# 2014 Atlantic Coast Conference football season

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. 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. The Irish are not eligible for the ACC Championship Game.
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, Florida State and Georgia Tech, 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.

#### 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
#### Offense

| Position | Player | School |
| Wide receiver | Jamison Crowder | Duke |
| Wide receiver | Rashad Greene | Florida State |
| Wide receiver | 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 |
| Linebacker | Kelby Brown | Duke |
| Linebacker | 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. 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. Following his departure, Louisville rehired former head coach Bobby Petrino to a seven-year contract. Petrino formerly coached Louisville from 2003 to 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 | Final |
| Boston College | AP | | | | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Boston College | C | | | | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Boston College | CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | | | | | | | |
| Clemson | AP | 16 | 23 | 23 | 22 | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 21 | 22 | 19 | 18 | RV | 23 | 19 | 18 | 15 |
| Clemson | C | 16 | 24 | 24 | 24 | RV | RV | 25 | 22 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 17 | RV | 24 | 19 | 18 | 15 |
| Clemson | CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 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 | |
| Duke | C | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 20 | 19 | 25 | RV | RV | RV | |
| Duke | CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 24 | 22 | 21 | | | | |
| Florida State | AP | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Florida State | C | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| Florida State | CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Georgia Tech | AP | | | | | RV | RV | 22 | RV | | | RV | 24 | 17 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 8 |
| Georgia Tech | C | RV | | | | RV | RV | 23 | RV | | RV | RV | 23 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 7 |
| Georgia Tech | CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 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 | 24 |
| Louisville | C | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | 20 | 20 | 24 |
| Louisville | CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 25 | | | 24 | 22 | 21 | 21 |
| Miami | AP | RV | | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | | | | |
| Miami | C | RV | | | | | | | | | | RV | RV | RV | | | | |
| Miami | CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | | | | | | | |
| North Carolina | AP | 23 | 21 | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| North Carolina | C | 23 | 23 | 25 | 25 | | RV | | | | | | | | | | | |
| North Carolina | CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | | | | | | | |
| NC State | AP | | | | | | RV | | | | | | | | | | | |
| NC State | C | | | | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| NC State | CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | | | | | | | |
| Pittsburgh | AP | | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Pittsburgh | C | | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Pittsburgh | CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | | | | | | | |
| Syracuse | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Syracuse | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Syracuse | CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | | | | | | | |
| Virginia | AP | | | | RV | | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | |
| Virginia | C | | | | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Virginia | CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | | | | | | | |
| Virginia Tech | AP | RV | RV | 17 | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Virginia Tech | C | RV | RV | 19 | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Virginia Tech | CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | | | | | | | |
| Wake Forest | AP | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Wake Forest | C | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Wake Forest | CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | | | | | | | |

## Notre Dame partnership

Starting in 2014, Notre Dame is scheduled to play five games against ACC opponents annually. Each ACC team will play Notre Dame at least once during a three-year period. 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.
| Date | Time | Visiting team | Home team | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 27 | 8:00 pm | No. 8 Notre Dame | Syracuse | MetLife Stadium • East Rutherford, NJ | ABC | L 15–31 | 76,802 |
| October 11 | 3:30 pm | North Carolina | No. 6 Notre Dame | Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, IN | NBC | L 43–50 | 80,795 |
| October 18 | 8:00 pm | No. 5 Notre Dame | No. 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 Results

| Bowl game | Date | Site | Television | Time (EST) | ACC team | Opponent | Score | Attendance |
| Quick Lane Bowl | December 26 | Ford Field • Detroit, MI | ESPN | 4:30 p.m. | North Carolina | Rutgers | RUT 21–40 | 23,876 |
| Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl | December 26 | Tropicana Field • St. Petersburg, FL | ESPN | 8:00 p.m. | NC State | UCF | NCSU 34–27 | 26,675 |
| Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman | December 27 | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD | ESPN | 1:00 p.m. | Virginia Tech | Cincinnati | VT 33–17 | 34,277 |
| Hyundai Sun Bowl | December 27 | Sun Bowl Stadium • El Paso, TX | CBS | 2:00 p.m. | Duke | #15 Arizona State | ASU 31–36 | 34,780 |
| Duck Commander Independence Bowl | December 27 | Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA | ABC | 3:30 p.m. | Miami | South Carolina | USC 21–24 | 38,242 |
| New Era Pinstripe Bowl | December 27 | Yankee Stadium • New York, NY | ESPN | 4:30 p.m. | Boston College | Penn State | PSU 30–31 (OT) | 49,012 |
| Russell Athletic Bowl | December 29 | Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium • Orlando, FL | ESPN | 5:30 p.m. | #17 Clemson | Oklahoma | CLEM 40–6 | 40,071 |
| Belk Bowl | December 30 | Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NC | ESPN | 6:30 p.m. | #21 Louisville | #13 Georgia | UGA 14–37 | 45,671 |
| Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl | January 2 | Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX | ESPN | 12:00 p.m. | Pittsburgh | Houston | HOU 34–35 | 37,888 |
| College Football Playoff bowl games |||||||||
| Capital One Orange Bowl | December 31 | Sun Life Stadium • Miami Gardens, FL | ESPN | 8:00 p.m. | #12 Georgia Tech | #7 Mississippi State | GT 49–34 | 58,211 |
| Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual | January 1 | Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA | ESPN | 5:10 p.m. | #3 Florida State | #2 Oregon | ORE 59–20 | 91,322 |

