ineligible for postseason play due to failure to meet the required APR benchmark.^[7]
  • Boise State announces that it has received a waiver from the NCAA allowing the school to immediately provide assistance to incoming freshman recruit Antoine Turner, a defensive end originally from New Orleans who had been homeless due to financial and family issues.^[8]
• June 26
  • UNLV announced that the school would be eligible for post season after the upcoming season, they stated that the NCAA had accepted an updated Academic Progress Rate score submitted by the university.^[9]
• September 8
  • The NCAA restores Penn State's postseason eligibility effective immediately, and full complement of 85 scholarships effective with the 2015 season. This means Penn State can qualify for a bowl game for the 2014 season. Penn State was originally banned from postseason play from 2012–2015 because of the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal.^[10]
• October 4
  • Four teams ranked in the top six of the AP Poll, and five of the top eight, lose this week. It is the first time since Week 11 of the 1990 season that four of the top six lose,^[11] and the first time ever that five of the top eight teams lose.^[12] The week's upsets began on Thursday, when #2 Oregon lost 31–24 at home to Arizona. Saturday saw #3 Alabama lose 23–17 at #11 Ole Miss, #4 Oklahoma lose 37–33 at #25 TCU, #6 Texas A&M lose 48–31 at #12 Mississippi State, and #8 UCLA lose 30–28 at home to Utah.^[11]
  • Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday seta a new FBS record for single-game passing yards, throwing for 734 yards in a 60–59 loss to Cal. This breaks the previous record of 716, set in 1990 by Houston's David Klingler, and is five short of the all-divisions NCAA record of 739 set by Sam Durley of Division III Eureka in 2012. In the same game, Cal's Jared Goff throws for 527 yards, giving the two teams an FBS-record 1,261 passing yards in the game.^[13]
• October 12
  • The release of the fifth AP Poll of the season sees Mississippi State, previously tied for #3 with cross-state rival Ole Miss, leapfrog Florida State to reach #1 for the first time in school history. This followed a 38–23 home win over #2 Auburn, the Bulldogs' third straight over a team then ranked in the top 10. Most significantly, the Bulldogs became the first team in the history of the AP Poll to go from unranked to #1 in 5 weeks, surpassing the previous record of 6 weeks set by Ohio State in 1954.^[14]
• October 18
  • Marshall's Rakeem Cato throws for four touchdowns in the Thundering Herd's 45–13 win at FIU, giving him a TD pass in 39 consecutive games. This breaks a tie for the FBS record with Russell Wilson, who threw for TDs in 38 consecutive games while at NC State and Wisconsin.^[15] Cato went on to finish the season and his Marshall career in the Boca Raton Bowl with a streak of 46 games, tying the all-divisions NCAA record of Central Washington's Mike Reilly.^[16]
• November 16
  • Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon sets a new FBS record with 408 rushing yards in the Badgers' 59–24 win over Nebraska. The previous record of 406 yards had been set by TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson in 1999.^[17]
• November 22
  • Gordon's single-game FBS rushing record is broken by Oklahoma's Samaje Perine, who runs for 427 yards in the Sooners' 44–7 win over Kansas.^[18]
• November 29
  • Louisville safety Gerod Holliman intercepts his 14th pass of the season, tying the single-season FBS record set in 1968 by Washington's Al Worley. The interception in the final minute sealed the Cardinals' 44–40 win over archrival Kentucky.^[19]
• November 30
  • Police in Columbus, Ohio discover the body of Kosta Karageorge, a wrestler at Ohio State who had walked on to the football team but had yet to appear in a game. Karageorge, who disappeared on November 26, was found with an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound. He had been complaining about post-concussion symptoms in the last weeks of his life.^[20]
• December 2
  • UAB announces that it will drop football at the end of the season. The Blazers, under first-year head coach Bill Clark, became bowl-eligible for only the second time in program history with a win on November 29 over Southern Miss. UAB becomes the first FBS-level program to fold since Pacific dropped football after the 1995 season.^[21]
• December 5
  • The board of governors of Colorado State approves the construction of a new on-campus stadium to replace the Rams' current off-campus home of Hughes Stadium. No date for completion has been set; potential capacities range from 35,872 to 41,200.^[22]
• December 8
  • Sporting News reports that the Big 12 Conference had been planning to expand beyond its current 10 teams even before being left out of the inaugural College Football Playoff. Specifically, conference officials have met with officials from the University of Cincinnati, although the story said, "That is not an indication membership will be offered to the Bearcats in the immediate future."^[23]

