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2015 Memphis

9–⁠4 (5–⁠3 American Athletic Conference), coached by Justin Fuente, then Darrell Dickey (interim, bowl game).

Schedule and results

Memphis in 2015, game by game: won vs. Missouri State 63–7; won at Kansas 55–23; won at Bowling Green 44–41; won vs. Cincinnati 53–46; won at South Florida 24–17; won vs. No. 13 Ole Miss 37–24; won at Tulsa 66–42; won vs. Tulane 41–13; lost vs. Navy 20–45; lost at No. 16 Houston 34–35; lost at Temple 12–31; won vs. SMU 63–0; lost vs. Auburn 10–31+63−25Won 63–7 vs. Missouri State+56Missouri StateWon 55–23 at Kansas+32KansasWon 44–41 at Bowling Green+3Bowling GreenWon 53–46 vs. Cincinnati+7CincinnatiWon 24–17 at South Florida+7South FloridaWon 37–24 vs. No. 13 Ole Miss+13No. 13 Ole MissWon 66–42 at Tulsa+24TulsaWon 41–13 vs. Tulane+28TulaneLost 20–45 vs. Navy-25NavyLost 34–35 at No. 16 Houston-1No. 16 HoustonLost 12–31 at Temple-19TempleWon 63–0 vs. SMU+63SMULost 10–31 vs. Auburn-21Auburn
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsMissouri StateW 63–⁠787%
Sep 12atKansasW 55–⁠2367%
Sep 19atBowling GreenW 44–⁠4154%
Sep 24vsCincinnatiW 53–⁠4666%
Oct 2atSouth FloridaW 24–⁠1775%
Oct 17vs13Ole MissW 37–⁠2456%
Oct 23atTulsaW 66–⁠4275%
Oct 31vsTulaneW 41–⁠1388%
Nov 7vsNavyL 20–⁠4566%
Nov 14at16HoustonL 34–⁠3537%
Nov 21atTempleL 12–⁠3150%
Nov 28vsSMUW 63–⁠087%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsAuburnBirmingham BowlL 10–⁠3154%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Auburn 31–⁠10 in the Birmingham Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 5th in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 84 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 8: 18
  2. Wk 9: 16
  3. Wk 10: 15
  4. Wk 11: 25
Record
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 5th in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 15
Points
522–⁠355
Coach
Justin Fuente, then Darrell Dickey (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1568 +7 this season
SP+ rating
8.0 No. 47 of 128; offense No. 35, defense No. 82, special teams No. 1
SRS
7.9 No. 34 of 128 in FBS
Returning
77% of last season’s EPA, No. 37 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 77 roster talent No. 96 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Darrell Dickey and Brad Cornelsen
Defensive coordinator
Galen Scott
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense28th of 128
  • Defense69th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted26th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted45th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1745%1.2028th of 128
Defense0.1044%1.1769th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
0.05 def		45% off
42% def		—26th off
45th 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
Offense4.2own 331% allowed
Defense3.8own 263% 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 yardsPaxton Lynch QB3,776 yds
Passing touchdownsPaxton Lynch QB28 TD
Rushing yardsDoroland Dorceus RB661 yds
Rushing touchdownsDoroland Dorceus RB8 TD
Receiving yardsMose Frazier WR797 yds
Receiving touchdownsAnthony Miller WR5 TD
InterceptionsReggis Ball DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Jared Gentry DT★★★No. 1331
Drew Kyser OC★★★No. 1331
Joseph Prevost OLB★★★No. 1571
Tre Hamilton WR★★★No. 1727
Tony Pollard APB★★★No. 1799

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.740
Running backs33.00.806
Receivers32.30.790
Offensive line32.30.791
Defensive line62.70.799
Linebackers42.30.777
Defensive backs12.00.791
Athletes and specialists22.00.746
Whole class232.40.786

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 1Paxton Lynch QBDenver Broncos

Roster 112

The 2015 roster

112 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 33 have a stat line. See the roster

2015 American Athletic Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Houston7–⁠113–⁠18
Navy7–⁠111–⁠218
Temple7–⁠110–⁠4
South Florida6–⁠28–⁠5
Memphis5–⁠39–⁠4
Cincinnati4–⁠47–⁠6
UConn4–⁠46–⁠7
Tulsa3–⁠56–⁠7
East Carolina3–⁠55–⁠7
Tulane1–⁠73–⁠9
SMU1–⁠72–⁠10
UCF0–⁠80–⁠12

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