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The 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

The regular season began on August 27, 2014 and ended on December 13, 2014. The postseason concluded on January 12, 2015 with the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

The 2014 season marked a major change to the postseason with the introduction of the College Football Playoff, a four-team knockout tournament to determine the national champion of Division I FBS. The College Football Playoff system replaced the Bowl Championship Series, which had been in use since 1998.

Ohio State beat Oregon to claim the first ever FBS (formerly Division I-A) national title awarded using a playoff system. Following the game, Ohio State was named the #1 team in 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:[3]

  • 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).
  • Targeting definition expanded from "Initiate contact" to "Make forcible contact" and defining that any forcible contact with the crown of the helmet to an opponent is a targeting foul.
  • 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.[4]
  • 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.[5]

Conference realignment[]

Membership changes[]

Appalachian State, Georgia Southern and Old Dominion moved from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to FBS. 2014 was expected to be the final season for UAB football, who dropped their program at the conclusion of the season due to financial reasons. The UAB football program later restarted in 2017.[6]

School Former conference New conference
Appalachian State Southern Conference (FCS) Sun Belt
East Carolina Conference USA The American
Georgia Southern Southern Conference (FCS) Sun Belt
Idaho FBS independent Sun Belt
Louisville The American ACC
Maryland ACC Big Ten
New Mexico State FBS independent Sun Belt
Old Dominion FCS independent Conference USA
Rutgers The American Big Ten
Tulane Conference USA The American
Tulsa Conference USA The American
Western Kentucky Sun Belt Conference USA

Other headlines[]

  • May 14
    • The NCAA announced its Academic Progress Rate (APR) sanctions for the 2014–15 school year. Two FBS teams, Idaho and UNLV, were among the 36 programs in 11 sports declared ineligible for postseason play due to failure to meet the required APR benchmark.[7]
    • Boise State announced that it had 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 postseason 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 restored Penn State's postseason eligibility effective immediately, and full complement of 85 scholarships effective with the 2015 season. This means Penn State could 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
    • For the first time since Week 11 of the 1990 season,[11] four teams ranked in the top six of the AP Poll lost during the week. Additionally, five of the top eight of the AP Poll lost in the same week for the first time ever.[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 set a new FBS record for single-game passing yards, throwing for 734 yards in a 60–59 loss to Cal. This broke the previous record of 716, set in 1990 by Houston's David Klingler, and was 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 threw for 527 yards, giving the two teams an FBS-record 1,261 passing yards in the game.[13]
  • October 12 – The release of the Week 8 AP Poll saw 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. Mississippi State had just beaten #2 Auburn at home by a score of 38–23, 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 five weeks, surpassing the previous record of six weeks set by Ohio State in 1954.[14]
  • October 18 – Marshall quarterback Rakeem Cato threw for four touchdowns in the Thundering Herd's 45–13 win at FIU, giving him a touchdown pass in 39 consecutive games. This broke 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 set 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 – Melvin Gordon's single-game FBS rushing record, which had been set less than a week earlier, is broken by Oklahoma's Samaje Perine, who ran for 427 yards in the Sooners' 44–7 win over Kansas.[18]
  • November 29 – Louisville safety Gerod Holliman intercepted 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 discovered 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 announced that it would 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 became the first FBS-level program to fold since Pacific dropped football after the 1995 season.[21] (The Blazers would ultimately reinstate football in 2017.)
  • December 5 – The board of governors of Colorado State approved the construction of a new on-campus stadium to replace the Rams' then-current off-campus home of Hughes Stadium. No date for completion had been set; potential capacities ranged from 35,872 to 41,200.[22] The venue would open in 2017 as Colorado State Stadium with the full 41,200 capacity, and since 2018 has been known as Canvas Stadium.
  • December 8 – Sporting News reported that the Big 12 Conference had been planning to expand beyond its current ten teams even before being left out of the inaugural College Football Playoff. Specifically, conference officials met with officials from the University of Cincinnati.[23] These expansion plans were later dropped.

Updated stadiums[]

New stadiums[]

  • 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.

Renovated 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.