Updated stadiums

Three FBS schools opened new stadiums in the 2014 season:

• Baylor opened McLane Stadium, returning home games to its campus for the first time since 1935. The stadium opened with 42,000 permanent seats plus 3,000 standing-room places, and is designed for future expansion to 55,000. The first game was a high school contest on August 29;^[24] Baylor's first game was a 45–0 win over SMU on August 31.^[25]
• Houston opened TDECU Stadium, a 40,000-seat venue, designed to be easily expandable to 60,000, and built on the site of the school's former Robertson Stadium. The opening game was a 27–7 loss to UTSA on August 29.^[26]
• Tulane opened Yulman Stadium, a 30,000-seat on-campus venue located near the former site of Tulane Stadium. This returned home games to the Tulane campus for the first time since 1974, the year before the Superdome opened. The first game was a 38–21 loss to Georgia Tech on September 6.^[27]

The three schools that moved from FCS to FBS this season use existing on-campus stadiums:

• Appalachian State plays at Kidd Brewer Stadium, home to the Mountaineers since 1962 and affectionately known to the school's fans as "The Rock". It has an official capacity of 24,050, but has frequently hosted significantly larger crowds, with the record being 31,531.
• Georgia Southern plays at Paulson Stadium, home to the Eagles since 1984. The stadium was expanded to 24,300 for GSU's move to FBS.
• Old Dominion plays at Foreman Field. The 20,118-seat stadium first opened in 1936 for the football program of what was then known as the Norfolk Division of The College of William & Mary. After football was dropped after the 1941 season, the stadium was used for other football games (notably the former Oyster Bowl), plus other ODU sports, until the school reinstated football in 2009.

These FBS schools are expanding or opening renovated portions of their existing stadiums:

• LSU opened a new south end-zone upper deck expansion of Tiger Stadium that added approximately 60 "Tiger Den" suites, 3,000 club seats and 1,500 general public seats and brought the total capacity to approximately 102,321, making it the seventh-largest college football stadium in the country.
• Ohio State added 2,500 seats to the south stands of Ohio Stadium. These seats, built over the entrance tunnels, raised the official capacity of the stadium to 104,851, making it the third-largest stadium in the country and the fifth-largest stadium in the world.
• Texas A&M opened Phase 1 of a major three-year renovation of Kyle Field, which includes re-construction of the east side first deck, and construction of the south end zone, which in turn includes seating, media interview areas, 12th Man Productions and related gameday support, a commissary and recruiting area.
• Mississippi State opened a new north end-zone expansion of Davis Wade Stadium which took stadium capacity from 55,000 to over 61,000. The renovation created new concessions and restrooms, plus a new west side concourse.
• Missouri opened a new east side expansion of Faurot Field. An upper bowl was completed for the east side of the stadium, providing 5,200 general admission seats and 800 club seats.
• Louisiana-Lafayette enclosed the south side of Cajun Field. The stadium upgrade added 5,900 seats increasing the capacity from 31,000 to 36,900.
• Purdue removed the majority of their south end-zone bleachers at Ross–Ade Stadium and replaced it with a patio area. This stadium upgrade lowered the stadium capacity from 62,500 to 57,236.
• The Rose Bowl opened the final phase of its multi-year renovation project, which included the removal of seats on the east and west sidelines to restore the original oval shape of the seating bowl. Also included in the project were additional new restrooms, new entry gate structures, and additional new concession stands. The historic hedges surrounding the field were restored to create a new "Rose Garden Walkway". An iconic plaza opened outside of Gate A in front of the south main entrance to the stadium, featuring a large logo of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses.

One other FBS program, Eastern Michigan, installed a gray FieldTurf playing surface at Rynearson Stadium. The stadium is only the second FBS venue with a non-traditional field color, after Albertsons Stadium at Boise State, and the sixth college stadium overall with this feature.^[28]

