2014 Georgia Southern Eagles football team
The 2014 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented Georgia Southern University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Willie Fritz and played their home games at Paulson Stadium. They were first year members of the Sun Belt Conference. In their second year of the FCS to FBS transition, the Eagles were eligible for the conference championship; however, they were not bowl-eligible.
| 2014 Georgia Southern Eagles football | |
|---|---|
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Sun Belt champion | |
| Conference | Sun Belt Conference |
| 2014 record | 9–3 (8–0 Sun Belt) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Doug Rouse (1st season) |
| Offensive scheme | Spread option |
| Defensive coordinator | Jack Curtis (1st season) |
| Home stadium | Paulson Stadium (Capacity: 25,000) |
| 2014 Sun Belt Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia Southern * $ | 8 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisiana–Lafayette *** | 5 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Eagles finished their inaugural FBS season 9–3 and were undefeated in Sun Belt Conference play at 8–0, clinching the conference championship outright. Additionally, with their victory over Georgia State, the Eagles posted their 300th win in the modern era of Georgia Southern football.[1] The Eagles became only the third team ever to win a conference title in its first FBS season, after Nevada in 1992 (Big West Conference) and Marshall in 1997 (Mid-American Conference). They were also the first team ever to go unbeaten in conference play in their first FBS season.[2] Georgia Southern athletic director Tom Kleinlein filed for a postseason waiver to allow the Eagles to play in a bowl game; however, the NCAA denied Georgia Southern's waiver request and a subsequent appeal due to a sufficient number of "full FBS members" becoming bowl-eligible during the season.[3]
On July 22, 2016, the university announced that it was ordered by the NCAA to vacate two wins from the 2013 season and one win from the 2014 season, due to academically ineligible student-athletes participating in those games. The win affected in the 2014 season was against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks; despite vacating this win, the ruling does not affect Georgia Southern's status as the 2014 Sun Belt Conference Football champions.[4]
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 30 | 12:30 pm | at NC State* | ACCN | L 23–24 | 54,273 | |
| September 6 | 6:00 pm | Savannah State* | ESPN3 | W 83–9 | 23,121 | |
| September 13 | 12:00 pm | at Georgia Tech* | ACCRSN | L 38–42 | 53,173 | |
| September 20 | 6:30 pm | at South Alabama | ESPN3 | W 28–6 | 11,348 | |
| September 25 | 7:30 pm | Appalachian State |
| ESPNU | W 34–14 | 24,535 |
| October 4 | 8:00 pm | at New Mexico State | SS | W 36–28 | 10,256 | |
| October 11 | 6:00 pm | Idaho |
| SBN | W 47–24 | 23,250 |
| October 25 | 2:00 pm | at Georgia State |
| ESPN3 | W 69–31 | 28,427 |
| October 30 | 7:30 pm | Troy |
| ESPNU | W 42–10 | 18,321 |
| November 8 | 4:00 pm | at Texas State | ESPN3 | W 28–25 | 16,772 | |
| November 15 | 3:30 pm | at Navy* | CBSSN | L 19–52 | 33,894 | |
| November 29 | 6:00 pm | Louisiana–Monroe |
| ESPN3 | W 22–16 | 16,283 |
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- Schedule Source:[5]
References
- "Georgia Southern Football Handles Georgia State, Posts 300th Win". Georgia Southern Athletics. October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
- "Georgia Southern Claims Outright Sun Belt Title - Sun Belt Winners Score Big on Saturday" (Press release). Sun Belt Conference. December 1, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
- "Georgia Southern's appeal denied". ESPN. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
- "Georgia Southern Football To Vacate Three Games From 2013-14 Seasons". Georgia Southern Eagles. Retrieved 26 July 2016.
- "2014 Georgia Southern Eagles Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved March 2, 2014.