Other[]

  • 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]

Conference standings[]

Template:2014 American Athletic Conference football standings Template:2014 ACC football standings Template:2014 Big Ten football standings
Template:2014 Big 12 football standings Template:2014 Conference USA football standings Template:2014 Mid-American Conference football standings
Template:2014 Mountain West Conference football standings Template:2014 Pac-12 football standings Template:2014 SEC football standings
Template:2014 Sun Belt football standings
2014 Division I FBS independents football records
v · d · e Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
BYU               8 5  
Notre Dame               8 5  
Navy               8 5  
Army               4 8  
Rankings from AP Poll

Conference summaries[]

Rankings reflect the Week 15 AP Poll before the conference championship games were played.

Power 5 Conferences[]

Conference Champion Runner-up Score Offensive Player of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Coach of the Year
ACC #2 Florida State CFP #12 Georgia Tech 37–35 James Conner, RB,
Pittsburgh
(Player of the Year)[29]
Vic Beasley, DE,
Clemson[29]
Paul Johnson,
Georgia Tech[30]
Big 12 #5 Baylor

#4 TCU

N/A N/A Trevone Boykin, TCU Paul Dawson, TCU Gary Patterson, TCU
Big Ten #6 Ohio State CFP #11 Wisconsin 59–0 Melvin Gordon, RB,
Wisconsin[31]
Joey Bosa, DE,
Ohio State[31]
Jerry Kill,
Minnesota
(coaches and media)[31]
Pac-12 #3 Oregon CFP #8 Arizona 51–13 Marcus Mariota, QB,
Oregon
Scooby Wright III, LB,
Arizona
Rich Rodriguez,
Arizona
SEC #1 Alabama CFP #14 Missouri 42–13 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 Louisiana Tech 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 Bowling Green 51–17 Northern Illinois 11-2 Jarvion Franklin, RB,
Western Michigan[36]
Quinten Rollins, DB,
Miami (OH)
P. J. Fleck,
Western Michigan
MW #22 Boise State Fresno State 28–14 Boise State 11-2 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 8-3* Elijah McGuire, RB,
Louisiana–Lafayette[38]
David Mayo, LB,
Texas State[38]
Willie Fritz,
Georgia Southern[38]

CFP College Football Playoff participant

* On July 22, 2016, Georgia Southern announced that it had been ordered by the NCAA to vacate two wins from the 2013 season and one win from the 2014 season as punishment for fielding academically ineligible student athletes during those games. The ruling does not affect Georgia Southern's 2014 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship.[39]

Bowl eligibility[]

Bowl-eligible teams[]

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[]

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.[40]

Template:2015 College Football Playoff

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 10–2 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 Coaches' Poll
1 Ohio State Ohio State
2 Oregon Oregon
3 TCU TCU
4 Alabama Alabama
5 Florida State Michigan State
6 Michigan State Florida State
7 Baylor Georgia Tech
8 Georgia Tech Baylor
9 Georgia Georgia
10 UCLA UCLA
11 Mississippi State Missouri
12 Arizona State Mississippi State
13 Wisconsin Wisconsin
14 Missouri Arizona State
15 Clemson Clemson
16 Boise State Boise State
17 Ole Miss Arizona
18 Kansas State Kansas State
19 Arizona Ole Miss
20 USC Utah
21 Utah USC
22 Auburn Marshall
23 Marshall Auburn
24 Louisville Louisville
25 Memphis Memphis

Unlike the BCS, the Coaches' Poll is not contractually obligated to name the CFP champion as its #1 team.[41][2][1]

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[]

Special overall[]

Offense[]

Quarterback

Running back

Wide receiver

Tight end

Lineman

Defense[]

Defensive line

Defensive back

Special teams[]

Coaches[]

Assistants[]

