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2015 Florida State

10–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Jimbo Fisher, finished No. 14 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Florida State in 2015, game by game: won vs. Texas State 59–16; won vs. South Florida 34–14; won at Boston College 14–0; won at Wake Forest 24–16; won vs. Miami 29–24; won vs. Louisville 41–21; lost at Georgia Tech 16–22; won vs. Syracuse 45–21; lost at No. 3 Clemson 13–23; won vs. NC State 34–17; won vs. Chattanooga 52–13; won at No. 10 Florida 27–2; lost vs. No. 14 Houston 24–38+43−14Won 59–16 vs. Texas State+43Texas StateWon 34–14 vs. South Florida+20South FloridaWon 14–0 at Boston College+14Boston CollegeWon 24–16 at Wake Forest+8Wake ForestWon 29–24 vs. Miami+5MiamiWon 41–21 vs. Louisville+20LouisvilleLost 16–22 at Georgia Tech-6Georgia TechWon 45–21 vs. Syracuse+24SyracuseLost 13–23 at No. 3 Clemson-10No. 3 ClemsonWon 34–17 vs. NC State+17NC StateWon 52–13 vs. Chattanooga+39ChattanoogaWon 27–2 at No. 10 Florida+25No. 10 FloridaLost 24–38 vs. No. 14 Houston-14No. 14 Houston
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsTexas StateW 59–⁠1685%
Sep 12vsSouth FloridaW 34–⁠1490%
Sep 18atBoston CollegeW 14–⁠067%
Oct 3atWake ForestW 24–⁠1684%
Oct 10vsMiamiW 29–⁠2481%
Oct 17vsLouisvilleW 41–⁠2176%
Oct 24atGeorgia TechL 16–⁠2271%
Oct 31vsSyracuseW 45–⁠2190%
Nov 7at3ClemsonL 13–⁠2339%
Nov 14vsNC StateW 34–⁠1776%
Nov 21vsChattanoogaW 52–⁠1384%
Nov 28at10FloridaW 27–⁠246%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs14HoustonPeach BowlL 24–⁠3863%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Houston 38–⁠24 in the Peach Bowl; No. 14 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 20th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 78 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 10
  2. Wk 2: 11
  3. Wk 3: 9
  4. Wk 4: 10
  5. Wk 5: 11
  6. Wk 6: 12
  7. Wk 7: 11
  8. Wk 8: 9
  9. Wk 9: 17
  10. Wk 10: 17
  11. Wk 11: 19
  12. Wk 12: 16
  13. Wk 13: 14
  14. Wk 14: 10
  15. Wk 15: 9
  16. Final: 14

Consensus All-AmericanJalen Ramsey, DB

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 14 peak No. 9
Points
412–⁠227
Coach
Jimbo Fisher
Elo
1747 +39 this season
SP+ rating
23.2 No. 5 of 128; offense No. 21, defense No. 7, special teams No. 56
SRS
16.1 No. 8 of 128 in FBS
Returning
31% of last season’s EPA, No. 117 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 3 roster talent No. 4 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Lawrence Dawsey and Randy Sanders
Defensive coordinator
Charles Kelly
Captains
Cason Beatty, Lamarcus Brutus, Dalvin Cook, Ro’Derrick Hoskins, Tyler Hunter, Roderick Johnson, Derrick Mitchell, Giorgio Newberry, Reggie Northrup, Jalen Mack, Terrance Smith, Nile Lawrence-Stample, Freddie Stevenson, DeMarcus Walker, Kermit Whitfield and Jesus Wilson
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense31st of 128
  • Defense33rd of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted21st of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted40th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1745%1.2531st of 128
Defense0.0338%1.1733rd of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
0.04 def		46% off
39% def		—21st off
40th 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
Offense3.7own 334% allowed
Defense2.8own 272% 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 yardsEverett Golson QB1,778 yds
Passing touchdownsEverett Golson QB11 TD
Rushing yardsDalvin Cook RB1,691 yds
Rushing touchdownsDalvin Cook RB19 TD
Receiving yardsTravis Rudolph WR916 yds
Receiving touchdownsTravis Rudolph WR7 TD
InterceptionsLamarcus Brutus DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Derwin James S★★★★★No. 5
Josh Sweat WDE★★★★★No. 8
Tarvarus McFadden CB★★★★★No. 15
George Campbell WR★★★★★No. 19
Jacques Patrick RB★★★★No. 38
Deondre Francois PRO★★★★No. 66
Abdul Bello OT★★★★No. 96
Da’Vante Phillips WR★★★★No. 100

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.50.926
Running backs14.00.983
Receivers53.80.917
Offensive line23.50.919
Defensive line24.50.957
Linebackers14.00.902
Defensive backs44.30.943
Athletes and specialists14.00.938
Whole class183.90.932

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 1Jalen Ramsey CBJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 2Roberto Aguayo KTampa Bay Buccaneers

Roster 120

The 2015 roster

120 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 33 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.