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2015 Kentucky

5–⁠7 (2–⁠6 Southeastern Conference), coached by Mark Stoops.

Schedule and results

Kentucky in 2015, game by game: won vs. Louisiana 40–33; won at South Carolina 26–22; lost vs. Florida 9–14; won vs. No. 25 Missouri 21–13; won vs. Eastern Kentucky 34–27; lost vs. Auburn 27–30; lost at Mississippi State 16–42; lost vs. Tennessee 21–52; lost at Georgia 3–27; lost at Vanderbilt 17–21; won vs. Charlotte 58–10; lost vs. Louisville 24–38+48−31Won 40–33 vs. Louisiana+7LouisianaWon 26–22 at South Carolina+4South CarolinaLost 9–14 vs. Florida-5FloridaWon 21–13 vs. No. 25 Missouri+8No. 25 MissouriWon 34–27 vs. Eastern Kentucky+7Eastern KentuckyLost 27–30 vs. Auburn-3AuburnLost 16–42 at Mississippi State-26Mississippi Sta…Lost 21–52 vs. Tennessee-31TennesseeLost 3–27 at Georgia-24GeorgiaLost 17–21 at Vanderbilt-4VanderbiltWon 58–10 vs. Charlotte+48CharlotteLost 24–38 vs. Louisville-14Louisville
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsLouisianaW 40–⁠3347%
Sep 12atSouth CarolinaW 26–⁠2227%
Sep 19vsFloridaL 9–⁠1445%
Sep 26vs25MissouriW 21–⁠1332%
Oct 3vsEastern KentuckyW 34–⁠2778%
Oct 15vsAuburnL 27–⁠3048%
Oct 24atMississippi StateL 16–⁠4225%
Oct 31vsTennesseeL 21–⁠5248%
Nov 7atGeorgiaL 3–⁠2723%
Nov 14atVanderbiltL 17–⁠2144%
Nov 21vsCharlotteW 58–⁠1084%
Nov 28vsLouisvilleL 24–⁠3837%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Louisville 38–⁠24; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 10th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 95th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 10th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
296–⁠329
Coach
Mark Stoops
Elo
1431 −26 this season
SP+ rating
-0.3 No. 77 of 128; offense No. 79, defense No. 61, special teams No. 63
SRS
−4.6 No. 88 of 128 in FBS
Returning
72% of last season’s EPA, No. 49 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 38 roster talent No. 38 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Shannon Dawson
Defensive coordinator
D.J. Eliot
Offense
Air raid
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense73rd of 128
  • Defense68th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted62nd of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted87th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0639%1.3273rd of 128
Defense0.1044%1.1568th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.10 off
0.12 def		41% off
44% def		—62nd off
87th 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
Offense3.3own 272% allowed
Defense3.1own 342% 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 yardsPatrick Towles QB2,148 yds
Passing touchdownsPatrick Towles QB9 TD
Rushing yardsStanley Williams RB855 yds
Rushing touchdownsJojo Kemp RB6 TD
Receiving yardsGarrett Johnson WR694 yds
Receiving touchdownsDorian Baker WR3 TD
InterceptionsJ.D. Harmon CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Eli Brown OLB★★★★No. 270
C.J. Conrad TE★★★★No. 286
Kengera Daniel WDE★★★No. 698
Levon Livingston OT★★★No. 788
Mason Wolfe OG★★★No. 1691

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers14.00.902
Offensive line23.00.838
Defensive line22.50.829
Linebackers14.00.905
Athletes and specialists12.00.771
Whole class73.00.844

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 6Josh Forrest ILBLos Angeles Rams

Roster 102

The 2015 roster

102 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 28 have a stat line. See the roster

All-SEC

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 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama7–⁠114–⁠11
Florida7–⁠110–⁠425
Ole Miss6–⁠210–⁠310
Georgia5–⁠310–⁠3
LSU5–⁠39–⁠316
Tennessee5–⁠39–⁠422
Arkansas5–⁠38–⁠5
Mississippi State4–⁠49–⁠4
Texas A&M4–⁠48–⁠5
Auburn2–⁠67–⁠6
Kentucky2–⁠65–⁠7
Vanderbilt2–⁠64–⁠8
Missouri1–⁠75–⁠7
South Carolina1–⁠73–⁠9

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