2015 Arkansas
8–5 (5–3 Southeastern Conference), coached by Bret Bielema. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest upsetBeat No. 9 LSU 31–14Nov 14
LSU was ranked No. 9 and favored to win.
- Most excitingBeat No. 19 Ole Miss 53–52Nov 7
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | vs UTEP | W 48–13 | 75% |
| Sep 12 | vs Toledo | L 12–16 | 64% |
| Sep 19 | vs Texas Tech | L 24–35 | 67% |
| Sep 26 | vs 14Texas A&M | L 21–28 | 36% |
| Oct 3 | at Tennessee | W 24–20 | 37% |
| Oct 10 | at 8Alabama | L 14–27 | 19% |
| Oct 24 | vs Auburn | W 54–46 | 48% |
| Oct 31 | vs UT Martin | W 63–28 | 77% |
| Nov 7 | at 19Ole Miss | W 53–52 | 31% |
| Nov 14 | at 9LSU | W 31–14 | 28% |
| Nov 21 | vs Mississippi State | L 50–51 | 53% |
| Nov 27 | vs Missouri | W 28–3 | 69% |
| Jan 2Bowls & playoff | vs Kansas StateLiberty Bowl | W 45–23 | 66% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat Kansas State 45–23 in the Liberty Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Southeastern Conference.
In program history: The 18th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 1: 18
- Wk 2: 18
- Record
- 8–5
- Conference
- 5–3 tied for 4th in Southeastern Conference
- AP final
- Unranked peak No. 18
- Points
- 467–356
- Coach
- Bret Bielema
- Elo
- 1669 +82 this season
- SP+ rating
- 19.2 No. 14 of 128; offense No. 2, defense No. 67, special teams No. 42
- SRS
- 13.8 No. 17 of 128 in FBS
- Returning
- 89% of last season’s EPA, No. 13 of 128
- Recruiting class
- No. 22 roster talent No. 25 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Dan Enos
- Defensive coordinator
- Robb Smith
- Captains
- Brandon Allen, Jonathan Williams, Brooks Ellis and JaMichael Winston
- Offense
- Pro-style
- Defense
- 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.27 | 50% | 1.26 | 6th of 128 |
| Defense | 0.17 | 47% | 1.12 | 103rd of 128 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.28 off 0.12 def | 51% off 45% def | — | 2nd off 89th 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 4.4 | own 31 | 2% allowed |
| Defense | 4.0 | own 28 | 2% 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 yards | Brandon Allen QB | 3,440 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Brandon Allen QB | 30 TD |
| Rushing yards | Alex Collins RB | 1,577 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Alex Collins RB | 20 TD |
| Receiving yards | Drew Morgan WR | 843 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Drew Morgan WR | 10 TD |
| Interceptions | D.J. Dean DB | 2 INT |
Top recruits in the 2015 class
| Hjalte Froholdt DT | ★★★★ | No. 144 |
| Cheyenne O’Grady TE | ★★★★ | No. 197 |
| Will Gragg TE | ★★★★ | No. 200 |
| Jamario Bell SDE | ★★★★ | No. 216 |
| Ty Storey PRO | ★★★★ | No. 225 |
| Jalen Merrick OG | ★★★★ | No. 238 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2015 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 4.0 | 0.912 |
| Receivers | 3 | 3.7 | 0.899 |
| Offensive line | 3 | 3.3 | 0.870 |
| Defensive line | 3 | 3.7 | 0.902 |
| Defensive backs | 3 | 3.0 | 0.819 |
| Athletes and specialists | 1 | 3.0 | 0.813 |
| Whole class | 14 | 3.4 | 0.871 |
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 2 | Hunter Henry TE | San Diego Chargers |
| Rd 5 | Jonathan Williams RB | Buffalo Bills |
| Rd 5 | Alex Collins RB | Seattle Seahawks |
| Rd 6 | Sebastian Tretola OG | Tennessee Titans |
| Rd 6 | Brandon Allen QB | Jacksonville Jaguars |
Roster 121
The 2015 roster121 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 33 have a stat line. See the roster
All-SEC
3 first team, 2 second teamFirst team
Sebastian TretolaOGAP-1; Coaches-1; ESPN
Dan SkipperOTAP-2; Coaches-2; ESPN
Hunter HenryTEAP-1; Coaches-1; ESPN
Second team
Alex CollinsRBAP-2; Coaches-2- Drew MorganWRAP-2
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| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 7–1 | 14–1 | 1 |
 Florida | 7–1 | 10–4 | 25 |
| Ole Miss | 6–2 | 10–3 | 10 |
 Georgia | 5–3 | 10–3 | |
| LSU | 5–3 | 9–3 | 16 |
| Tennessee | 5–3 | 9–4 | 22 |
| Arkansas | 5–3 | 8–5 | |
| Mississippi State | 4–4 | 9–4 | |
| Texas A&M | 4–4 | 8–5 | |
| Auburn | 2–6 | 7–6 | |
 Kentucky | 2–6 | 5–7 | |
 Vanderbilt | 2–6 | 4–8 | |
| Missouri | 1–7 | 5–7 | |
 South Carolina | 1–7 | 3–9 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.