2014 Atlantic Coast Conference football season

2014 ACC football season
League	NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision)
Sport	Football
Duration	August 2014 to January 2015
Number of teams	14
Regular season
Atlantic champions	Florida State
Coastal champions	Georgia Tech
ACC Championship Game
Champions	Florida State
Runners-up	Georgia Tech
ACC Championship Game MVP	Dalvin Cook


2014 ACC football standings
Team	W		L	W		L
Atlantic Division
#5 Florida State ^x†^	8	–	0	13	–	1
#15 Clemson	6	–	2	10	–	3
#24 Louisville	5	–	3	9	–	4
Boston College	4	–	4	7	–	6
NC State	3	–	5	8	–	5
Syracuse	1	–	7	3	–	9
Wake Forest	1	–	7	3	–	9
Coastal Division
#8 Georgia Tech ^x	6	–	2	11	–	3
Duke	5	–	3	9	–	4
North Carolina	4	–	4	6	–	7
Pittsburgh	4	–	4	6	–	7
Miami	3	–	5	6	–	7
Virginia Tech	3	–	5	7	–	6
Virginia	3	–	5	5	–	7
Championship: Florida State 37, Georgia Tech 35
^ – College Football Playoff participant † – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions As of January 1, 2015; Rankings from AP Poll

The 2014 Atlantic Coast Conference football season was the 62nd season of college football play for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). It was played from August 2014 to January 2015.^[1] 2014 was first season of play in the ACC for former American Athletic Conference member Louisville, which replaced ACC charter member Maryland after their move to the Big Ten Conference. Although the Notre Dame football program is not a member of the ACC, it has an agreement to play five ACC schools per season in football starting in 2014. This is in return for access to the non-College Football Playoff ACC bowl line-up.^[2]^[3] The Irish are not eligible for the ACC Championship Game.^[4]

The Atlantic Coast Conference consisted of 14 members in two divisions. The Atlantic Division consisted of Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina State, Syracuse, and Wake Forest. The Coastal Division consisted of Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Virginia, and Virginia Tech. The division champions will met in December in the 2014 ACC Championship Game, played in Charlotte, North Carolina at Bank of America Stadium.

Preseason

Preseason Poll

The 2014 ACC Preseason Poll was announced at the ACC Football Kickoff meetings in Greensboro, North Carolina on July 23. Miami was voted to win Coastal division while Florida State was voted to win the Atlantic division and the conference. Jameis Winston of Florida State was voted the Preseason ACC Player of the Year.^[5]

Atlantic Division poll

Florida State – 780 (104 first place votes)
Clemson – 660 (3)
Louisville – 564
Syracuse - 368
North Carolina State – 326
Boston College – 301
Wake Forest – 136

Coastal Division poll

Miami – 614 (26)
Duke – 597 (33)
Virginia Tech – 571 (23)
North Carolina – 570 (27)
Georgia Tech – 322 (1)
Pittsburgh - 319 (2)
Virginia – 142

Predicted ACC Championship Game Winner

Florida State – 104
Clemson – 2
Virginia Tech - 2

Preseason ACC Player of the Year

Jameis Winston, FSU - 99
Vic Beasley, CLEM - 6
Duke Johnson, MIA - 1
Jamison Crowder, DU - 1
Brenden Motley, VT - 1

Preseason All Conference Teams^[6]

Offense

Position	Player	School
Wide Receiver	Jamison Crowder	Duke
	Rashad Greene	Florida State
	DeVante Parker	Louisville
Tight End	Nick O'Leary	Florida State
Tackle	Cameron Erving	Florida State
Tackle	Sean Hickey	Syracuse
Guard	Tre' Jackson	Florida State
Guard	Laken Tomlinson	Duke
Center	Andy Gallik	Boston College
Quarterback	Jameis Winston	Florida State
Running Back	Duke Johnson	Miami
Running Back	Karlos Williams	Florida State

Defense

Position	Player	School
Defensive end	Vic Beasley	Clemson
Defensive end	Mario Edwards, Jr.	Florida State
Defensive tackle	Luther Maddy	Virginia Tech
Defensive tackle	Grady Jarrett	Clemson
Linebacker	Denzel Perryman	Miami
	Kelby Brown	Duke
	Stephone Anthony	Clemson
Cornerback	Kendall Fuller	Virginia Tech
Cornerback	P. J. Williams	Florida State
Safety	Anthony Harris	Virginia
Safety	Jeremy Cash	Duke

