The 2014 Southern Conference football season was the 93rd season of
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
for the
Southern Conference
The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...
(SoCon) and formed a part of the
2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season.
It was the first season for two newcomers: the
Mercer Bears
The Mercer Bears are the athletic teams of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia, United States. Mercer is the only private university in Georgia with an NCAA Division I athletic program and fields teams in eight men's and nine women's sports. The ...
, who previously played in the
Pioneer Football League
The Pioneer Football League (PFL) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a football-only conference. It has member s ...
, and the
VMI Keydets
The VMI Keydets are the athletic teams that represent the Virginia Military Institute. All sports participate in the NCAA Division I, and all but three compete in the Southern Conference (the exceptions being men's and women's swimming and diving ...
, who had an 80-year stint in the SoCon before joining the
Big South Conference
The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). Th ...
in 2003.
The additions of Mercer and VMI, along with
East Tennessee State, who is bringing back football in 2015, replaced the departure of
Georgia Southern
Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hin ...
and
Appalachian State
Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...
who joined the
Sun Belt Conference
The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...
, as well as
Elon who left for the
Colonial Athletic Association
The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Most of its members are public universi ...
.
Previous season
In 2013, both
Appalachian State
Appalachian State University (; Appalachian, App State, App, or ASU) is a public university in Boone, North Carolina. It was founded as a teachers college in 1899 by brothers B. B. and D. D. Dougherty and the latter's wife, Lillie Shull Dough ...
and
Georgia Southern
Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hin ...
were ineligible for postseason play due to their transition to the
FBS in 2014. Both schools had down years, each going 4–4 in conference play, with Georgia Southern posting a 7–4 overall mark to Appalachian State's 4–8. At the top of the conference was a three-way tie between
Chattanooga
Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...
,
Samford, and
Furman, who all posted 6–2 conference records. The three schools were declared co-champions, though only Samford and Furman were selected to participate in the
FCS tournament.
Samford, who finished ranked #18 in the coaches poll, was defeated in the second round of the playoffs by
Jacksonville State on the road, 55–14. Furman, ranked #22, beat
South Carolina State
South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. It is the only public, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina, is a me ...
in their opening round game in
Orangeburg by a score of 30–20. They were knocked out the following week by
North Dakota State
North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...
, who went on to win their third straight national title.
Newcomer Mercer finished their tenure in the Pioneer League on a high note, going 10–2 and 6–2 in conference play, narrowly missing out on the playoffs. VMI was 2–10 in 2013, including a 1–4 mark in Big South play, beating Gardner–Webb.
Head coaches
*
Russ Huesman
Russell Frederick Huesman (born January 28, 1960) is an American football coach and former player. He was named head football coach at the University of Richmond on December 14, 2016 after spending eight years as head coach of the University of T ...
, Chattanooga – 6th year
*
Mike Houston, The Citadel – 1st year
*
Bruce Fowler
Bruce Lambourne Fowler (born July 10, 1947) is an American trombonist and composer. He played trombone on many Frank Zappa records, as well as with Captain Beefheart and in the Fowler Brothers Band. He composes and arranges music for movies, ...
, Furman – 4th year
*
Pat Sullivan, Samford – 7th year
*
Bobby Lamb, Mercer – 2nd year
*
Sparky Woods
Phillip Perry "Sparky" Woods (born December 20, 1953) is an American football coach. He is a senior adviser for football team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Woods served as the head football coach at Appalachian State Unive ...
, VMI – 7th year
*
Mark Speir
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* F ...
, Western Carolina – 3rd year
*
Mike Ayers
Mike Ayers (born May 26, 1948) is a former American football coach. He served as the head football coach at East Tennessee State University from 1985 to 1987 and Wofford College in Spartanburg, South Carolina from 1988 to 2017, compiling career ...
, Wofford – 27th year
Preseason poll results
''First place votes in parentheses''
Rankings
Regular season
All times Eastern time.
Rankings reflect that of the Sports Network poll for that week.
Week One
Players of the week:
Week Two
Players of the week:
Week Three
Players of the week:
Week Four
Players of the week:
Week Five
Players of the week:
Week Six
Players of the week:
Week Seven
Players of the week:
Week Eight
Players of the week:
Week Nine
Players of the week:
Week Ten
Players of the week:
Week Eleven
Players of the week:
Week Twelve
Players of the week:
Week Thirteen
Players of the week:
Records against other conferences
FCS conferences
FBS conferences
Attendance
References
{{Southern Conference football navbox