Television viewers and ratings

Most watched regular season games

• Excludes Conference Championships and Kickoff Games

Rank	Date	Matchup				Channel	Viewers	TV Rating	Significance
1	November 29, 7:45 ET	#15 Auburn	44	#1 Alabama	55	ESPN	13.53 Million	7.4	Iron Bowl
2	October 18, 8:00 ET	#5 Notre Dame	27	#1 Florida State	31	ABC	13.25 Million	7.9
3	November 15, 3:30 ET	#1 Mississippi State	20	#5 Alabama	25	CBS	10.27 Million	6.4	Rivalry
4	November 8, 8:00 ET	#5 Alabama	20	#16 LSU	13		9.11 Million	5.3	Rivalry
5	November 15, 8:00 ET	#2 Florida State	30	Miami (FL)	26	ABC	8.74 Million	5.3	Rivalry
6	November 29, 12:00 ET	Michigan	28	#6 Ohio State	42		8.23 Million	4.9	The Game
7	September 20, 3:30 ET	Florida	21	#3 Alabama	42	CBS	7.95 Million	5.1
8	September 20, 8:00 ET	#22 Clemson	17	#1 Florida State	23	ABC	7.34 Million	4.5
9	November 8, 3:30 ET	Texas A&M	41	#3 Auburn	38	CBS	7.21 Million	4.4
10	November 8, 8:00 ET	#14 Ohio State	49	#8 Michigan State	37	ABC	6.83 Million	3.9

Kickoff games

Rank	Date	Matchup				Channel	Viewers	TV Rating	Game	Location
1	August 30, 3:30 ET	#2 Alabama	33	West Virginia	23	Regional ABC	6.4 Million	4	Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game	Georgia Dome, Atlanta
2	August 30, 8:00 ET	Oklahoma State	31	#1 Florida State	37	ABC	6.03 Million	2.4	Cowboys Classic	AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
3	August 30, 9:00 ET	#13 LSU	28	#14 Wisconsin	24	ESPN	4.68 Million	2.8	Texas Kickoff	Reliant Stadium, Houston
4	August 28, 8:00 ET	Boise State	13	#18 Ole Miss	35	ESPN	2.42 Million	1.5	Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game	Georgia Dome, Atlanta

Conference championship games

Rank	Date	Matchup				Channel	Viewers	TV Rating	Conference	Location
1	December 6, 4:00 ET	#1 Alabama	42	#16 Missouri	13	CBS	12.8 Million	7.8	SEC	Georgia Dome, Atlanta
2	December 6, 8:00 ET	#4 Florida State	37	#11 Georgia Tech	35	ABC	10.1 Million	6.2	ACC	Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
3	December 6, 8:00 ET	#13 Wisconsin	0	#5 Ohio State	59	FOX	6.13 Million	3.5	Big Ten	Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis
4	December 5, 9:00 ET	#7 Arizona	13	#2 Oregon	51	FOX	6.00 Million	3.7	Pac-12	Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California
5	December 6, 10:00 ET	Fresno State	14	#22 Boise State	28	CBS	1.53 Million	1.0	MW	Albertsons Stadium, Boise, Idaho
6	December 6, 12:00 ET	Louisiana Tech	23	Marshall	26	ESPN2	725K	0.5	C-USA	Joan C. Edwards Stadium, Huntington, West Virginia
7	December 5, 7:00 ET	Bowling Green	17	Northern Illinois	51	ESPN2	692K	0.5	MAC	Ford Field, Detroit

College Football Playoff

Note: All games aired on ESPN

Game	Date		Matchup				Viewers	TV Rating
Rose Bowl	January 1, 2015	5:00 ET	#3 Florida State	20	#2 Oregon	59	28.2 Million	14.8
Sugar Bowl	January 1, 2015	8:00 ET	#4 Ohio State	42	#1 Alabama	35	28.3 Million	15.2
National Championship	January 12, 2015	8:30 ET	#4 Ohio State	42	#2 Oregon	20	33.4 Million*	18.2

• Does not include viewers from ESPN Megacast which also included channels ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Classic, and ESPN Deportes. 34.1 Million viewers for all channels combined.

