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2015 Alabama

14–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Nick Saban, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 2015, game by game: won vs. No. 20 Wisconsin 35–17; won vs. Middle Tennessee 37–10; lost vs. No. 15 Ole Miss 37–43; won vs. UL Monroe 34–0; won at No. 8 Georgia 38–10; won vs. Arkansas 27–14; won at No. 9 Texas A&M 41–23; won vs. Tennessee 19–14; won vs. No. 4 LSU 30–16; won at No. 20 Mississippi State 31–6; won vs. Charleston Southern 56–6; won at Auburn 29–13; won vs. No. 18 Florida 29–15; won vs. No. 3 Michigan State 38–0; won vs. No. 1 Clemson 45–40+50−6Won 35–17 vs. No. 20 Wisconsin+18No. 20 WisconsinWon 37–10 vs. Middle Tennessee+27Middle TennesseeLost 37–43 vs. No. 15 Ole Miss-6No. 15 Ole MissWon 34–0 vs. UL Monroe+34UL MonroeWon 38–10 at No. 8 Georgia+28No. 8 GeorgiaWon 27–14 vs. Arkansas+13ArkansasWon 41–23 at No. 9 Texas A&M+18No. 9 Texas A&MWon 19–14 vs. Tennessee+5TennesseeWon 30–16 vs. No. 4 LSU+14No. 4 LSUWon 31–6 at No. 20 Mississippi State+25No. 20 Mississippi Sta…Won 56–6 vs. Charleston Southern+50Charleston Sout…Won 29–13 at Auburn+16AuburnWon 29–15 vs. No. 18 Florida+14No. 18 FloridaWon 38–0 vs. No. 3 Michigan State+38No. 3 Michigan StateWon 45–40 vs. No. 1 Clemson+5No. 1 Clemson
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vs20WisconsinW 35–⁠1759%
Sep 12vsMiddle TennesseeW 37–⁠1087%
Sep 19vs15Ole MissL 37–⁠4372%
Sep 26vsUL MonroeW 34–⁠088%
Oct 3at8GeorgiaW 38–⁠1044%
Oct 10vsArkansasW 27–⁠1481%
Oct 17at9Texas A&MW 41–⁠2353%
Oct 24vsTennesseeW 19–⁠1483%
Nov 7vs4LSUW 30–⁠1669%
Nov 14at20Mississippi StateW 31–⁠659%
Nov 21vsCharleston SouthernW 56–⁠691%
Nov 28atAuburnW 29–⁠1376%
Dec 5vs18FloridaSEC Championship GameW 29–⁠1573%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs3Michigan StateCotton BowlW 38–⁠061%
Jan 11Bowls & playoffvs1ClemsonCFP National ChampionshipW 45–⁠4058%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Clemson 45–⁠40 in the CFP National Championship; No. 1 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 3
  2. Wk 2: 2
  3. Wk 3: 2
  4. Wk 4: 12
  5. Wk 5: 13
  6. Wk 6: 8
  7. Wk 7: 10
  8. Wk 8: 8
  9. Wk 9: 7
  10. Wk 10: 7
  11. Wk 11: 3
  12. Wk 12: 3
  13. Wk 13: 2
  14. Wk 14: 2
  15. Wk 15: 2
  16. Final: 1

National championsNo. 1 in the final AP poll, and a title the school claims

Southeastern Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference, won the SEC Championship Game

Led the nationDerrick Henry: rushing yards (2,219 yds), rushing touchdowns (28 TD), points (168 pts)

Heisman TrophyDerrick Henry, RB; also the Maxwell, Walter Camp and Doak Walker

Rimington TrophyRyan Kelly, C

4 consensus All-AmericansDerrick Henry, RB; Ryan Kelly, C; A’Shawn Robinson, DL; Reggie Ragland, LB

Record
14–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
526–⁠227
Coach
Nick Saban
Elo
1912 +206 this season
SP+ rating
29.0 No. 2 of 128; offense No. 23, defense No. 1, special teams No. 46
SRS
26.4 No. 1 of 128 in FBS
Returning
22% of last season’s EPA, No. 122 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 1 roster talent No. 1 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Lane Kiffin
Defensive coordinator
Kirby Smart
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense46th of 128
  • Defense1st of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted23rd of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted1st of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1244%1.1646th of 128
Defense-0.1232%1.381st of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
-0.14 def		47% off
30% def		—23rd off
1st def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.6own 332% allowed
Defense2.2own 282% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJake Coker QB3,110 yds
Passing touchdownsJake Coker QB21 TD
Rushing yardsDerrick Henry RB2,219 yds
Rushing touchdownsDerrick Henry RB28 TD
Receiving yardsCalvin Ridley WR1,045 yds
Receiving touchdownsCalvin Ridley WR7 TD
InterceptionsEddie Jackson DB6 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Calvin Ridley WR★★★★★No. 12
Kendall Sheffield CB★★★★★No. 20
Blake Barnett PRO★★★★★No. 22
Daron Payne DT★★★★★No. 28
Minkah Fitzpatrick CB★★★★★No. 30
Damien Harris RB★★★★★No. 31
Deionte Thompson S★★★★No. 44
Lester Cotton OG★★★★No. 54

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks15.00.990
Running backs34.00.910
Receivers34.30.962
Offensive line44.00.939
Defensive line34.30.954
Linebackers24.00.917
Defensive backs44.50.970
Athletes and specialists14.00.928
Whole class214.20.946

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2016

The 2016 draft
Rd 1Ryan Kelly CIndianapolis Colts
Rd 2Reggie Ragland ILBBuffalo Bills
Rd 2Derrick Henry RBTennessee Titans
Rd 2A’Shawn Robinson DTDetroit Lions
Rd 2Jarran Reed DTSeattle Seahawks
Rd 2Cyrus Jones CBNew England Patriots
Rd 3Kenyan Drake RBMiami Dolphins

Roster 119

The 2015 roster

119 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 34 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

8 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2015 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2015 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama7–⁠114–⁠11
Florida7–⁠110–⁠425
Ole Miss6–⁠210–⁠310
Georgia5–⁠310–⁠3
LSU5–⁠39–⁠316
Tennessee5–⁠39–⁠422
Arkansas5–⁠38–⁠5
Mississippi State4–⁠49–⁠4
Texas A&M4–⁠48–⁠5
Auburn2–⁠67–⁠6
Kentucky2–⁠65–⁠7
Vanderbilt2–⁠64–⁠8
Missouri1–⁠75–⁠7
South Carolina1–⁠73–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.