2014 College Football Season: Name Me Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. It's November 15, 2014 and I'm playing for the Wisconsin Badgers, at home in Camp Randall Stadium, against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. I think I'll set the new FBS single-game rushing record against their defense. 408 yards sounds very nice. I bet you I can do it in three quarters. Who am I?

Answer: Melvin Gordon

Despite being down 17-3 in the first half, which was partly due to a few Melvin Gordon fumbles, Wisconsin scored 56 unanswered points and won 59-24. Melvin Gordon rushed for 408 yards and 4 touchdowns in the game. He did do it in three quarters, as he was benched in the fourth quarter to prevent injury. Gordon was named Big Ten offensive player of the week for his performance. After he broke the record, the crowd chanted "Melvin Gordon!"

David Cobb was a running back for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Ameer Abdullah was a running back for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Tevin Coleman was a running back for the Indiana Hoosiers.

2. It's November 22, 2014, and my team, the Oklahoma Sooners, is playing the Kansas Jayhawks at home in Norman. I think I'll rush for 427 yards, in the rain. Who am I?

Answer: Samaje Perine

The game was played in the rain, and was delayed from its 11 AM start (US central time) to a 12:30 PM start time due to lightning in the area. The game was a 44-7 win for the Sooners over the unranked Jayhawks (who only won 3 games all year). Did I mention Perine was a true freshman in 2014?

Ezekiel Elliott was a running back for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Cameron Artis-Payne was a running back for the Auburn Tigers.

3. Everything was peachy for us on November 8, 2014. We were ranked #3 in the college football playoff standings, and were playing the unranked Texas A&M Aggies on our home turf in Jordan Hare Stadium. Despite being down 17-35 at the half, we rallied and were prepared to take the lead in the waning minutes. Down 38-41, we had the ball on the Aggies' side of the field and were prepared to punch it into the end zone (or at least kick a field goal). Then our center had to snap the ball when our QB was checking out of a play. The Aggies jumped on top of it, ending our playoff dreams. We lost our last four games against FBS competition. We are the _______.

Answer: Auburn Tigers

Auburn fumbled twice in the last few minutes of the Texas A&M game. The first time, they were within the Aggies' 5-yard line, but Nick Marshall fumbled the ball. The officials ruled that Texas A&M recovered. After Auburn's defense forced the Aggies to punt, the sequence described above happened.

Auburn lost to Georgia 7-31 the next week, beat Samford (an FCS team) the week after that, then lost the Iron Bowl to Alabama 44-55. In the Outback Bowl on New Years' Day, the Tigers lost to the Wisconsin Badgers 31-34 in overtime on a missed field goal.

4. On November 1, 2014, a very important game took place for us in our first year in the Big 10 Conference. Every team needs a rival, so before the coin toss in our game at Penn State, our captains refused to shake hands with Penn State's. It would have been embarrassing to lose to them after that, but we got the 20-19 win. Phew, that was a close one. It was our second win over the Nittany Lions ever! Next year, we plan to get a third! Go ________!

Answer: Maryland Terrapins

According to Maryland head coach Randy Edsall, the stunt (not shaking hands) was not planned. He apologized after the game.

Maryland and Penn State first played each other in 1917 (they played almost every year from 1960 to 1993). Maryland's first win in the series was in 1961, when the Terrapins beat the Nittany Lions 21-17 in College Park. The rivalry ended when Penn State joined the Big Ten in 1994. The rivalry was revived when Maryland joined the Big Ten in 2014 (having spent 62 years in the Atlantic Coast Conference as a founding member). The rivalry does make sense, as Maryland and Pennsylvania border each other and often battle for recruits due to their geographic proximity.

5. Perhaps it's not good to be known as a program that pulls upsets. Perhaps it's better to be known as a program people expect to win, and then to go win. Anyway, all we knew on November 15, 2014 is that we were playing Arizona State on our home turf in Corvallis. They were a top-10 team, but we were not fazed. We beat those Sun Devils 35-27. Who are we?

Answer: Oregon State Beavers

Oregon State, at least under head coach Mike Riley, is known for pulling upsets at home. In 2006, they beat the #3 USC Trojans 33-31. Two years later, they beat #1 USC 27-21. On November 15, 2014, the Beavers were riding a 4-game losing streak. Their fans stormed the field after they snapped it.

The victory moved the Beavers to a 5-5 record, but they lost their last two games of the season to the Washington Huskies and the rival Oregon Ducks. This put them at a 5-7 record, 1 short of a sixth win needed for bowl eligibility.

6. The 2014 season was just a terrible season for us. We got shutout for the first time since 1984 thanks to Notre Dame. The Little Brown Jug went back to Minnesota. The Spartans dominated us. We couldn't beat Ohio State. Brady Hoke got fired. At least we beat Appalachian State. We are the ______ .

Answer: Michigan Wolverines

The "At least we beat Appalachian State" line refers to how, on September 1, 2007, the Appalachian State Mountaineers (then an FCS team) beat #5 Michigan 34-32 at Michigan Stadium. On the final play, the Mountaineers blocked a field goal that would have won the game for Michigan. It is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in all of sports. I highly recommend reading the Wikipedia article about it. The August 30, 2014 meeting was the first between the programs since that day. Michigan beat the Mountaineers 52-14.

The Wolverines followed that game up with a shutout loss at Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish beat them 31-0. It was the first time Michigan had been shutout in 365 games, when Iowa beat them 26-0. In the Wolverines' fifth game of the season, the Minnesota Golden Gophers beat them 30-14 in the Big House. On October 26, 2014, the Michigan State Spartans beat them 35-11 at Spartan Stadium. At Ohio Stadium, on November 29, 2014, the Ohio State Buckeyes beat the Wolverines 42-28. Brady Hoke was fired after the game. Despite bringing the program to an 11-2 record in 2011, Michigan regressed every season after, and a losing season was the last straw for Hoke.