Conference standings

2014 American Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #25 Memphis +   7 – 1         10 – 3   Cincinnati +   7 – 1         9 – 4   UCF +   7 – 1         9 – 4   East Carolina   5 – 3         8 – 5   Houston   5 – 3         8 – 5   Temple   4 – 4         6 – 6   South Florida   3 – 5         4 – 8   Tulane   2 – 6         3 – 9   Tulsa   2 – 6         2 – 10   Connecticut   1 – 7         2 – 10   SMU   1 – 7         1 – 11   + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	2014 ACC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Atlantic Division #5 Florida State x$^   8 – 0         13 – 1   #15 Clemson   6 – 2         10 – 3   #24 Louisville   5 – 3         9 – 4   Boston College   4 – 4         7 – 6   NC State   3 – 5         8 – 5   Syracuse   1 – 7         3 – 9   Wake Forest   1 – 7         3 – 9   Coastal Division #8 Georgia Tech x   6 – 2         11 – 3   Duke   5 – 3         9 – 4   North Carolina   4 – 4         6 – 7   Pittsburgh   4 – 4         6 – 7   Miami   3 – 5         6 – 7   Virginia Tech   3 – 5         7 – 6   Virginia   3 – 5         5 – 7   Championship: Florida State 37, Georgia Tech 35 ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions As of January 1, 2015; Rankings from AP Poll	2014 Big Ten football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Division #1 Ohio State x$#^   8 – 0         14 – 1   #5T Michigan State   7 – 1         11 – 2   Maryland   4 – 4         7 – 6   Rutgers   3 – 5         8 – 5   Michigan   3 – 5         5 – 7   Penn State   2 – 6         7 – 6   Indiana   1 – 7         4 – 8   West Division #13 Wisconsin x   7 – 1         11 – 3   Minnesota   5 – 3         8 – 5   Nebraska   5 – 3         9 – 4   Iowa   4 – 4         7 – 6   Illinois   3 – 5         6 – 7   Northwestern   3 – 5         5 – 7   Purdue   1 – 7         3 – 9   Championship: Ohio State 59, Wisconsin 0 # – College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions As of January 13, 2015; Rankings from AP Poll
2014 Big 12 football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #7 Baylor +   8 – 1         11 – 2   #3 TCU +   8 – 1         12 – 1   #18 Kansas State   7 – 2         9 – 4   Oklahoma   5 – 4         8 – 5   West Virginia   5 – 4         7 – 6   Texas   5 – 4         6 – 7   Oklahoma State   4 – 5         7 – 6   Texas Tech   2 – 7         4 – 8   Kansas   1 – 8         3 – 9   Iowa State   0 – 9         2 – 10   + – Conference co-champions As of January 1, 2015; Rankings from AP Poll	2014 Conference USA football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Division #23 Marshall x$   7 – 1         13 – 1   Middle Tennessee   5 – 3         6 – 6   WKU   4 – 4         8 – 5   UAB   4 – 4         6 – 6   Old Dominion*   4 – 4         6 – 6   FIU   3 – 5         4 – 8   Florida Atlantic   2 – 6         3 – 9   West Division Louisiana Tech x   7 – 1         9 – 5   Rice   5 – 3         8 – 5   UTEP   5 – 3         7 – 6   UTSA   3 – 5         4 – 8   North Texas   2 – 6         4 – 8   Southern Miss   1 – 7         3 – 9   Championship: Marshall 26, Louisiana Tech 23 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Ineligible for post season bowl due to transition from FCS. As of 22:24, 20 December 2014 (UTC); Rankings from AP Poll	2014 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Division Bowling Green x   5 – 3         8 – 6   Ohio   4 – 4         6 – 6   Buffalo   3 – 4         5 – 6   Akron   3 – 5         5 – 7   UMass   3 – 5         3 – 9   Miami   2 – 6         2 – 10   Kent State   1 – 6         2 – 9   West Division Northern Illinois xy$   7 – 1         11 – 3   Toledo x   7 – 1         9 – 4   Western Michigan   6 – 2         8 – 5   Central Michigan   5 – 3         7 – 6   Ball State   4 – 4         5 – 7   Eastern Michigan   1 – 7         2 – 10   Championship: Northern Illinois 51, Bowling Green 17 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll
2014 Mountain West football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Mountain Division #16 Boise State x$   7 – 1         12 – 2   Colorado State   6 – 2         10 – 3   Utah State   6 – 2         10 – 4   Air Force   5 – 3         10 – 3   New Mexico   2 – 6         4 – 8   Wyoming   2 – 6         4 – 8   West Division Fresno State x   5 – 3         6 – 8   San Diego State   5 – 3         7 – 6   Nevada   4 – 4         7 – 6   Hawaii   3 – 5         4 – 9   San Jose State   2 – 6         3 – 9   UNLV   1 – 7         2 – 11   Championship: Boise State 28, Fresno State 14 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions As of January 1, 2015; Rankings from AP Poll	2014 Pac-12 football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   North Division #2 Oregon x$^   8 – 1         13 – 2   Stanford   5 – 4         8 – 5   Washington   4 – 5         8 – 6   California   3 – 6         5 – 7   Oregon State   2 – 7         5 – 7   Washington State   2 – 7         3 – 9   South Division #19 Arizona x   7 – 2         10 – 4   #10 UCLA   6 – 3         10 – 3   #12 Arizona State   6 – 3         10 – 3   #20 USC   6 – 3         9 – 4   #21 Utah   5 – 4         9 – 4   Colorado   0 – 9         2 – 10   Championship: Oregon 51, Arizona 13 ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions As of January 13, 2015; Rankings from AP Poll	2014 SEC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Eastern Division #14 Missouri x   7 – 1         11 – 3   #9 Georgia   6 – 2         10 – 3   Florida   4 – 4         7 – 5   Tennessee   3 – 5         7 – 6   South Carolina   3 – 5         7 – 6   Kentucky   2 – 6         5 – 7   Vanderbilt   0 – 8         3 – 9   Western Division #4 Alabama x$^   7 – 1         12 – 2   #11 Mississippi State   6 – 2         10 – 3   #17 Ole Miss   5 – 3         9 – 4   #22 Auburn   4 – 4         8 – 5   LSU   4 – 4         8 – 5   Texas A&M   3 – 5         8 – 5   Arkansas   2 – 6         7 – 6   Championship: Alabama 42, Missouri 13 ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll
2014 Sun Belt football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Georgia Southern* $   8 – 0         9 – 3   Louisiana–Lafayette   7 – 1         9 – 4   Appalachian State*   6 – 2         7 – 5   Texas State   5 – 3         7 – 5   Arkansas State   5 – 3         7 – 6   South Alabama   5 – 3         6 – 7   Louisiana–Monroe   3 – 5         4 – 8   Troy   3 – 5         3 – 9   New Mexico State   1 – 7         2 – 10   Idaho**   1 – 7         1 – 10   Georgia State   0 – 8         1 – 11   $ – Conference champion *Appalachian State and Georgia Southern ineligible for postseason play due to FCS-to-FBS transition rules ** Idaho ineligible for postseason play due to APR penalties As of November 22, 2014; Rankings from AP Poll	2014 Division I FBS independents football records Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   BYU     –           8 – 5   Notre Dame     –           8 – 5   Navy     –           8 – 5   Army     –           4 – 8   As of 29 November 2014; Rankings from AP Poll

