2014 New Hampshire Wildcats football team

The 2014 New Hampshire Wildcats football team represented the University of New Hampshire in the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by 16th-year head coach Sean McDonnell and played their home games at Cowell Stadium. The Wildcat competed as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).

2014 New Hampshire Wildcats football
CAA champion Lambert Cup
FCS Playoffs Semifinals, L 18–21 vs. Illinois State
Conference	Colonial Athletic Association
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 3
FCS Coaches	No. 3
Record	12–2 (8–0 CAA)
Head coach	Sean McDonnell (16th season)
Offensive coordinator	Ryan Carty (7th season)
Defensive coordinator	John Lyons (3rd season)
Home stadium	Cowell Stadium
Seasons ← 2013 2015 →

2014 Colonial Athletic Association football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 3 New Hampshire $^		8	–	0					12	–	2
No. 7 Villanova ^		7	–	1					11	–	3
No. 18 James Madison ^		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 16 Richmond ^		5	–	3					9	–	5
William & Mary		4	–	4					7	–	5
Delaware		4	–	4					6	–	6
Maine		4	–	4					5	–	6
Stony Brook		4	–	4					5	–	7
Albany		3	–	5					7	–	5
Towson		2	–	6					4	–	8
Rhode Island		1	–	7					1	–	11
Elon		0	–	8					1	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Lighting for night games was installed prior to the season, and the Wildcats hosted their first night game on September 27, defeating Dartmouth.^[1]

The Wildcats finished their regular season with a record of 12–2 (8–0 in CAA play) to win the CAA championship. They earned the CAA's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Fordham in the second round and Chattanooga in the quarterfinals before losing to Illinois State in the semifinals.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	7:00 pm	at Toledo*	No. 4	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	ESPN3	L 20–54	20,184
September 13	3:30 pm	Lehigh*	No. 7	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	ASN	W 45–27	9,358
September 20	4:00 pm	at No. 17 Richmond	No. 7	Robins Stadium Richmond, VA	CSN	W 29–26	8,404
September 27	6:00 pm	Dartmouth*	No. 4	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH (rivalry)	UNHTV	W 52–19	8,753
October 4	1:30 pm	at Elon	No. 4	Rhodes Stadium Elon, NC		W 48–14	6,141
October 11	3:30 pm	No. 10 William & Mary	No. 4	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	NBCSN	W 32–3	18,774
October 25	3:00 pm	Stony Brook	No. 3	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	UNHTV	W 28–20	8,811
November 1	6:00 pm	No. 23 Albany	No. 2	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH	UNHTV	W 49–24	3,536
November 8	12:30 pm	at Rhode Island	No. 2	Meade Stadium Kingston, RI		W 41–14	7,210
November 15	1:00 pm	Delaware	No. 1	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH		W 43–14	8,199
November 22	3:30 pm	at Maine	No. 1	Alfond Stadium Orono, ME (Battle for the Brice–Cowell Musket)	NBCSN	W 20–12	4,023
December 6	1:00 pm	No. 9 Fordham*	No. 1	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH (NCAA Division I Second Round)	ESPN3	W 44–19	4,021
December 12	8:00 pm	No. 8 Chattanooga*	No. 1	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)	ESPN2	W 35–30	6,380
December 20	2:00 pm	No. 7 Illinois State*	No. 1	Cowell Stadium Durham, NH (NCAA Division I Semifinal)	ESPNU	L 18–21	9,497
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Final
Sports Network	4	6	7	7	4	4	4	3	3	2	2	1 (70)	1 (74)	1 (93)	3
Coaches	4	8	9	9	7	6	6	5	5	4	3	2 (4)	2 (4)	1 (20)	3