7. Coming into the 2014 Big Ten Championship game against the Wisconsin Badgers, my Buckeyes were an underdog. We needed a victory, preferably by a large margin, to get the committee to put us in the College Football Playoff. Did I mention I'm a third-string quarterback? We got our victory in style, beating those Badgers 59-0. Then I went beast mode (as if I hadn't already) and took down the Tide and the Ducks, with help from my defense, of course. I finished what JT Barrett started. Who am I?

Answer: Cardale Jones

The "I finished what JT Barrett started" line refers to how, in August, Braxton Miller, the apparent starting quarterback for the Buckeyes, injured his shoulder. JT Barrett was thrust into the starting role, and led the Buckeyes to the Big Ten East division championship. His only loss as a starter was against the Virginia Tech Hokies. On November 29, 2014, he suffered a broken ankle in the fourth quarter during the game against the Michigan Wolverines. Cardale Jones, the third stringer, took over the quarterback job. On December 6, 2014, Jones made the first start of his career in the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Buckeyes routed the Badgers 59-0. Jones threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns.

The College Football Playoff selection committee placed the Buckeyes in the #4 spot in their final rankings. On January 1, 2015, the Buckeyes played the team in the #1 spot, the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Buckeyes won 42-35. In the national championship game, the Buckeyes played the Oregon Ducks and won 42-20. The Buckeyes turned the ball over 4 times, too, but Oregon's 20 points were their fewest of the season. The Buckeyes were underdogs in both games.

Mitch Leidner was the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Connor Cook was the starting quarterback for the Michigan State Spartans.

8. In 2014, we beat three different Tiger teams. One of them managed to win the SEC East over us despite the fact that we shut them out on their home field. We should've beat Florida. How did we lose to Florida? We are the ________ .

Answer: Georgia Bulldogs

The three Tiger teams that Georgia beat were the Clemson Tigers 45-21 on August 30, 2014, the Missouri Tigers (who won the SEC East in 2014) 34-0 on October 11, 2014, and the Auburn Tigers 34-7 on November 15, 2014. The only road game of those three was the Missouri game. Missouri won the SEC East over Georgia because they only lost one SEC regular season game in 2014 (to Georgia) while Georgia lost to the South Carolina Gamecocks 35-38 on September 13, 2014 and the Florida Gators on November 1, 2014. Georgia was coming off a bye in both of those games.

Both of those losses could be considered flukes. South Carolina was ranked #9 in the preseason AP poll but finished the season 7-6. Florida's head coach Will Muschamp was fired after a 20-23 overtime loss to South Carolina. He agreed to coach the last two games. The Gators ended up 6-5 and 4-4 in SEC play at the end of the regular season. Georgia ended up ranked #9 in the final AP poll while South Carolina and Florida finished the season unranked.

9. It was a matchup of one-loss teams on November 1, 2014. My team, the Ole Miss Rebels, welcomed the Auburn Tigers to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Only one team could emerge with their college football playoff hopes intact. It was 35-31 late in the game with Auburn on top. Quarterback Bo Wallace threw it to me and I raced towards the end zone for the go-ahead score. Then, suddenly, the ball came out. I was pulled back and Auburn recovered. My leg was fractured and my team lost. Who am I?

Answer: Laquon Treadwell

Nick Frost is the Auburn linebacker who pulled Treadwell back and prevented him from crossing the plane of the goal line with the ball. The official initially ruled a touchdown, but the play was reviewed and it was determined that Treadwell dropped the ball before crossing the goal line. Auburn defender Cassanova McKinzy jumped on the ball and it was Auburn's football. After burning some time off the clock, Ole Miss got the ball back but could not score. Treadwell was out for the rest of the season. It could be said that the play deflated the Ole MIss team. In their next SEC game on November 22, 2014, the Arkansas Razorbacks beat them 30-0. The following week, however, the Rebels rebounded to beat the rival Mississippi State Bulldogs 31-17.

Blake Sims was the starting quarterback for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Cody Kessler was the starting quarterback for the USC Trojans.

10. On November 8, 2014, my team, the Utah Utes, was playing the #5 team in the country, the Oregon Ducks. We were at home, and all seemed to be well. Quarterback Travis Wilson connected with me for a long "touchdown" pass, and I thought we were up 13-0 as I celebrated with my teammates. However, the ref did not signal touchdown, at least a Utah one, and Oregon linebacker Joe Walker ran it back for 6. Apparently I dropped the ball before getting into the end zone. Who am I?

Answer: Kaelin Clay

It could be argued that Clay's "fumble" cost the Utes all of their momentum. They could have been up 14-0 (assuming the extra point was successful), but instead, the game was tied 7-7. I recommend looking the play up, he clearly dropped the ball before crossing the goal line. The Ducks went on to win 51-27, and eventually played for the College Football Playoff national championship. It was a good season for Utah. They beat UCLA and USC and won the Las Vegas Bowl 45-10 over the Colorado State Rams. They finished ranked #21 in the AP poll.

Marcus Mariota was the 2014 Heisman-winning quarterback for the Oregon Ducks. Chris Peterson was the new head coach for the Washington Huskies in 2014. Anu Solomon was the starting quarterback for the Arizona Wildcats.

Source: Author Pejikr

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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In an attempt to spice up my college football quizzes, I will attempt to write an entertaining description of a team/person involved in the 2014 college football season. All you have to do is identify who I'm describing. Enjoy!

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