Conference summaries

Power 5 Conferences

Conference	Champion	Runner-up	Score	Record	Offensive Player of the Year	Defensive Player of the Year	Coach of the Year
ACC	Florida State (Atlantic) CFP	Georgia Tech (Coastal)	37–35	Florida State 13–0	James Conner, RB, Pittsburgh (Player of the Year)[29]	Vic Beasley, DE, Clemson[29]	Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech[30]
Big 12	Baylor TCU	N/A	N/A	Baylor 11-1 TCU 11-1	Trevone Boykin, TCU	Paul Dawson, TCU	Gary Patterson, TCU
Big Ten	Ohio State (East) CFP	Wisconsin (West)	59–0	Ohio State 12-1	Melvin Gordon, RB, Wisconsin[31]	Joey Bosa, DE, Ohio State[31]	Jerry Kill, Minnesota (coaches and media)[31]
Pac-12	Oregon (North) CFP	Arizona (South)	51–13	Oregon 11–1	Marcus Mariota, QB, Oregon	Scooby Wright III, LB, Arizona	Rich Rodriguez, Arizona
SEC	Alabama (Western) CFP	Missouri (Eastern)	42–13	Alabama 12-1	Amari Cooper, WR, Alabama (AP, Coaches)[32]	Shane Ray, DE, Missouri (AP, Coaches)[32]	Dan Mullen, Mississippi State (AP)[32] Gary Pinkel, Missouri (Coaches)

Group of Five Conferences

Note: Records are regular-season only, and do not include playoff games.

Conference	Champion	Runner Up	Score	Record	Offensive Player of the Year	Defensive Player of the Year	Coach of the Year
AAC	Memphis UCF Cincinnati	N/A	N/A	Memphis 9-3 Cincinnati 9-3 UCF 9-3	Shane Carden, QB, East Carolina[33]	Jacoby Glenn, CB, UCF & Tank Jakes, LB, Memphis[33]	Justin Fuente, Memphis[33]
C-USA	Marshall (East)	Louisiana Tech (West)	26–23	Marshall 12-1	Brandon Doughty, QB, Western Kentucky (MVP)[34] Rakeem Cato, QB, Marshall (Offensive POY)[34]	Neville Hewitt, LB, Marshall[34]	Doc Holliday, Marshall[35]
MAC	Northern Illinois (West)	Bowling Green (East)	51–17	Northern Illinois 11-2	Jarvion Franklin, RB, Western Michigan[36]	Quinten Rollins, DB, Miami (OH)	P. J. Fleck, Western Michigan
MW	Boise State (Mountain)	Fresno State (West)	28–14	Boise State11-2	Garrett Grayson, QB, Colorado State[37]	Zach Vigil, LB, Utah State[37]	Jim McElwain, Colorado State[37]
Sun Belt	Georgia Southern	N/A	N/A	Georgia Southern 9-3 *	Elijah McGuire, RB, Louisiana–Lafayette[38]	David Mayo, LB, Texas State[38]	Willie Fritz, Georgia Southern[38]