Specialist

Position	Player	School
Placekicker	Roberto Aguayo	Florida State
Punter	A. J. Hughes	Virginia Tech
Specialist	Ryan Switzer	North Carolina

Coaches

The conference had two new head coaches for the 2014 football season. Wake Forest hired Dave Clawson from Bowling Green one week after 13-year coach Jim Grobe resigned after his fifth straight losing season.^[7] Wake Forest athletic director, Ron Wellman, stated that their preference was to hire someone with experience coaching a private school. Clawson previously coached at FCS Fordham and Richmond before leading FBS Bowling Green to three bowl appearances and a conference title in the past five years. Louisville also changed coaches prior to the 2014 season. Former head coach Charlie Strong left the Louisville program following the 2013 season to take the head coaching position at Texas. ^[8] Following his departure, Louisville rehired former head coach Bobby Petrino to a seven-year contract. ^[9] Petrino formerly coached Louisville from 2003-2006 before leaving to coach at Arkansas. He spent his 2013 season as the head coach of Western Kentucky, where he led the team to an 8-4 record.

Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season

Team	Head coach	Years at school	Overall record	Record at school	ACC record
Boston College	Steve Addazio	2	20–17	7–6	4–4
Clemson	Dabo Swinney	7	51–23	51–23	33–12
Duke	David Cutcliffe	7	75–73	31–44	15–33
Florida State	Jimbo Fisher	4	45–10	45–10	26–6
Georgia Tech	Paul Johnson	7	155–71	48–32	31–17
Louisville	Bobby Petrino	5	83–30	41–9	0–0
Miami	Al Golden	4	49–49	22–15	13–11
North Carolina	Larry Fedora	3	49-29	15-10	9-7
NC State	Dave Doeren	2	26–13	3–9	0-8
Pittsburgh	Paul Chryst	3	13–13	13–13	3–5
Syracuse	Scott Shafer	2	7–6	7–6	4–4
Virginia	Mike London	5	42–36	18–31	8–24
Virginia Tech	Frank Beamer	27	264-132–4	224–109–2	62–18
Wake Forest	Dave Clawson	1	90–80	0-0	0–0

Rankings

**Legend**
		Improvement in ranking
		Drop in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
RV		Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll

		Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15
Boston College	AP				RV	RV
	C				RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
Clemson	AP	16	23	23	22	RV	RV	RV	24	21	22	19	18	RV	23	19	18
	C	16	24	24	24	RV	RV	25	22	20	21	19	17	RV	24	19	18
	CFP	Not released									21	21	19	22	21	18	17
Duke	AP	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV			RV	RV	24	22	19	25	RV	RV	RV
	C	RV	RV	RV	RV	23	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	20	19	25	RV	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released									24	22	21
Florida State	AP	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	2	2
	C	1	1	1	1	1	2	1	2	2	2	2	2	1	2	2	2
	CFP	Not released									2	2	3	3	3	4	3
Georgia Tech	AP					RV	RV	22	RV			RV	24	17	16	12	10
	C	RV				RV	RV	23	RV		RV	RV	23	16	15	12	9
	CFP	Not released										24	22	18	16	11	12
Louisville	AP	RV	25	21	RV	RV		RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	21	20
	C	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV			RV	RV	RV	RV	23	20	20
	CFP	Not released									25			24	22	21	21
Miami	AP	RV											RV	RV
	C	RV										RV	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
North Carolina	AP	23	21	RV	RV
	C	23	23	25	25		RV
	CFP	Not released
NC State	AP						RV
	C				RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
Pittsburgh	AP		RV	RV	RV	RV
	C		RV	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
Syracuse	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Virginia	AP				RV		RV	RV	RV
	C				RV
	CFP	Not released
Virginia Tech	AP	RV	RV	17	RV
	C	RV	RV	19	RV
	CFP	Not released
Wake Forest	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released

Notre Dame partnership

Starting in 2014, Notre Dame is scheduled to play five games against ACC opponents annually.^[2] Each ACC team will play Notre Dame at least once during a three year period. ^[10] Due to scheduling constraints however, the 2014 Notre Dame team will only play four ACC opponents, but will play six in 2015 to even out the schedule. ^[11]

