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2015 Illinois

5–⁠7 (2–⁠6 Big Ten), coached by Bill Cubit.

Schedule and results

Illinois in 2015, game by game: won vs. Kent State 52–3; won vs. Western Illinois 44–0; lost at North Carolina 14–48; won vs. Middle Tennessee 27–25; won vs. Nebraska 14–13; lost at No. 22 Iowa 20–29; lost vs. Wisconsin 13–24; lost at Penn State 0–39; won at Purdue 48–14; lost vs. No. 2 Ohio State 3–28; lost at Minnesota 23–32; lost vs. No. 17 Northwestern 14–24+49−39Won 52–3 vs. Kent State+49Kent StateWon 44–0 vs. Western Illinois+44Western IllinoisLost 14–48 at North Carolina-34North CarolinaWon 27–25 vs. Middle Tennessee+2Middle TennesseeWon 14–13 vs. Nebraska+1NebraskaLost 20–29 at No. 22 Iowa-9No. 22 IowaLost 13–24 vs. Wisconsin-11WisconsinLost 0–39 at Penn State-39Penn StateWon 48–14 at Purdue+34PurdueLost 3–28 vs. No. 2 Ohio State-25No. 2 Ohio StateLost 23–32 at Minnesota-9MinnesotaLost 14–24 vs. No. 17 Northwestern-10No. 17 Northwestern
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsKent StateW 52–⁠368%
Sep 12vsWestern IllinoisW 44–⁠078%
Sep 19atNorth CarolinaL 14–⁠4841%
Sep 26vsMiddle TennesseeW 27–⁠2558%
Oct 3vsNebraskaW 14–⁠1343%
Oct 10at22IowaL 20–⁠2926%
Oct 24vsWisconsinL 13–⁠2434%
Oct 31atPenn StateL 0–⁠3927%
Nov 7atPurdueW 48–⁠1451%
Nov 14vs2Ohio StateL 3–⁠2815%
Nov 21atMinnesotaL 23–⁠3237%
Nov 28vs17NorthwesternL 14–⁠2430%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Northwestern 24–⁠14; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 102nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 9th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
272–⁠279
Coach
Bill Cubit
Elo
1438 −22 this season
SP+ rating
2.7 No. 68 of 128; offense No. 104, defense No. 22, special teams No. 56
SRS
0.5 No. 65 of 128 in FBS
Returning
73% of last season’s EPA, No. 46 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 48 roster talent No. 60 in FBS
Defensive coordinators
Tim Banks and Mike Phair
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense107th of 128
  • Defense35th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted96th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted43rd of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0138%1.22107th of 128
Defense0.0341%1.2035th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.05 def		40% off
41% def		—96th off
43rd 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
Offense3.1own 311% allowed
Defense3.5own 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 yardsWes Lunt QB2,761 yds
Passing touchdownsWes Lunt QB14 TD
Rushing yardsKe’Shawn Vaughn RB723 yds
Rushing touchdownsKe’Shawn Vaughn RB6 TD
Receiving yardsGeronimo Allison WR882 yds
Receiving touchdownsGeronimo Allison WR3 TD
InterceptionsTaylor Barton DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Gabe Megginson OT★★★★No. 190
Ke’Shawn Vaughn RB★★★★No. 312
Dre Brown RB★★★No. 457
Jamal Milan DT★★★No. 893
Caleb Reams TE★★★No. 1306

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs33.30.867
Receivers13.00.836
Offensive line23.50.877
Defensive line13.00.852
Defensive backs22.50.802
Athletes and specialists13.00.823
Whole class103.10.847

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 2Jihad Ward DEOakland Raiders
Rd 6Ted Karras OGNew England Patriots
Rd 7Clayton Fejedelem SCincinnati Bengals

Roster 116

The 2015 roster

116 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 32 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

1 second team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2015 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2015 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Iowa8–⁠012–⁠29
Ohio State7–⁠112–⁠14
Michigan State7–⁠112–⁠26
Northwestern6–⁠210–⁠323
Wisconsin6–⁠210–⁠321
Michigan6–⁠210–⁠312
Penn State4–⁠47–⁠6
Nebraska3–⁠56–⁠7
Minnesota2–⁠66–⁠7
Indiana2–⁠66–⁠7
Illinois2–⁠65–⁠7
Rutgers1–⁠74–⁠8
Maryland1–⁠73–⁠9
Purdue1–⁠72–⁠10

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