• Vacated

Playoff qualifiers

Automatic berths for conference champions

Conference	Team	Appearance	Last bid	Result
ACC	Florida State	1st	Never	Never
Big Ten	Ohio State	1st	Never	Never
Big 12	Baylor/TCU*	1st	Never	Never
Pac-12	Oregon	1st	Never	Never
SEC	Alabama	1st	Never	Never

• Big 12 - Baylor and TCU (abstentions)

Bowl eligibility

Bowl-eligible teams

• American (6): Cincinnati, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, Temple, UCF
• ACC (11): Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Miami (FL), NC State, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech
• Big 12 (7): Baylor, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas, West Virginia
• Big Ten (10): Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Penn State, Rutgers, Wisconsin
• Conference USA (7): Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee State, Rice, UAB, UTEP, Western Kentucky
• Independents (3): BYU, Navy, Notre Dame
• MAC (6): Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Toledo, Western Michigan
• Mountain West (7): Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Nevada, San Diego State, Utah State
• Pac-12 (8): Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington
• SEC (12): Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State, Missouri, Ole Miss, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas A&M
• Sun Belt (4): Arkansas State, Louisiana–Lafayette, South Alabama, Texas State

Number of bowl berths available: 76
Number of bowl-eligible teams: 81

Bowl-eligible teams that did not receive a berth

Ohio, Texas State, Temple, UAB, Middle Tennessee

Bowl-ineligible teams

• American (5): Connecticut, SMU, Tulane, Tulsa, USF
• ACC (3): Syracuse, Virginia, Wake Forest
• Big Ten (4): Indiana, Michigan, Northwestern, Purdue
• Big 12 (3): Iowa State, Kansas, Texas Tech
• Conference USA (6): FIU, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Old Dominion†, Southern Miss, UTSA
• Independents (1): Army
• MAC (7): Akron, Ball State, Buffalo, Eastern Michigan, Kent State, Massachusetts, Miami (OH)
• Mountain West (5): Hawai'i, New Mexico, San Jose State, UNLV, Wyoming
• Pac 12 (4): California, Colorado, Oregon State, Washington State
• SEC (2): Kentucky, Vanderbilt
• Sun Belt (7): Appalachian State†, Georgia Southern†, Georgia State, Idaho‡, Louisiana–Monroe, New Mexico State, Troy

Number of bowl-ineligible teams: 47

† – Appalachian State (7–5), Georgia Southern (9–3, Sun Belt champions), and Old Dominion (6–6) were conditionally eligible based on win/loss record. However, under FCS-to-FBS transition rules, they are not eligible because enough teams qualified under normal circumstances.

‡ – Idaho was ineligible for postseason play due to an insufficient Academic Progress Rate. However, the Vandals would not have been eligible without the ban, as they finished with a 1-10 record.

Postseason

Starting with the 2014–15 postseason, six College Football Playoff (CFP) bowl games will host two semifinal playoff games on a rotating basis. For this season, the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl will host the semifinal games, with the winners advancing to the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.^[39]

	Semifinals					2015 Championship Game
	January 1 – Sugar Bowl
	1	Alabama	35
	4	Ohio State	42
						January 12 – National Championship
					4	Ohio State	42
					2	Oregon	20
	January 1 – Rose Bowl
	2	Oregon	59
	3	Florida State	20

Conference performance in bowl games

Conference	Total games	Wins	Losses	Pct.
SEC	12	7	5	.583
ACC	11	4	7	.364
Big Ten	11	6	5	.545
Pac-12	9	6	3	.667
Big 12	7	2	5	.286
MW	7	3	4	.429
American	5	2	3	.400
C-USA	5	4	1	.800
MAC	5	2	3	.400
Independents	3	2	1	.667
Sun Belt	3	1	2	.333

