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2015 Michigan State

12–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Mark Dantonio, finished No. 6 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 2015, game by game: won at Western Michigan 37–24; won vs. No. 7 Oregon 31–28; won vs. Air Force 35–21; won vs. Central Michigan 30–10; won vs. Purdue 24–21; won at Rutgers 31–24; won at No. 12 Michigan 27–23; won vs. Indiana 52–26; lost at Nebraska 38–39; won vs. Maryland 24–7; won at No. 2 Ohio State 17–14; won vs. Penn State 55–16; won vs. No. 4 Iowa 16–13; lost vs. No. 2 Alabama 0–38+39−38Won 37–24 at Western Michigan+13Western MichiganWon 31–28 vs. No. 7 Oregon+3No. 7 OregonWon 35–21 vs. Air Force+14Air ForceWon 30–10 vs. Central Michigan+20Central MichiganWon 24–21 vs. Purdue+3PurdueWon 31–24 at Rutgers+7RutgersWon 27–23 at No. 12 Michigan+4No. 12 MichiganWon 52–26 vs. Indiana+26IndianaLost 38–39 at Nebraska-1NebraskaWon 24–7 vs. Maryland+17MarylandWon 17–14 at No. 2 Ohio State+3No. 2 Ohio StateWon 55–16 vs. Penn State+39Penn StateWon 16–13 vs. No. 4 Iowa+3No. 4 IowaLost 0–38 vs. No. 2 Alabama-38No. 2 Alabama
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4atWestern MichiganW 37–⁠2469%
Sep 12vs7OregonW 31–⁠2853%
Sep 19vsAir ForceW 35–⁠2177%
Sep 26vsCentral MichiganW 30–⁠1086%
Oct 3vsPurdueW 24–⁠2192%
Oct 10atRutgersW 31–⁠2473%
Oct 17at12MichiganW 27–⁠2359%
Oct 24vsIndianaW 52–⁠2688%
Nov 7atNebraskaL 38–⁠3971%
Nov 14vsMarylandW 24–⁠790%
Nov 21at2Ohio StateW 17–⁠1431%
Nov 28vsPenn StateW 55–⁠1682%
Dec 5vs4IowaBig Ten Championship GameW 16–⁠1361%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs2AlabamaCotton BowlL 0–⁠3839%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Alabama 38–⁠0 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 6 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

Big Ten champions7–⁠1 in the conference, won the Big Ten Championship Game

Johnny Unitas Golden Arm AwardConnor Cook, QB

Record
12–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 tied for 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 6 peak No. 2
Points
417–⁠304
Coach
Mark Dantonio
Elo
1767 +89 this season
SP+ rating
15.6 No. 20 of 128; offense No. 30, defense No. 25, special teams No. 46
SRS
13.9 No. 15 of 128 in FBS
Returning
60% of last season’s EPA, No. 66 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 23 roster talent No. 23 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Dave Warner and Jim Bollman
Defensive coordinators
Harlon Barnett and Mike Tressel
Captains
Jack Allen, Shilique Calhoun and Darien Harris
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense54th of 128
  • Defense31st of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted50th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted25th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1043%1.2754th of 128
Defense0.0241%1.2031st of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.12 off
0.01 def		45% off
40% def		—50th off
25th 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 322% allowed
Defense3.1own 273% 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 yardsConnor Cook QB3,131 yds
Passing touchdownsConnor Cook QB24 TD
Rushing yardsL.J. Scott RB699 yds
Rushing touchdownsL.J. Scott RB11 TD
Receiving yardsAaron Burbridge WR1,258 yds
Receiving touchdownsAaron Burbridge WR7 TD
InterceptionsDemetrious Cox DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

L.J. Scott RB★★★★No. 60
Kyonta Stallworth OG★★★★No. 181
Raequan Williams DT★★★★No. 207
David Dowell S★★★★No. 320
Josh Butler CB★★★★No. 327
Andrew Dowell RB★★★★No. 344

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.882
Running backs24.00.932
Receivers33.00.851
Offensive line14.00.923
Defensive line14.00.918
Linebackers23.00.886
Defensive backs33.70.891
Whole class133.50.891

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 1Jack Conklin OTTennessee Titans
Rd 3Shilique Calhoun DEOakland Raiders
Rd 4Connor Cook QBOakland Raiders
Rd 6Aaron Burbridge WRSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 7Donavon Clark OGSan Diego Chargers

Roster 108

The 2015 roster

108 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 31 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

5 first team, 3 second team

First 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.