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 [44] Lance Leipold (permanent)
Central Michigan Dan Enos January 22, 2015 Hired as offensive coordinator by Arkansas[45] John Bonamego
Colorado State Jim McElwain December 4, 2014 Hired by Florida[46] Dave Baldwin (interim)
Colorado State Dave Baldwin (interim) December 22, 2014 Replaced Mike Bobo (permanent)
Florida Will Muschamp November 16, 2014 Resigned [47] D. J. Durkin (interim – bowl game)
Florida D. J. Durkin (interim) December 4, 2014 Replaced[46] 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 [48] Clint Bowen (Interim)
Kansas Clint Bowen (interim) December 5, 2014 Replaced [49] David Beaty (permanent)
Michigan Brady Hoke December 2, 2014 Fired Jim Harbaugh[50]
Nebraska Bo Pelini November 30, 2014 Fired [51] 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[52] Gary Andersen
SMU June Jones September 8, 2014 Resigned [53] Tom Mason (interim)
SMU Tom Mason (interim) November 30, 2014 Replaced [54] Chad Morris (permanent)
Troy Larry Blakeney October 5, 2014 Retired [55] Neal Brown
Tulsa Bill Blankenship December 1, 2014 Fired [56] Philip Montgomery
UAB Bill Clark December 2, 2014 School dropped football[21] None[57]
UNLV Bobby Hauck November 28, 2014 Resigned [58] Tony Sanchez
Wisconsin Gary Andersen December 10, 2014 Hired by Oregon State Barry Alvarez (interim – bowl game)[59]
Wisconsin Barry Alvarez (interim) December 17, 2014 for bowl game Paul Chryst (permanent)

Television viewers and ratings[]

Most watched regular season games[]

  • Excludes Conference Championships and Kickoff Games
Rank Date Matchup Channel Viewers TV Rating [1] 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.

See also[]