Rankings

Final CFP rankings

CFP	School	Record	Bowl Game
1	Alabama	12–1	Sugar Bowl
2	Oregon	12–1	Rose Bowl
3	Florida State	13–0	Rose Bowl
4	Ohio State	12–1	Sugar Bowl
5	Baylor	11–1	Cotton Bowl
6	TCU	11–1	Peach Bowl
7	Mississippi State	10–2	Orange Bowl
8	Michigan State	11–2	Cotton Bowl
9	Ole Miss	9–3	Peach Bowl
10	Arizona	10–3	Fiesta Bowl
11	Kansas State	9–3	Alamo Bowl
12	Georgia Tech	10–3	Orange Bowl
13	Georgia	9–3	Belk Bowl
14	UCLA	9–3	Alamo Bowl
15	Arizona State	9–3	Sun Bowl
16	Missouri	10–3	Citrus Bowl
17	Clemson	9–3	Russell Athletic Bowl
18	Wisconsin	10–3	Outback Bowl
19	Auburn	8–4	Outback Bowl
20	Boise State	11–2	Fiesta Bowl
21	Louisville	9–3	Belk Bowl
22	Utah	8–4	Las Vegas Bowl
23	LSU	8–4	Music City Bowl
24	USC	8–4	Holiday Bowl
25	Minnesota	8–4	Citrus Bowl

Final rankings

Rank	Associated Press	USA TODAY/AFCA*
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

* - The AFCA requires that their voters make the winner of the CFP Championship at the number one position in the final poll.
^≠ -

Awards and honors

Heisman Trophy

The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player.

Player	School	Position	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Marcus Mariota	Oregon	QB	788	74	22	2,534
Melvin Gordon	Wisconsin	RB	37	432	275	1,250
Amari Cooper	Alabama	WR	49	280	316	1,023
Trevone Boykin	TCU	QB	8	45	104	218
J.T. Barrett	Ohio State	QB	0	19	40	78
Jameis Winston	Florida State	QB	4	10	19	51
Tevin Coleman	Indiana	RB	2	8	22	44
Dak Prescott	Mississippi State	QB	2	4	28	42
Scooby Wright III	Arizona	LB	0	4	13	21
Bryce Petty	Baylor	QB	1	3	4	13

Other overall

• Archie Griffin Award (MVP): Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State
• AP Player of the Year: Marcus Mariota, Oregon
• Chic Harley Award (Player of the Year): Marcus Mariota, Oregon
• Maxwell Award (top player): Marcus Mariota, Oregon
• SN Player of the Year: Marcus Mariota, Oregon
• Walter Camp Award (top player): Marcus Mariota, Oregon

Special overall

• Burlsworth Trophy (top player who began as walk-on): Justin Hardy, East Carolina^[40]
• Paul Hornung Award (most versatile player): Shaq Thompson, Washington
• Campbell Trophy ("academic Heisman"): David Helton, Duke
• Wuerffel Trophy (humanitarian-athlete): Deterrian Shackelford, Ole Miss

Offense

Quarterback

• Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback): Marcus Mariota, Oregon
• Johnny Unitas Award (senior/4th year quarterback): Marcus Mariota, Oregon
• Kellen Moore Award (quarterback): Trevone Boykin, TCU
• Manning Award (quarterback): Marcus Mariota, Oregon
• Sammy Baugh Trophy (passing quarterback): Brandon Doughty, Western Kentucky

Running back

• Doak Walker Award (running back): Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin
• Jim Brown Trophy (running back): Melvin Gordon, Wisconsin

Wide receiver

• Fred Biletnikoff Award (wide receiver): Amari Cooper, Alabama
• Paul Warfield Trophy (wide receiver): Amari Cooper, Alabama

Tight end

• John Mackey Award (tight end): Nick O'Leary, Florida State
• Ozzie Newsome Award (tight end): Nick O'Leary, Florida State

Lineman

• Dave Rimington Trophy (center): Reese Dismukes, Auburn
• Outland Trophy (interior lineman): Brandon Scherff, Iowa
• Jim Parker Trophy (offensive lineman): Reese Dismukes, Auburn

Defense

• Bronko Nagurski Trophy (defensive player): Scooby Wright III, Arizona
• Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player): Scooby Wright III, Arizona
• Lott Trophy (defensive impact): Eric Kendricks, UCLA

