CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2015 Arizona

7–⁠6 (3–⁠6 Pac-12), coached by Rich Rodriguez.

Schedule and results

Arizona in 2015, game by game: won vs. UTSA 42–32; won at Nevada 44–20; won vs. Northern Arizona 77–13; lost vs. No. 9 UCLA 30–56; lost at No. 18 Stanford 17–55; won vs. Oregon State 44–7; won at Colorado 38–31; lost vs. Washington State 42–45; lost at Washington 3–49; lost at USC 30–38; won vs. No. 10 Utah 37–30; lost at Arizona State 37–52; won vs. New Mexico 45–37+64−46Won 42–32 vs. UTSA+10UTSAWon 44–20 at Nevada+24NevadaWon 77–13 vs. Northern Arizona+64Northern ArizonaLost 30–56 vs. No. 9 UCLA-26No. 9 UCLALost 17–55 at No. 18 Stanford-38No. 18 StanfordWon 44–7 vs. Oregon State+37Oregon StateWon 38–31 at Colorado+7ColoradoLost 42–45 vs. Washington State-3Washington StateLost 3–49 at Washington-46WashingtonLost 30–38 at USC-8USCWon 37–30 vs. No. 10 Utah+7No. 10 UtahLost 37–52 at Arizona State-15Arizona StateWon 45–37 vs. New Mexico+8New Mexico
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsUTSAW 42–⁠3279%
Sep 12atNevadaW 44–⁠2059%
Sep 19vsNorthern ArizonaW 77–⁠1388%
Sep 26vs9UCLAL 30–⁠5655%
Oct 3at18StanfordL 17–⁠5532%
Oct 10vsOregon StateW 44–⁠774%
Oct 17atColoradoW 38–⁠3170%
Oct 24vsWashington StateL 42–⁠4574%
Oct 31atWashingtonL 3–⁠4948%
Nov 7atUSCL 30–⁠3829%
Nov 14vs10UtahW 37–⁠3035%
Nov 21atArizona StateL 37–⁠5242%
Dec 19Bowls & playoffvsNew MexicoNew Mexico BowlW 45–⁠3765%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat New Mexico 45–⁠37 in the New Mexico Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 10th in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 29th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 102 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 22
  2. Wk 2: 22
  3. Wk 3: 20
  4. Wk 4: 16
Record
7–⁠6
Conference
3–⁠6 10th in Pac-12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 16
Points
486–⁠465
Coach
Rich Rodriguez
Elo
1565 −37 this season
SP+ rating
4.7 No. 57 of 128; offense No. 21, defense No. 87, special teams No. 113
SRS
2.3 No. 58 of 128 in FBS
Returning
88% of last season’s EPA, No. 16 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 43 roster talent No. 45 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Calvin Magee and Rod Smith
Defensive coordinator
Jeff Casteel
Offense
Spread option
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense48th of 128
  • Defense112th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted46th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted114th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1245%1.2648th of 128
Defense0.1946%1.17112th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.13 off
0.17 def		44% off
45% def		—46th off
114th 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
Offense4.0own 282% allowed
Defense4.3own 292% 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 yardsAnu Solomon QB2,667 yds
Passing touchdownsAnu Solomon QB20 TD
Rushing yardsJared Baker RB798 yds
Rushing touchdownsJared Baker RB9 TD
Receiving yardsCayleb Jones WR904 yds
Receiving touchdownsDavid Richards WR6 TD
InterceptionsCam Denson WR3 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Keenan Walker OT★★★★No. 142
Darick Holmes Jr. APB★★★No. 851
Antonio Parks CB★★★No. 1240
Sammy Morrison CB★★★No. 1318
Darrell Clark WR★★★No. 1478

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs22.50.810
Receivers13.00.829
Offensive line33.30.862
Defensive backs33.00.832
Whole class93.00.837

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 6Will Parks SDenver Broncos
Rd 7Scooby Wright III ILBCleveland Browns

Roster 124

The 2015 roster

124 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 32 have a stat line. See the roster

2015 Pac-12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Stanford8–⁠112–⁠23
Oregon7–⁠29–⁠419
Utah6–⁠310–⁠317
Washington State6–⁠39–⁠4
USC6–⁠38–⁠6
UCLA5–⁠48–⁠5
California4–⁠58–⁠5
Washington4–⁠57–⁠6
Arizona State4–⁠56–⁠7
Arizona3–⁠67–⁠6
Colorado1–⁠84–⁠9
Oregon State0–⁠92–⁠10

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