CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2015 Ball State

3–⁠9 (2–⁠6 Mid-American Conference), coached by Pete Lembo.

Schedule and results

Ball State in 2015, game by game: won vs. VMI 48–36; lost at No. 16 Texas A&M 23–56; won at Eastern Michigan 28–17; lost at No. 17 Northwestern 19–24; lost vs. Toledo 10–24; lost at Northern Illinois 41–59; lost vs. Georgia State 19–31; lost vs. Central Michigan 21–23; won vs. Massachusetts 20–10; lost at Western Michigan 7–54; lost at Ohio 31–48; lost vs. Bowling Green 10–48+12−47Won 48–36 vs. VMI+12VMILost 23–56 at No. 16 Texas A&M-33No. 16 Texas A&MWon 28–17 at Eastern Michigan+11Eastern MichiganLost 19–24 at No. 17 Northwestern-5No. 17 NorthwesternLost 10–24 vs. Toledo-14ToledoLost 41–59 at Northern Illinois-18Northern Illino…Lost 19–31 vs. Georgia State-12Georgia StateLost 21–23 vs. Central Michigan-2Central MichiganWon 20–10 vs. Massachusetts+10MassachusettsLost 7–54 at Western Michigan-47Western MichiganLost 31–48 at Ohio-17OhioLost 10–48 vs. Bowling Green-38Bowling Green
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsVMIW 48–⁠3689%
Sep 12at16Texas A&ML 23–⁠5625%
Sep 19atEastern MichiganW 28–⁠1760%
Sep 26at17NorthwesternL 19–⁠2432%
Oct 3vsToledoL 10–⁠2440%
Oct 10atNorthern IllinoisL 41–⁠5931%
Oct 17vsGeorgia StateL 19–⁠3183%
Oct 24vsCentral MichiganL 21–⁠2343%
Oct 31vsMassachusettsW 20–⁠1068%
Nov 5atWestern MichiganL 7–⁠5425%
Nov 17atOhioL 31–⁠4833%
Nov 24vsBowling GreenL 10–⁠4826%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Bowling Green 48–⁠10; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 41st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Record
3–⁠9
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 9th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
277–⁠430
Coach
Pete Lembo
Elo
1346 −138 this season
SP+ rating
-15.5 No. 113 of 128; offense No. 107, defense No. 113, special teams No. 69
SRS
−14.0 No. 107 of 128 in FBS
Returning
61% of last season’s EPA, No. 64 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 105 roster talent No. 107 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Joey Lynch
Defensive coordinator
Kevin Kelly
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense103rd of 128
  • Defense121st of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted105th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted129th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0040%1.03103rd of 128
Defense0.2749%1.25121st of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.02 off
0.23 def		39% off
49% def		—105th off
129th 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
Offense3.2own 301% allowed
Defense4.0own 281% 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 yardsRiley Neal QB2,276 yds
Passing touchdownsRiley Neal QB16 TD
Rushing yardsDarian Green RB730 yds
Rushing touchdownsJames Gilbert RB8 TD
Receiving yardsKeVonn Mabon WR745 yds
Receiving touchdownsCorey Lacanaria WR2 TD
InterceptionsSean Wiggins LB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Riley Neal PRO★★★No. 872
Kevin Thurmon DT★★★No. 1232
James Gilbert RB★★★No. 1452
Abdallah Jaffal OLB★★★No. 1781
Armani McNulty CB★★★No. 1967

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.853
Running backs13.00.831
Receivers42.00.767
Offensive line32.00.779
Defensive line42.30.786
Linebackers13.00.813
Defensive backs62.30.784
Athletes and specialists22.50.793
Whole class222.30.788

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 107

The 2015 roster

107 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 23 have a stat line. See the roster

2015 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Bowling Green7–⁠110–⁠4
Toledo6–⁠210–⁠2
Western Michigan6–⁠28–⁠5
Northern Illinois6–⁠28–⁠6
Central Michigan6–⁠27–⁠6
Akron5–⁠38–⁠5
Ohio5–⁠38–⁠5
Buffalo3–⁠55–⁠7
Ball State2–⁠63–⁠9
Miami (OH)2–⁠63–⁠9
Kent State2–⁠63–⁠9
Massachusetts2–⁠63–⁠9
Eastern Michigan0–⁠81–⁠11

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