Defensive line

• Bill Willis Award (defensive lineman): Joey Bosa, Ohio State
• Dick Butkus Award (linebacker): Eric Kendricks, UCLA^[41]
• Jack Lambert Trophy (linebacker): Scooby Wright III, Arizona
• Rotary Lombardi Award (defensive lineman/linebacker): Scooby Wright III, Arizona
• Ted Hendricks Award (defensive end): Nate Orchard, Utah

Defensive back

• Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back): Gerod Holliman, Louisville
• Jack Tatum Trophy (defensive back): Gerod Holliman, Louisville

Special teams

• Lou Groza Award (placekicker): Brad Craddock, Maryland
• Vlade Award (placekicker):
• Ray Guy Award (punter): Tom Hackett, Utah
• Jet Award (return specialist): Tyler Lockett, Kansas State

Coaches

• AFCA Coach of the Year: Gary Patterson, TCU
• AP Coach of the Year: Gary Patterson, TCU
• Bobby Bowden National Collegiate Coach of the Year Award: Gary Patterson, TCU
• Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award: Nick Saban, Alabama
• Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year: Gary Patterson, TCU
• Maxwell Coach of the Year: Dan Mullen, Mississippi State
• Paul "Bear" Bryant Award: Gary Patterson, TCU
• Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award:
• SN Coach of the Year: Gary Patterson, TCU
• The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award: Gary Patterson, TCU
• Woody Hayes Trophy: Gary Patterson, TCU
• Walter Camp Coach of the Year: Gary Patterson, TCU

Assistants

• AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year: Gary Campbell, Oregon
• Broyles Award: Tom Herman, Ohio State

All-Americans

Coaching changes

This is restricted to coaching changes taking place on or after May 1, 2014. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2014, see 2013 NCAA Division I FBS end-of-season coaching changes.

School	Outgoing coach	Date	Reason	Replacement
Buffalo	Jeff Quinn	October 12, 2014	Fired	Alex Wood (interim)
Buffalo	Alex Wood (interim)	November 30, 2014	Replaced [42]	Lance Leipold (permanent)
Central Michigan	Dan Enos	January 22, 2015	Hired as offensive coordinator by Arkansas[43]	John Bonamego
Colorado State	Jim McElwain	December 4, 2014	Hired by Florida[44]	Dave Baldwin (interim)
Colorado State	Dave Baldwin (interim)	December 22, 2014	Replaced	Mike Bobo (permanent)
Florida	Will Muschamp	November 16, 2014	Resigned [45]	D. J. Durkin (interim – bowl game)
Florida	D. J. Durkin (interim)	December 4, 2014	Replaced[44]	Jim McElwain (permanent)
Houston	Tony Levine	December 8, 2014	Fired	David Gibbs (interim)
Houston	David Gibbs (interim)	December 16, 2014	Replaced	Tom Herman (permanent)
Kansas	Charlie Weis	September 28, 2014	Fired [46]	Clint Bowen (Interim)
Kansas	Clint Bowen (interim)	December 5, 2014	Replaced [47]	David Beaty (permanent)
Michigan	Brady Hoke	December 2, 2014	Fired	Jim Harbaugh[48]
Nebraska	Bo Pelini	November 30, 2014	Fired [49]	Barney Cotton (interim)
Nebraska	Barney Cotton (interim)	December 4, 2014	Replaced	Mike Riley (permanent)
Pittsburgh	Paul Chryst	December 17, 2014	Hired by Wisconsin	Joe Rudolph (interim)
Pittsburgh	Joe Rudolph (interim)	December 23, 2014	Replaced	Pat Narduzzi (permanent)
Oregon State	Mike Riley	December 4, 2014	Hired by Nebraska[50]	Gary Andersen
SMU	June Jones	September 8, 2014	Resigned [51]	Tom Mason (interim)
SMU	Tom Mason (interim)	November 30, 2014	Replaced [52]	Chad Morris (permanent)
Troy	Larry Blakeney	October 5, 2014	Retired [53]	Neal Brown
Tulsa	Bill Blankenship	December 1, 2014	Fired [54]	Philip Montgomery
UAB	Bill Clark	December 2, 2014	School dropped football[21]	None[55]
UNLV	Bobby Hauck	November 28, 2014	Resigned [56]	Tony Sanchez
Wisconsin	Gary Andersen	December 10, 2014	Hired by Oregon State	Barry Alvarez (interim – bowl game)[57]
Wisconsin	Barry Alvarez (interim)	December 17, 2014	for bowl game	Paul Chryst (permanent)

See also

• 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

References

External links

• Media related to 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season at Wikimedia Commons