2014 Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl
7th St. Petersburg Bowl
NC State Wolfpack UCF Knights
(7–5) (9–3)
ACC The American
34 27
Head coach: 
Dave Doeren		 Head coach: 
George O'Leary
1234 Total
NC State 710143 34
UCF 37314 27
DateDecember 26, 2014
Season2014
StadiumTropicana Field
LocationSt. Petersburg, Florida
MVPNC State QB Jacoby Brissett[1]
FavoriteUCF by 2[2]
National anthemCarolyn Malachi[3]
RefereeDon Willard[4] (MAC)
Attendance26,675[4]
PayoutUS$537,500
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN/ESPN Radio
AnnouncersAdam Amin, John Congemi, and Kaylee Hartung (ESPN)
Dave LaMont, Anthony Becht, & Cara Capuano (ESPN Radio)

The 2014 St. Petersburg Bowl, the seventh edition of the annual game, was a college football bowl game that was played on December 26, 2014 at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The game matched the NC State Wolfpack of the Atlantic Coast Conference against the American Athletic Conference co-champion UCF Knights.[5] The game began at 8:00 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2014–15 bowl games concluding the 2014 FBS football season. The Wolfpack defeated the Knights, 34–27.

After four playings named after the Beef O'Brady's restaurant franchise, the bowl reverted to its original name, the St. Petersburg Bowl. Sponsored by online payment processor BitPay, the game was officially known as the Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl.

Teams

The game featured the NC State Wolfpack of the Atlantic Coast Conference and the American Athletic Conference co-champion UCF Knights.

The game represented be the third overall meeting between these two teams, with the series previously tied 1–1. The last time these two teams met was in 2010.

NC State Wolfpack

After finishing their regular season with a 7–5 record, the Wolfpack accepted their invitation to play in the game.[6]

This game was NC State's first St. Petersburg Bowl.

UCF Knights

After finishing their regular season with a 9–3 record and winning a share of the American Athletic Conference championship, the Knights accepted their invitation to play in the game.[7]

The game was UCF's third St. Petersburg Bowl, extending their record for most appearances in the game. The Knights previously lost the 2009 game to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights by a score of 45–24, and they later won the 2012 Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl over the Ball State Cardinals by a score of 38–17.

Pregame buildup

NC State

Offense

The Wolfpack's offense focused on rushing the football, averaging 206 rushing yards per game, which ranked fourth in their conference; nevertheless, they were average in other areas, and were expected to struggle against UCF's stout defense.[8][9] The unit was piloted by dual-threat quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who excelled at game management and keeping the offense moving by avoiding turnovers.[10] A trio of running backs made substantial contributions to the rushing attack along with Brissett – Shadrach Thornton led the team with 811 yards and a 5.5 yards-per-carry average (ypc), Matt Dayes compiled 495 yards on 91 carries (5.4 ypc), and Tony Creecy compiled 282 yards on 52 carries (5.4 ypc).[11] Freshman Bo Hines led an inexperienced receiving corps with 42 receptions for 537 yards, while tight end David Grinnage was second in receiving, and led the team with receiving five touchdowns.[10][11] The offensive line entered the season with "three returning players with starting experience: center Luke Lathan and guard Kalani Heppe and Curtis Crouch. He also has two inexperienced tackles and an overall lack of experience and depth," and ultimately, not a single member of the line earned even honorable mention all-conference accolades.[12] Punter Will Baumann was a first team all-conference honoree.[13]

Game summary

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP NCSU UCF
1 10:06 12 52 4:54 UCF 40-yard field goal by Shawn Moffitt 0 3
1 6:11 9 75 3:55 NCST Jaylen Samuels 18-yard touchdown reception from Shadrach Thornton, Niklas Sade kick good 7 3
2 12:34 10 67 3:25 UCF Josh Reese 6-yard touchdown reception from Justin Holman, Shawn Moffitt kick good 7 10
2 9:05 8 78 3:29 NCST Johnathan Alston 37-yard touchdown reception from Jacoby Brissett, Niklas Sade kick good 14 10
2 3:16 9 74 4:52 NCST 19-yard field goal by Niklas Sade 17 10
3 11:55 9 75 3:05 NCST Matt Dayes 24-yard touchdown run, Niklas Sade kick good 24 10
3 5:45 8 15 3:03 UCF 36-yard field goal by Shawn Moffitt 24 13
3 3:05 7 75 2:40 NCST Matt Dayes 15-yard touchdown run, Niklas Sade kick good 31 13
4 12:37 5 23 1:29 NCST 45-yard field goal by Niklas Sade 34 13
4 11:01 5 75 1:36 UCF Josh Reese 14-yard touchdown reception from Justin Holman, Shawn Moffitt kick good 34 20
4 1:44 10 70 1:12 UCF Josh Reese 2-yard touchdown reception from Justin Holman, Shawn Moffitt kick good 34 27
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 34 27

Source:[4]

Statistics

Statistics[4]NCSUUCF
First downs2621
Plays–yards66–48751–373
Rushes–yards49–18728–82
Passing yards300291
Passing: Comp–Att–Int17–28–023–53–1
Time of possession33:5126:09

Source:[14]

References

  1. ↑ MVP Archived December 27, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Central Florida Knights Team Page". Vegas Insider. Archived from the original on January 6, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  3. ↑ National Anthem sung by...
  4. 1 2 3 4 Stats
  5. ↑ NC State and UCF To Meet In Seventh Annual Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl
  6. ↑ "NC State Accepts Bid To Play in Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl". GoPack.com. NC State Wolfpack. December 7, 2014. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  7. ↑ "#TakeoverTampaBay". GoCards.com. Louisville Cardinals. December 7, 2014. Archived from the original on December 10, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
  8. ↑ "2014 ACC College Football Team Statistics Leaders for Total". ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Archived from the original on December 26, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  9. ↑ Taylor, John (December 26, 2014). "CFT Previews: Your Dec. 26 Bowl Viewer's Guide". CollegeFootballTalk. NBC Sports. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  10. 1 2 Adelson, Andrea (December 26, 2014). "Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl: NC State Wolfpack vs. UCF Knights". ACC Blog - ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  11. 1 2 "North Carolina State Wolfpack 2014 Statistics - Team and Player Stats". College Football - ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Archived from the original on December 26, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  12. ↑ Peeler, Tim. "Preseason Q&A: Offensive line coach Don Horton". GoPack.com. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  13. ↑ "ACSMA Announces 2014 All-ACC Teams" (Press release). Atlantic Coast Conference. December 1, 2014. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Scoring Summary (Final) 2014 Bitcoin St. Petersburg Bowl NC State vs UCF (Dec 26, 2014 at St. Petersburg, Fla.)" (PDF). Gasparilla Bowl.
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