CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2015 California

8–⁠5 (4–⁠5 Pac-12), coached by Sonny Dykes.

Schedule and results

California in 2015, game by game: won vs. Grambling 73–14; won vs. San Diego State 35–7; won at Texas 45–44; won at Washington 30–24; won vs. Washington State 34–28; lost at No. 5 Utah 24–30; lost at UCLA 24–40; lost vs. USC 21–27; lost at Oregon 28–44; won vs. Oregon State 54–24; lost at No. 15 Stanford 22–35; won vs. Arizona State 48–46; won vs. Air Force 55–36+59−16Won 73–14 vs. Grambling+59GramblingWon 35–7 vs. San Diego State+28San Diego StateWon 45–44 at Texas+1TexasWon 30–24 at Washington+6WashingtonWon 34–28 vs. Washington State+6Washington StateLost 24–30 at No. 5 Utah-6No. 5 UtahLost 24–40 at UCLA-16UCLALost 21–27 vs. USC-6USCLost 28–44 at Oregon-16OregonWon 54–24 vs. Oregon State+30Oregon StateLost 22–35 at No. 15 Stanford-13No. 15 StanfordWon 48–46 vs. Arizona State+2Arizona StateWon 55–36 vs. Air Force+19Air Force
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsGramblingW 73–⁠1477%
Sep 12vsSan Diego StateW 35–⁠746%
Sep 19atTexasW 45–⁠4436%
Sep 26atWashingtonW 30–⁠2431%
Oct 3vsWashington StateW 34–⁠2870%
Oct 10at5UtahL 24–⁠3024%
Oct 22atUCLAL 24–⁠4029%
Oct 31vsUSCL 21–⁠2740%
Nov 7atOregonL 28–⁠4421%
Nov 14vsOregon StateW 54–⁠2473%
Nov 21at15StanfordL 22–⁠3516%
Nov 28vsArizona StateW 48–⁠4644%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsAir ForceArmed Forces BowlW 55–⁠3644%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Air Force 55–⁠36 in the Armed Forces Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 36th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 24
  2. Wk 6: 23
  3. Wk 7: 23
  4. Wk 8: 20
Record
8–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠5 tied for 7th in Pac-12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 20
Points
493–⁠399
Coach
Sonny Dykes
Elo
1549 +109 this season
SP+ rating
12.1 No. 28 of 128; offense No. 12, defense No. 78, special teams No. 52
SRS
10.3 No. 22 of 128 in FBS
Returning
91% of last season’s EPA, No. 8 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 34 roster talent No. 40 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Tony Franklin
Defensive coordinator
Art Kaufman
Offense
Bear raid
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense14th of 128
  • Defense102nd of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted9th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted85th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2251%1.1814th of 128
Defense0.1748%1.12102nd of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.23 off
0.11 def		52% off
45% def		—9th off
85th 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
Offense3.9own 292% allowed
Defense3.7own 303% 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 yardsJared Goff QB4,719 yds
Passing touchdownsJared Goff QB43 TD
Rushing yardsKhalfani Muhammad RB586 yds
Rushing touchdownsVic Enwere RB8 TD
Receiving yardsBryce Treggs WR956 yds
Receiving touchdownsKenny Lawler WR13 TD
InterceptionsDarius White CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Carlos Strickland WR★★★★No. 164
Jaylinn Hawkins WR★★★★No. 269
Semisi Uluave OG★★★★No. 333
Lonny Powell RB★★★No. 380
Russell Ude SDE★★★No. 477

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs13.00.886
Receivers33.70.896
Offensive line33.30.850
Defensive line43.00.835
Athletes and specialists13.00.840
Whole class123.30.858

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 1Jared Goff QBLos Angeles Rams
Rd 5Trevor Davis WRGreen Bay Packers
Rd 7Daniel Lasco RBNew Orleans Saints
Rd 7Kenny Lawler WRSeattle Seahawks

Roster 135

The 2015 roster

135 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 41 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.