2015 Arkansas State

9–⁠4 (8–⁠0 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Blake Anderson.

Schedule and results

Arkansas State in 2015, game by game: lost at No. 8 USC 6–55; lost vs. No. 21 Missouri 20–27; won vs. Missouri State 70–7; lost at Toledo 7–37; won vs. Idaho 49–35; won at South Alabama 49–31; won vs. Louisiana 37–27; won vs. Georgia State 48–34; won at App State 40–27; won at UL Monroe 59–21; won at New Mexico State 52–28; won vs. Texas State 55–17; lost vs. Louisiana Tech 28–47+63−49Lost 6–55 at No. 8 USC-49No. 8 USCLost 20–27 vs. No. 21 Missouri-7No. 21 MissouriWon 70–7 vs. Missouri State+63Missouri StateLost 7–37 at Toledo-30ToledoWon 49–35 vs. Idaho+14IdahoWon 49–31 at South Alabama+18South AlabamaWon 37–27 vs. Louisiana+10LouisianaWon 48–34 vs. Georgia State+14Georgia StateWon 40–27 at App State+13App StateWon 59–21 at UL Monroe+38UL MonroeWon 52–28 at New Mexico State+24New Mexico StateWon 55–17 vs. Texas State+38Texas StateLost 28–47 vs. Louisiana Tech-19Louisiana Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5at8USCL 6–⁠5524%
Sep 12vs21MissouriL 20–⁠2731%
Sep 19vsMissouri StateW 70–⁠777%
Sep 26atToledoL 7–⁠3727%
Oct 3vsIdahoW 49–⁠3580%
Oct 13atSouth AlabamaW 49–⁠3144%
Oct 20vsLouisianaW 37–⁠2760%
Oct 31vsGeorgia StateW 48–⁠3485%
Nov 5atApp StateW 40–⁠2734%
Nov 14atUL MonroeW 59–⁠2178%
Nov 28atNew Mexico StateW 52–⁠2878%
Dec 5vsTexas StateW 55–⁠1787%
Dec 19vsLouisiana TechNew Orleans BowlL 28–⁠4753%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Louisiana Tech 47–⁠28 in the New Orleans Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Sun Belt Conference champions.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 84 on file).

Sun Belt Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Sun Belt Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
520–⁠393
Coach
Blake Anderson
Elo
1559 +81 this season
SP+ rating
0.5 No. 72 of 128; offense No. 56, defense No. 69, special teams No. 119
SRS
−0.7 No. 72 of 128 in FBS
Returning
99% of last season’s EPA, No. 3 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 90 roster talent No. 84 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Walt Bell and Glen Elarbee
Defensive coordinator
Joe Cauthen
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense69th of 128
  • Defense38th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted82nd of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted57th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0743%1.2069th of 128
Defense0.0438%1.4238th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.07 def
43% off
41% def
—82nd off
57th 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
Defense3.8own 273% 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 yardsFredi Knighten QB1,835 yds
Passing touchdownsFredi Knighten QB19 TD
Rushing yardsMichael Gordon RB1,058 yds
Rushing touchdownsJohnston White RB14 TD
Receiving yardsTres Houston WR615 yds
Receiving touchdownsTres Houston WR10 TD
InterceptionsRocky Hayes DB6 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Griffin Riggs SDE★★★No. 1412
Cameron Davis OT★★★No. 1504
Darveon Brown WR★★★No. 1519
Tajhea Chambers DUAL★★★No. 1735
Omar Bayless WR★★★No. 1776

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.816
Running backs43.00.804
Receivers33.00.813
Offensive line23.00.818
Defensive line42.50.799
Linebackers22.00.793
Defensive backs13.00.804
Whole class172.80.806

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.

Roster 115

The 2015 roster

115 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 38 have a stat line. See the roster

2015 Sun Belt Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Arkansas State8–⁠09–⁠4
App State7–⁠111–⁠2
Georgia Southern6–⁠29–⁠4
Georgia State5–⁠36–⁠7
South Alabama3–⁠55–⁠7
Idaho3–⁠54–⁠8
Louisiana3–⁠54–⁠8
Troy3–⁠54–⁠8
New Mexico State3–⁠53–⁠9
Texas State2–⁠63–⁠9
UL Monroe1–⁠72–⁠11

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