CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2015 Georgia Tech

3–⁠9 (1–⁠7 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Paul Johnson.

Schedule and results

Georgia Tech in 2015, game by game: won vs. Alcorn State 69–6; won vs. Tulane 65–10; lost at No. 8 Notre Dame 22–30; lost at Duke 20–34; lost vs. North Carolina 31–38; lost at No. 6 Clemson 24–43; lost vs. Pittsburgh 28–31; won vs. No. 9 Florida State 22–16; lost at Virginia 21–27; lost vs. Virginia Tech 21–23; lost at Miami 21–38; lost vs. Georgia 7–13+63−19Won 69–6 vs. Alcorn State+63Alcorn StateWon 65–10 vs. Tulane+55TulaneLost 22–30 at No. 8 Notre Dame-8No. 8 Notre DameLost 20–34 at Duke-14DukeLost 31–38 vs. North Carolina-7North CarolinaLost 24–43 at No. 6 Clemson-19No. 6 ClemsonLost 28–31 vs. Pittsburgh-3PittsburghWon 22–16 vs. No. 9 Florida State+6No. 9 Florida StateLost 21–27 at Virginia-6VirginiaLost 21–23 vs. Virginia Tech-2Virginia TechLost 21–38 at Miami-17MiamiLost 7–13 vs. Georgia-6Georgia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsAlcorn StateW 69–⁠685%
Sep 12vsTulaneW 65–⁠1087%
Sep 19at8Notre DameL 22–⁠3048%
Sep 26atDukeL 20–⁠3454%
Oct 3vsNorth CarolinaL 31–⁠3867%
Oct 10at6ClemsonL 24–⁠4328%
Oct 17vsPittsburghL 28–⁠3159%
Oct 24vs9Florida StateW 22–⁠1629%
Oct 31atVirginiaL 21–⁠2764%
Nov 12vsVirginia TechL 21–⁠2358%
Nov 21atMiamiL 21–⁠3842%
Nov 28vsGeorgiaL 7–⁠1337%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Georgia 13–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 12th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 93rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 16
  2. Wk 2: 15
  3. Wk 3: 14
  4. Wk 4: 20
Record
3–⁠9
Conference
1–⁠7 tied for 12th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 14
Points
351–⁠309
Coach
Paul Johnson
Elo
1506 −139 this season
SP+ rating
9.0 No. 43 of 128; offense No. 44, defense No. 52, special teams No. 20
SRS
5.2 No. 52 of 128 in FBS
Returning
44% of last season’s EPA, No. 98 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 44 roster talent No. 49 in FBS
Defensive coordinator
Ted Roof
Offense
Flexbone triple option
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense98th of 128
  • Defense67th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted94th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted54th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0244%1.2098th of 128
Defense0.1046%1.0967th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.05 off
0.06 def		45% off
44% def		—94th off
54th 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
Offense3.8own 302% allowed
Defense3.7own 332% 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 yardsJustin Thomas QB1,345 yds
Passing touchdownsJustin Thomas QB13 TD
Rushing yardsMarcus Marshall 654 yds
Rushing touchdownsJustin Thomas QB6 TD
Receiving yardsRicky Jeune WR520 yds
Receiving touchdownsRicky Jeune WR4 TD
InterceptionsBrant Mitchell LB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Christian Philpott WR★★★No. 500
Dorian Walker ATH★★★No. 893
Omahri Jarrett APB★★★No. 1407
Nathan Cottrell RB★★★No. 1502
Trent Sellers WDE★★★No. 1530

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs43.00.823
Receivers13.00.873
Offensive line13.00.813
Defensive line13.00.827
Defensive backs13.00.826
Athletes and specialists13.00.852
Whole class93.00.832

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 2Adam Gotsis DEDenver Broncos
Rd 6D.J. White CBKansas City Chiefs

Roster 118

The 2015 roster

118 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 32 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.