The 2014-15 College Football Season: By the Numbers
Could you define the 2014 season with a single number?
Would it be four for the number of first-ever playoff teams, 12 for the number of committee members or even two for the pair of Big 12 programs left out of the mix?
Though selecting one number as the representative for a full campaign of college football may be impossible, the following 13 figures underline what was a year that changed the sport forever.
734: Connor Halliday’s Passing Yards vs. Cal
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Washington State quarterback Connor Halliday’s 734-yard day in the 60-59 loss to Cal on Oct. 4 set the NCAA FBS record for single-game passing yards. The record had previously been held by Houston’s David Klingler, who hung up 716 yards on Arizona State on Dec. 2, 1990.
Klingler went 41-of-70 against the Sun Devils, while Halliday went 49-of-70 versus the Golden Bears.
The Washington State-Cal game also set the record for the most passing yards in a game by two opposing players, with Halliday and Cal’s Jared Goff combining for 1,261. The previous record was held by TCU’s Matt Vogler and Houston’s Klingler, who hooked up for 1,253 yards on Nov. 3, 1990.
478: Washington State’s Passing Yards Per Game
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Though it’s no surprise that Mike Leach’s passing offense at Washington State led the nation in yards, its average output is the second-best performance in history.
That’s right. The Cougars’ 477.7 passing yards per game is No. 2 all-time, second to only the 1989 Houston Cougars who averaged a whopping 511.3.
It’s the highest mark set by an offense since 2003, when Texas Tech—also led by Leach—blazed a trail to 475.3 yards per game.
427: Samaje Perine’s Rushing Yards vs. Kansas
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The NCAA FBS single-game rushing record got broken twice this season: first on Nov. 15, when Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon hung 408 yards on Nebraska, and then again the next week when Oklahoma’s Samaje Perine racked up 427 against Kansas.
TCU’s LaDainian Tomlinson held the previous record after nailing UTEP for 406 yards in 1999.
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387: Justin Hardy’s Career Receptions
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East Carolina receiver Justin Hardy’s 121 catches this season were enough for him to earn the NCAA FBS record for career receptions with 387.
Hardy blew past previous record holder Ryan Broyles, who posted 349 catches from 2008-11 at Oklahoma.
380: Georgia Southern’s Average Rushing Yards Per Game
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Georgia Southern streaked through its first season as an FBS team by posting a 9-3 record, anchored by the No. 1 rushing attack in the nation.
Though the Eagles’ average of 379.9 rushing yards per game may not seem jaw-dropping, it’s No. 13 all-time in FBS history and the highest mark since 1995, when Nebraska averaged 399.8 yards per game.
277: The Vigil Brothers’ Combined Tackles
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Utah State’s linebackers Zach and Nick Vigil not only led their team in tackles, but they were also ranked No. 2 and No. 21, respectively, in the FBS.
Zach, a senior, had 154 tackles, while younger brother Nick, a sophomore, followed with 123. The two are also ranked No. 11 (19.5) and No. 18 (17), respectively, in tackles for a loss and No. 24 (nine) and No. 60 (seven) in sacks.
Though impressive, it’s unclear if the dual performance sets any kind of record. The only mention of brothers in the NCAA FBS book is Barry and Byron Sanders, holding the mark for most yards gained by two brothers in a season—3,690 in 1988. Barry posted 2,628 at Oklahoma State, while Byron rushed for 1,062 at Northwestern.
117: Passing Yards Allowed by San Jose State
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San Jose State led the nation in pass defense this season, holding its 12 foes to a measly 117.8 yards per game, including holding four to fewer than 65 yards through the air.
It’s good enough to earn the Spartans the third-best performance since 2000, just shy of the marks set by Alabama in 2011 (111.5) and 2004 (113.1).
64: Keenan Reynolds’ Career Rushing Touchdowns
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Navy’s Keenan Reynolds is only a junior, but he’s already set the NCAA FBS record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback.
Reynolds blasted Nebraska’s Eric Crouch’s mark of 59 earned in 43 games from 1998-2001 with 64 in 37 games from 2012-14. His career-best came last season when he rushed for 31 scores, also an NCAA FBS record.
52.0: Ohio State on Third Down
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The common thread of the fall and rise of Ohio State football in 2014 was third-down conversions.
The Buckeyes posted a season-low 25.0 percent in their 35-21 loss to Virginia Tech and then skyrocketed to a season-high 71.4 percent in a 49-37 win over Michigan State.
The average of 52.0 percent ranks in the top 10 in the FBS and includes going 55.6 against Alabama's blistering defense in the Sugar Bowl, and then 53.3 in the title win over Oregon.
It's how the Bucks did what virtually everyone thought they couldn't.
19: Hau’oli Kikaha’s Sacks
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Though Washington linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha didn’t set the single-season record for sacks this season, he came closer than any defender has in nine years.
Arizona State’s Terrell Suggs holds the record with 24 sacks, a mark he set in 2002. The only other guy to come as close was Louisville’s Elvis Dumervil, who racked up 20 in 2005.
14: Gerod Holliman’s Interceptions
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How good were the 14 interceptions Louisville safety Gerod Holliman scored this season? How about good enough to tie a 46-year-old NCAA FBS record?
Holliman’s 14 picks tied the all-time mark set by Al Worley at Washington in 1968.
Holliman, a sophomore, scored his first ever collegiate interception in the opener versus Miami (Florida) and then never looked back, scoring at least one pick in all but four outings and multiple takeaways on four occasions.
His 245 return yards surpassed Worley’s total by 115 yards.
2: Running Backs over 2,000 Yards
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This year, Wisconsin’s Melvin Gordon (2,587) and Indiana’s Tevin Coleman (2,036) both rushed for 2,000-plus yards, the first time in history that two Big Ten backs have hit the mark together.
It’s also one of only three seasons in history where more than one guy rushed for 2,000-plus.
The last time it happened was in 2007, when Tulane’s Matt Forte (2,127), UCF’s Kevin Smith (2,567) and Rutgers’ Ray Rice (2,012) all broke the mark.
1: True National Champion
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It only took 145 years for college football to crown a champion that was required to win more than one postseason nonconference game.
Though the BCS (1998-2013), along with its predecessors the Bowl Alliance (1995-97) and the Bowl Coalition (1992-94), ended the practice of declaring multiple national champions, it created more controversy than calm.
What that debate did do is usher in the era of the four-team College Football Playoff, a mini-bracket that could eventually create just the kind of angst necessary to enact a fuller-figured, eight-team playoff.
But for now, we’ve got one true champion—The Ohio State Buckeyes. Perhaps that's enough progress for a single season.
Statistics courtesy of CFBStats. Records courtesy of the NCAA FBS record book.
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