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2015 Clemson

14–⁠1 (8–⁠0 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Dabo Swinney, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 2015, game by game: won vs. Wofford 49–10; won vs. App State 41–10; won at Louisville 20–17; won vs. No. 6 Notre Dame 24–22; won vs. Georgia Tech 43–24; won vs. Boston College 34–17; won at Miami 58–0; won at NC State 56–41; won vs. No. 17 Florida State 23–13; won at Syracuse 37–27; won vs. Wake Forest 33–13; won at South Carolina 37–32; won vs. No. 8 North Carolina 45–37; won vs. No. 4 Oklahoma 37–17; lost vs. No. 2 Alabama 40–45+58−5Won 49–10 vs. Wofford+39WoffordWon 41–10 vs. App State+31App StateWon 20–17 at Louisville+3LouisvilleWon 24–22 vs. No. 6 Notre Dame+2No. 6 Notre DameWon 43–24 vs. Georgia Tech+19Georgia TechWon 34–17 vs. Boston College+17Boston CollegeWon 58–0 at Miami+58MiamiWon 56–41 at NC State+15NC StateWon 23–13 vs. No. 17 Florida State+10No. 17 Florida StateWon 37–27 at Syracuse+10SyracuseWon 33–13 vs. Wake Forest+20Wake ForestWon 37–32 at South Carolina+5South CarolinaWon 45–37 vs. No. 8 North Carolina+8No. 8 North CarolinaWon 37–17 vs. No. 4 Oklahoma+20No. 4 OklahomaLost 40–45 vs. No. 2 Alabama-5No. 2 Alabama
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsWoffordW 49–⁠1091%
Sep 12vsApp StateW 41–⁠1080%
Sep 17atLouisvilleW 20–⁠1755%
Oct 3vs6Notre DameW 24–⁠2262%
Oct 10vsGeorgia TechW 43–⁠2472%
Oct 17vsBoston CollegeW 34–⁠1781%
Oct 24atMiamiW 58–⁠064%
Oct 31atNC StateW 56–⁠4166%
Nov 7vs17Florida StateW 23–⁠1361%
Nov 14atSyracuseW 37–⁠2787%
Nov 21vsWake ForestW 33–⁠1394%
Nov 28atSouth CarolinaW 37–⁠3279%
Dec 5vs8North CarolinaACC Championship GameW 45–⁠3763%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs4OklahomaOrange BowlW 37–⁠1754%
Jan 11Bowls & playoffvs2AlabamaCFP National ChampionshipL 40–⁠4542%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Alabama 45–⁠40 in the CFP National Championship; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Atlantic Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 5th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 12
  2. Wk 2: 12
  3. Wk 3: 11
  4. Wk 4: 11
  5. Wk 5: 12
  6. Wk 6: 6
  7. Wk 7: 5
  8. Wk 8: 6
  9. Wk 9: 3
  10. Wk 10: 3
  11. Wk 11: 1
  12. Wk 12: 1
  13. Wk 13: 1
  14. Wk 14: 1
  15. Wk 15: 1
  16. Final: 2

Atlantic Coast Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference, won the ACC Championship Game

Heisman voteDeshaun Watson, third

Led the nationDeshaun Watson: total offense (5,209 yds)

Davey O’Brien AwardDeshaun Watson, QB; also the Manning

2 consensus All-AmericansDeshaun Watson, QB; Shaq Lawson, DL

Walter Camp Coach of the YearDabo Swinney, coach; also the Bear Bryant Award

Record
14–⁠1
Conference
8–⁠0 shared first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 1
Points
577–⁠325
Coach
Dabo Swinney
Elo
1826 +172 this season
SP+ rating
24.0 No. 4 of 128; offense No. 10, defense No. 11, special teams No. 85
SRS
20.6 No. 3 of 128 in FBS
Returning
86% of last season’s EPA, No. 19 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 9 roster talent No. 13 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott
Defensive coordinator
Brent Venables
Captains
Travis Blanks, B.J. Goodson, Eric MacLain, Charone Peake, D.J. Reader and Stanton Seckinger
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense19th of 128
  • Defense6th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted12th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted4th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2048%1.1219th of 128
Defense-0.0733%1.416th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.22 off
-0.07 def		49% off
33% def		—12th off
4th 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
Offense4.4own 292% allowed
Defense2.7own 312% 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 yardsDeshaun Watson QB4,104 yds
Passing touchdownsDeshaun Watson QB35 TD
Rushing yardsWayne Gallman RB1,527 yds
Rushing touchdownsWayne Gallman RB13 TD
Receiving yardsArtavis Scott WR901 yds
Receiving touchdownsJordan Leggett TE8 TD
InterceptionsCordrea Tankersley CB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Deon Cain WR★★★★★No. 18
Mitch Hyatt OT★★★★★No. 23
Christian Wilkins DT★★★★★No. 24
Ray-Ray McCloud ATH★★★★No. 81
Albert Huggins DT★★★★No. 90
Mark Fields CB★★★★No. 93
Clelin Ferrell WDE★★★★No. 115
Jake Fruhmorgen OT★★★★No. 123

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.857
Receivers34.00.929
Offensive line34.00.939
Defensive line54.00.933
Linebackers32.70.815
Defensive backs43.30.869
Athletes and specialists24.00.929
Whole class213.60.900

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 1Shaq Lawson DEBuffalo Bills
Rd 2Kevin Dodd DETennessee Titans
Rd 2Mackensie Alexander CBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 2T.J. Green SIndianapolis Colts
Rd 4B.J. Goodson ILBNew York Giants
Rd 5D.J. Reader DTHouston Texans
Rd 7Charone Peake WRNew York Jets
Rd 7Jayron Kearse SMinnesota Vikings
Rd 7Zac Brooks RBSeattle Seahawks

Roster 118

The 2015 roster

118 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 37 have a stat line. See the roster

2015 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson8–⁠014–⁠12
North Carolina8–⁠011–⁠315
Florida State6–⁠210–⁠314
Pittsburgh6–⁠28–⁠5
Miami5–⁠38–⁠5
Louisville5–⁠38–⁠5
Duke4–⁠48–⁠5
Virginia Tech4–⁠47–⁠6
NC State3–⁠57–⁠6
Virginia3–⁠54–⁠8
Syracuse2–⁠64–⁠8
Georgia Tech1–⁠73–⁠9
Wake Forest1–⁠73–⁠9
Boston College0–⁠83–⁠9

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