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named alcom-finalappoll2014
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  3. NJ.com (February 13, 2014). "Proposed NCAA rule change to slow "hurry up offenses" draws criticism from coaches". nj.com. http://www.nj.com/rutgersfootball/index.ssf/2014/02/proposed_ncaa_rule_to_slow_hurry-up_offenses_draws_criticism_from_coaches.html. Retrieved February 13, 2014.
  4. "Big 12 Officiating Eight-Man Crews are here to stay". NewsOK.com. July 17, 2014. http://newsok.com/big-12-officiating-eight-man-crews-are-here-to-stay/article/5005148. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  5. CBSSports.com (March 5, 2014). "Report: Rules Committee Will Not Vote On "10 Second Rule"". CBSSports.com. http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/24469570/report-rules-committee-will-not-vote-on-10-second-rule. Retrieved March 5, 2014.
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  8. Schad, Joe (May 14, 2014). "Boise State can help Antoine Turner". ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/10931580/boise-state-broncos-allowed-ncaa-provide-immediate-assistance-incoming-recruit-antoine-turner. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  9. "UNLV football's postseason ban is lifted this season". Las Vegas Sun. June 26, 2014. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2014/jun/26/unlv-footballs-bowl-ban-lifted/. Retrieved June 28, 2014.
  10. Moyer, Josh (September 8, 2014). "Penn State's postseason ban over". ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11489258/ncaa-drops-postseason-ban-penn-state-nittany-lions. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  11. 11.0 11.1 "Florida State, Auburn 1-2 in AP poll". ESPN.com. October 5, 2014. http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11647045/mississippi-rebels-mississippi-state-bulldogs-tied-third-associated-press-college-football-poll. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
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  13. Bonagura, Kyle (October 5, 2014). "Connor Halliday sets passing record". ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11645936/washington-state-cougars-qb-connor-halliday-sets-fbs-single-game-passing-record-734-yards-california-golden-bears. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
  14. "Mississippi State No. 1 in AP poll". Associated Press. ESPN.com. October 12, 2014. http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11688921/mississippi-state-bulldogs-rise-no-1-associated-press-college-football-poll. Retrieved October 13, 2014.
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  18. "Samaje Perine runs for FBS-record 427 yards as Oklahoma routs Kansas". Associated Press. ESPN.com. November 16, 2014. http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?id=400547894. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  19. Huguenin, Mike (November 29, 2014). "Louisville's Gerod Holliman ties single-season interception mark". NFL.com. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000435886/article/louisvilles-gerod-holliman-ties-singleseason-interception-mark. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
  20. Ward, Austin (December 1, 2014). "Body identified as Kosta Karageorge". ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11960455/kosta-karageorge-ohio-state-buckeyes-found-dead. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  21. 21.0 21.1 "UAB shutting down football program". ESPN.com. December 2, 2014. http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11967626/uab-blazers-shut-football-program. Retrieved December 2, 2014.
  22. Sobleski, Brent (December 5, 2014). "Board of Governors approve new on-campus stadium for Colorado State Rams". College Football Talk (NBCSports.com). http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/12/05/board-of-regents-approve-new-on-campus-stadium-for-colorado-state-rams/related/. Retrieved December 6, 2014.
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  28. "EMU Installing Gray FieldTurf Surface at Rynearson Stadium" (Press release). Eastern Michigan University Athletics. June 17, 2014. http://www.emueagles.com/news/2014/6/17/FB_0617141758.aspx?path=football. Retrieved June 23, 2014.
  29. 29.0 29.1 "Pitt's Conner Voted ACC Player of the Year" (Press release). Atlantic Coast Conference. December 3, 2014. http://www.theacc.com/#!/news-detail/acc-players-of-the-year-12-03-2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  30. "Georgia Tech's Johnson Voted ACC Coach of the Year" (Press release). Atlantic Coast Conference. December 2, 2014. http://www.theacc.com/#!/news-detail/2014-acc-coach-of-the-year-12-02-2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  31. 31.0 31.1 31.2 "Remaining Individual Honors Announced" (Press release). Big Ten Conference. December 2, 2014. http://www.bigten.org/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/120214aaa.html. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  32. 32.0 32.1 32.2 "The 2014 AP All-SEC football team". Associated Press. Southeastern Conference. December 8, 2014. http://www.secsports.com/article/12000565/the-2014-ap-all-sec-football-team. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
  33. 33.0 33.1 33.2 "American Athletic Conference Announces 2014 Postseason Football Honors" (Press release). American Athletic Conference. December 10, 2014. http://theamerican.org/news/2014/12/10/FB_1210143903.aspx?path=football. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  34. 34.0 34.1 34.2 "Conference USA Announces Football Players of the Year" (Press release). Conference USA. December 10, 2014. http://www.conferenceusa.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121014aad.html. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  35. "Marshall's Doc Holliday Named C-USA Football Coach Of The Year" (Press release). Conference USA. December 10, 2014. http://www.conferenceusa.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/121014aac.html. Retrieved December 16, 2014.
  36. "MAC Announces 2014 All-MAC Teams & Postseason Football Awards" (Press release). Mid-American Conference. December 3, 2014. http://mac-sports.com/news/2014/12/2/FB_1202143009.aspx. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  37. 37.0 37.1 37.2 "Mountain West Announces 2014 Football All-Conference and Individual Honors" (Press release). Mountain West Conference. December 2, 2014. http://www.themw.com/#!/news-detail/mountain-west-announces-2014-football-all-conference-and-individual-honors-12-02-2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  38. 38.0 38.1 38.2 "UL Lafayette's McGuire Headlines All-Sun Belt Conference Teams and Individual Award Winners". Sun Belt Conference. http://sunbeltsports.org/news/2014/12/10/FB_1210140835.aspx. Retrieved December 10, 2014.
  39. "Georgia Southern Football To Vacate Three Games From 2013-14 Seasons - Georgia Southern University" (in en). http://gseagles.com/news/2016/7/22/georgia-southern-football-to-vacate-three-games-from-2013-14-seasons.aspx.
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  46. 46.0 46.1 Low, Chris (December 4, 2014). "Jim McElwain to coach Florida". ESPN.com. http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11977425/jim-mcelwain-becomes-florida-gators-coach. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
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  53. "June Jones resigns as SMU coach". Associated Press. ESPN.com. September 9, 2014. http://espn.go.com/dallas/college-football/story/_/id/11490096/june-jones-resigns-smu-mustangs-coach. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
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  55. Associated Press. "Larry Blakeney set to retire". http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11651059/troy-coach-larry-blakeney-retire-season. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
  56. Fornelli, Tom. "Tulsa fires coach Bill Blankenship after 2-10 season". http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/eye-on-college-football/24855336/tulsa-fires-coach-bill-blankenship-after-2-10-season. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  57. UAB would later announce that it would reinstate football in the 2017 season; Clark was retained as head coach.
  58. "Bobby Hauck submits resignation". ESPN. November 28, 2014. http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/11951364/unlv-rebels-coach-bobby-hauck-step-season-finale. Retrieved November 30, 2014.
  59. "Barry Alvarez to coach bowl game". ESPN.com. December 11, 2014. http://espn.go.com/college-football/bowls14/story/_/id/12015248/ad-barry-alvarez-coach-wisconsin-badgers-outback-bowl. Retrieved December 11, 2014.

External links[]

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