2014 Memphis Tigers football team

The 2014 Memphis Tigers football team represented the University of Memphis in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers were coached by third-year head coach Justin Fuente and played their home games at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The Tigers competed as a member of the American Athletic Conference. Memphis began the year with low expectations since they finished at the bottom of the American Athletic Conference and posted a 3–9 (1–7 The American) record in 2013. However, the Tigers turned completely around. First, they finished in a three-way tie with Cincinnati and UCF for the conference title by posting a 10–3 (7–1 The American) record. It was their first conference championship (shared) since 1971 when Memphis was part of the Missouri Valley Conference. The 2014 10-win season equaled the total number of wins Memphis posted over the 2010–2013 seasons. Also, the 10-win season was the first time Memphis had posted double digit wins in a season since 1938. The Tigers also won their first bowl game since 2005 by beating BYU 55–48 in double OT in the inaugural Miami Beach Bowl. Memphis also finished #25 in the final AP Poll for the first time ever

2014 Memphis Tigers football
The American co-champion Miami Beach Bowl champion
Miami Beach Bowl, W 55–482OT vs. BYU
Conference	American Athletic Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 25
AP	No. 25
Record	10–3 (7–1 The American)
Head coach	Justin Fuente (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Darrell Dickey
Defensive coordinator	Barry Odom
Home stadium	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium

2014 American Athletic Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 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
UConn		1	–	7					2	–	10
SMU		1	–	7					1	–	11
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	7:00 p.m.	Austin Peay*	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	ESPN3	W 63–0	27,361
September 6	9:00 p.m.	at No. 11 UCLA*	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA	P12N	L 35–42	72,098
September 20	6:00 p.m.	Middle Tennessee*	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	ESPN3	W 36–17	46,378
September 27	6:30 p.m.	at No. 10 Ole Miss*	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (rivalry)	SECRN	L 3–24	61,291
October 4	6:00 p.m.	at Cincinnati	Paul Brown Stadium Cincinnati, OH	CBSSN	W 41–14	25,456
October 11	6:00 p.m.	Houston	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	CBSSN	L 24–28	32,784
October 25	11:00 a.m.	at SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium University Park, TX	ESPNews	W 48–10	19,498
October 31	8:00 p.m.	Tulsa	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	ESPNU	W 40–20	26,846
November 7	6:30 p.m.	at Temple	Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, PA	ESPNU	W 16–13	23,882
November 15	2:30 p.m.	at Tulane	Yulman Stadium New Orleans, LA	ESPNU	W 38–7	28,614
November 22	3:00 p.m.	South Florida	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	ESPNews	W 31–20	34,635
November 29	3:00 p.m.	UConn	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	ESPNews	W 41–10	35,102
December 22	1:00 p.m.	vs. BYU*	Marlins Park Miami, FL (Miami Beach Bowl)	ESPN	W 55–48 2OT	20,761
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Rankings

Further information: 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	25
Coaches	—	RV	RV	RV	RV	—	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV	RV	RV	25
CFP	Not released									—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released

Game summaries

Austin Peay

	1	2	3	4	Total
Governors	0	0	0	0	0
Tigers	21	21	14	7	63

UCLA

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	7	14	0	14	35
#11 Bruins	13	15	7	7	42

Middle Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Raiders	7	0	3	7	17
Tigers	9	10	3	14	36

Ole Miss

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	3	0	0	0	3
Rebels	7	0	0	17	24

Cincinnati

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	24	3	14	0	41
Bearcats	7	0	7	0	14

Houston

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	0	14	7	7	28
Tigers	7	14	0	3	24

SMU

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	7	24	10	7	48
Mustangs	0	7	3	0	10

Tulsa

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Hurricane	7	7	0	6	20
Tigers	0	20	6	14	40

Temple

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	0	10	3	3	16
Owls	10	0	0	3	13

Tulane

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	7	3	21	7	38
Green Wave	0	0	0	7	7

South Florida

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulls	3	10	0	7	20
Tigers	14	7	7	3	31

UConn

	1	2	3	4	Total
Huskies	0	3	0	7	10
Tigers	6	7	21	7	41

BYU (Miami Beach Bowl)

	1	2	3	4	OT	2OT	Total
Cougars	14	14	0	17	3	0	48
Tigers	17	7	14	7	3	7	55

Depth chart

Defense
FS 39 Reggis Ball ⋅		WLB ILB ILB SLB 13 Tank Jakes 34 Jackson Dillon ⋅ ⋅ 16 Wynton McManis 99 Kendrick Golden ⋅ ⋅					SS 15 Fritz Etienne 17 Chris Morley
CB 10 Dontrell Nelson 12 Chauncey Lanier		DE NT DE 48 Ernest Suttles 56 Terry Redden 97 Martin Ifedi 91 Ricky Hunter 93 Cortez Crosby 14 Latarius Brady						CB 21 Bobby McCain 23 BJ Ross
Offense
"X" WR 87 Tevin Jones 83 Baniel Hurd	"Z" WR 7 Keiwone Malone 2 Joe Craig	LT LG C RG RT 77 Taylor Fallin 63 Tyler Uselton 71 Gabe Kuhn 75 Micheal Stannard 54 Al Bond 65 Christopher Roberson 76 Patrick Winfield 70 Micah Simmons 66 Tony Mays 79 Nykiren Wellington					WR ⋅ ⋅	"S" WR 11 Sam Craft 5 Mose Frazier
				QB 12 Paxton Lynch 15 Jason Stewart
					RB 38 Brandon Hayes 22 Doroland Dorceus		Special teams PK 46 Jake Elliot PK 36 Spencer Smith P 36 Spencer Smith P 47 Nick Jacobs KR 2 Joe Craig PR 21 Bobby McCain H 35 Evan Micheal