College Football’s Biggest Disappointments of 2014
Which teams were college football‘s biggest disappointments in 2014?
All that remains of the 2014 college football season is bowl match-ups after another exciting year. The sport will have its first ever official playoff match-ups come New Year’s Day as well as another bunch of very promising bowl contests. While a number of teams enjoyed stellar seasons, set new school-records and ascended to heights never before seen by their programs, some failed to live up to lofty expectations by a wide margin. Here is a look at college football’s five biggest disappointments in 2014:
5. Miami
2013 Record: 9-4 (5-3 ACC)
2014 Record: 6-6 (3-5 ACC)
Bowl Match-up: vs. South Carolina (Independence Bowl on December 27th)
The ACC’s preseason pick to win the Coastal division, Miami floundered as the season went on. With a talented array of weapons around freshman quarterback Brad Kaaya in running back Duke Johnson, wide receiver Phillip Dorsett and tight end Clive Walford, Miami managed to score fewer than 30 points-per-game. After a 6-3 start, the Hurricanes dropped their final three games beginning with a heartbreaker against rival Florida State in which Miami let a pair of 16-point leads slip away. In 11 years as a member of the ACC, Miami has still yet to play for the conference championship.
4. Stanford
2013 Record: 11-3 (7-2 Pac-12)
2014 Record: 7-5 (5-4 Pac-12)
Bowl Match-up: vs. Maryland (Foster Farms Bowl on December 30th)
The reigning champions of the Pac-12, Stanford began the season ranked just outside the top 10 in the AP Poll. Defensively, the Cardinal remained solid, but the usually potent ground game ranked just 74th in the country. As a result, senior quarterback Kevin Hogan was asked to win games with his arm which was something he was not accustomed to. The Cardinal were held to 20 points or fewer in six of their 12 games. The five regular season losses is the most for Stanford since 2008.
3. Notre Dame
2013 Record: 9-4
2014 Record: 7-5
Bowl Match-up: vs. LSU (Music City Bowl on December 30th)
Through the first half of the 2014 season, Notre Dame was shaping up to be a national championship contender. After a tough loss at Florida State in which a potential winning touchdown was wiped away due to an offense pass interference call, the Fighting Irish hit rock bottom. Notre Dame dropped five of its final six games after starting the year 6-0 for a second time in three seasons. Quarterback Everett Golson threw as many interceptions as touchdowns over his last four games while the Notre Dame defense ranked just 84th in fewest points allowed and yielded at least 31 points to each of its final six opponents.
2. South Carolina
2013 Record: 11-2 (6-2 SEC)
2014 Record: 6-6 (3-5 SEC)
Bowl Match-up: vs. Miami (Independence Bowl on December 27th)
A preseason top 10 team and a popular pick to win the SEC East, South Carolina underachieved particularly on the defensive side of the football. The Gamecocks gave up over 31 points-per-game and blew late leads against the likes of Tennessee and Kentucky. South Carolina finished just 6-6 after an 11-2 campaign in 2013 and closed the year by being defeated by rival Clemson for the first time since 2008. The six losses for the Gamecocks tied the most for the program under head coach Steve Spurrier and the most during the regular season since 2007.
1. Oklahoma
2013 Record: 11-2 (7-2 Big XII)
2014 Record: 8-4 (5-4 Big XII)
Bowl Match-up: vs. Clemson (Russell Athletic Bowl on December 29th)
After an 11-win season and an impressive 45-31 victory over Alabama in last season’s Sugar Bowl, Oklahoma entered the 2014 campaign as the odds on favorite to win the Big XII and were a popular pick to contend for a national championship. During the year however, the Sooners were plagued by inconsistency and healthy issues at quarterback. Trevor Knight failed to make major strides as a sophomore while Cody Thomas struggled mightily in relief. Three of the Sooners’ four losses came at home which included a 48-14 beatdown at the hands of Baylor and a 38-35 overtime loss to rival Oklahoma State in which the Sooners let a 14-point fourth quarter lead slip away. Prior to the start of the season, Oklahoma had never lost multiple home games in a season under head coach Bob Stoops.