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 27	8:00 pm	#8 Notre Dame	Syracuse	MetLife Stadium • East Rutherford, NJ	ABC	L 15-31	76,802
October 11	3:30 pm	North Carolina	#6 Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, IN	NBC	L 43-50	80,795
October 18	8:00 pm	#5 Notre Dame	#2 Florida State	Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL	ABC	W 31-27	82,431
November 22	3:30 pm	Louisville	Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, IN	NBC	W 31-28	80,795
^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Bowl games

Bowl eligibility

Bowl eligible

Boston College
Clemson
Duke
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Louisville
Miami
NC State
North Carolina
Pittsburgh
Virginia Tech

Bowl ineligible

Syracuse
Wake Forest
Virginia

^[12]

Bowl affiliations

Date	Game	Site	Television	Affiliations
Dec. 26	Quick Lane Bowl	Ford Field Detroit, MI 4:30 pm	ESPN	Big Ten ACC
Dec. 26	Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl	Tropicana Field St. Petersburg, FL 8:00 pm		ACC American
Dec 27	Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD 1:00 pm		ACC American
	Hyundai Sun Bowl	Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso, TX 2:00 pm	CBS	ACC Pac-12
	Duck Commander Independence Bowl	Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA 4:00 pm	ESPN2	ACC SEC
	New Era Pinstripe Bowl	Yankee Stadium Bronx, NY 4:30 pm	ESPN	ACC Big Ten
Dec 29	Russell Athletic Bowl	Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium Orlando, FL 5:30 pm		ACC Big 12
Dec 30	Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl	LP Field Nashville, TN 3:00 pm		ACC/Big Ten SEC
Dec 30	Belk Bowl	Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC 6:45 pm		ACC SEC
Jan. 1	Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl	Florida Citrus Bowl Stadium Orlando, FL 1:00 pm	ABC	ACC/Big Ten SEC
Jan. 2	TaxSlayer Bowl	EverBank Field Jacksonville, FL 3:20 pm	ESPN	ACC/Big Ten SEC

References

↑ 2013 ACC Composite Football Schedule - Week-By-Week
↑ 2.0 2.1 Schwab, Frank. "Notre Dame to the ACC, football not included... but football will have ACC feel to it". Yahoo! sports. Retrieved 28 September 2012.
↑ Hansen, Eric. "Swarbrick offers updates on hot topics". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved 8 November 2012.
↑ Chip Patterson (December 20, 2013). "Notre Dame sets ACC schedule for 2014-16". CBSSports.com. Retrieved April 28, 2014.
↑ "Defending National Champion Florida State Leads ACC Preseason Football Poll". Atlantic Coast Conference. 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
↑ "2014 Preseason All-ACC Football Team Announced". Atlantic Coast Conference. 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
↑ "Wake Forest hires Bowling Green coach Dave Clawson". USA Today. 2013. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
↑ "It's official: Charlie Strong to Texas". sportingnews.com. 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
↑ Joe Shad and Brett McMurphy (2014). "Louisville hires Bobby Petrino". ESPN.com. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
↑ Matt Fortuna (2013). "Clarifying Notre Dame's ACC arrangement". ESPN.com. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
↑ JJ Stankevitz (2014). "ACC deal another necessary change for Notre Dame". CSN Chicago. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
↑ "NCAA FBS (Division I-A) Football Standings - 2014". Retrieved 26 October 2014.

Atlantic Coast Conference football

Atlantic Division	Boston College Eagles Clemson Tigers Florida State Seminoles Louisville Cardinals NC State Wolfpack Syracuse Orange Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Coastal Division	Duke Blue Devils Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Miami Hurricanes North Carolina Tar Heels Pittsburgh Panthers Virginia Cavaliers Virginia Tech Hokies

Former teams	Maryland Terrapins South Carolina Gamecocks

Championships and awards	List of Atlantic Coast Conference football champions ACC Championship Game Atlantic Coast Conference football honors

Seasons	1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season

Conference seasons	The American ACC Big 12 Big Ten Conference USA MAC Mountain West Pac-12 SEC Sun Belt

Inter-conference	Bowl games Rankings

All-Americans	2014 College Football All-America Team