## Postseason
### All-conference teams

The following players were selected to the All-ACC teams for 2014.
| Position | Player | Class | Team |
| First Team Offense ||||
| QB | Jameis Winston | So | Florida State |
| RB | James Conner | So | Pittsburgh |
| RB | Duke Johnson | Jr | Miami |
| WR | Rashad Greene | Sr | Florida State |
| WR | Jamison Crowder | Sr | Duke |
| WR | Tyler Boyd | So | Pittsburgh |
| TE | Nick O'Leary | Sr | Florida State |
| T | Cameron Erving | Sr | Florida State |
| T | T. J. Clemmings | Sr | Pittsburgh |
| G | Laken Tomlinson | Sr | Duke |
| G | Tre' Jackson | Sr | Florida State |
| C | Andy Gallik | Sr | Boston College |
| First Team Defense ||||
| DE | Vic Beasley | Sr | Clemson |
| DE | Mario Edwards Jr. | Jr | Florida State |
| DT | Eddie Goldman | Jr | Florida State |
| DT | Grady Jarrett | Sr | Clemson |
| LB | Denzel Perryman | Sr | Miami |
| LB | David Helton | Sr | Duke |
| LB | Stephone Anthony | Sr | Clemson |
| CB | Kendall Fuller | So | Virginia Tech |
| CB | P. J. Williams | Jr | Florida State |
| S | Gerod Holliman | So | Louisville |
| S | Jalen Ramsey | So | Florida State |
| First Team Special Teams ||||
| PK | Roberto Aguayo | So | Florida State |
| P | Wil Baumann | Sr | NC State |
| SP | Jamison Crowder | Sr | Duke |
| Position | Player | Class | Team |
| Second Team Offense ||||
| QB | Marquise Williams | Jr | North Carolina |
| RB | Zach Laskey | Sr | Georgia Tech |
| RB | Dalvin Cook | So | Florida State |
| WR | Phillip Dorsett | Sr | Miami |
| WR | Mike Williams | So | Clemson |
| WR | Artavis Scott | Fr | Clemson |
| TE | Clive Walford | Sr | Miami |
| T | Ereck Flowers | Jr | Miami |
| T | Jamon Brown | Sr | Louisville |
| G | Shaq Mason | Sr | Georgia Tech |
| G | Josue Matías | Jr | Florida State |
| C | Cameron Erving | Sr | Florida State |
| Second Team Defense ||||
| DE | Dadi Nicolas | Jr | Virginia Tech |
| DE | Eli Harold | Jr | Virginia |
| DT | Adam Gotsis | Jr | Georgia Tech |
| DT | Tylor Harris | Jr | Wake Forest |
| LB | Terrance Smith | Jr | Florida State |
| LB | Lorenzo Mauldin | Sr | Louisville |
| LB | Henry Coley^ | Sr | Virginia |
| LB | Quayshawn Nealy^ | Sr | Georgia Tech |
| CB | Garry Peters | Sr | Clemson |
| CB | Maurice Canady | Jr | Virginia |
| S | Jeremy Cash | Jr | Duke |
| S | Quin Blanding | Fr | Virginia |
| Second Team Special Teams ||||
| PK | Ian Frye | Jr | Virginia |
| P | Alex Kinal | Jr | Wake Forest |
| SP | Tyler Boyd | So | Pittsburgh |
| Position | Player | Class | Team |
| Third Team Offense ||||
| QB | Justin Thomas | So | Georgia Tech |
| RB | Kevin Parks | Sr | Virginia |
| RB | Jon Hilliman | Fr | Boston College |
| WR | DeAndre Smelter | Sr | Georgia Tech |
| WR | DeVante Parker | Sr | Louisville |
| WR | Ryan Switzer | So | North Carolina |
| TE | Bucky Hodges | Fr | Virginia Tech |
| T | Sean Hickey | Sr | Syracuse |
| T | Bobby Hart^ | Sr | Florida State |
| T | Seth Betancourt^ | Sr | Boston College |
| T | Takoby Cofield^ | Sr | Duke |
| G | Landon Turner | Jr | North Carolina |
| G | Matt Rotheram | Sr | Pittsburgh |
| C | Matt Skura | Jr | Duke |
| Third Team Defense ||||
| DE | Sheldon Rankins | Jr | Louisville |
| DE | Ken Ekanem | So | Virginia Tech |
| DT | Corey Marshall | Jr | Virginia Tech |
| DT | Connor Wujciak | Jr | Boston College |
| LB | Reggie Northrup | Jr | Florida State |
| LB | Cameron Lynch | Sr | Syracuse |
| LB | Max Valles | So | Virginia |
| CB | Ronald Darby | Jr | Florida State |
| CB | Charles Gaines | Jr | Louisville |
| S | Anthony Harris | Sr | Virginia |
| S | Jamal Golden | Jr | Georgia Tech |
| Third Team Special Teams ||||
| PK | Ross Martin | Jr | Duke |
| P | Justin Vogel | So | Miami |
| SP | DeVon Edwards | So | Duke |
^ indicates that there was a tie in the voting