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2015 Michigan

10–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Jim Harbaugh, finished No. 12 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 2015, game by game: lost at Utah 17–24; won vs. Oregon State 35–7; won vs. UNLV 28–7; won vs. No. 22 BYU 31–0; won at Maryland 28–0; won vs. No. 13 Northwestern 38–0; lost vs. No. 7 Michigan State 23–27; won at Minnesota 29–26; won vs. Rutgers 49–16; won at Indiana 48–41; won at Penn State 28–16; lost vs. No. 8 Ohio State 13–42; won vs. No. 19 Florida 41–7+38−29Lost 17–24 at Utah-7UtahWon 35–7 vs. Oregon State+28Oregon StateWon 28–7 vs. UNLV+21UNLVWon 31–0 vs. No. 22 BYU+31No. 22 BYUWon 28–0 at Maryland+28MarylandWon 38–0 vs. No. 13 Northwestern+38No. 13 NorthwesternLost 23–27 vs. No. 7 Michigan State-4No. 7 Michigan StateWon 29–26 at Minnesota+3MinnesotaWon 49–16 vs. Rutgers+33RutgersWon 48–41 at Indiana+7IndianaWon 28–16 at Penn State+12Penn StateLost 13–42 vs. No. 8 Ohio State-29No. 8 Ohio StateWon 41–7 vs. No. 19 Florida+34No. 19 Florida
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3atUtahL 17–⁠2431%
Sep 12vsOregon StateW 35–⁠758%
Sep 19vsUNLVW 28–⁠778%
Sep 26vs22BYUW 31–⁠047%
Oct 3atMarylandW 28–⁠054%
Oct 10vs13NorthwesternW 38–⁠056%
Oct 17vs7Michigan StateL 23–⁠2741%
Oct 31atMinnesotaW 29–⁠2654%
Nov 7vsRutgersW 49–⁠1675%
Nov 14atIndianaW 48–⁠4169%
Nov 21atPenn StateW 28–⁠1651%
Nov 28vs8Ohio StateL 13–⁠4238%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs19FloridaCitrus BowlW 41–⁠747%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Florida 41–⁠7 in the Citrus Bowl; No. 12 in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 56th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 22
  2. Wk 6: 18
  3. Wk 7: 12
  4. Wk 8: 15
  5. Wk 9: 15
  6. Wk 10: 16
  7. Wk 11: 15
  8. Wk 12: 14
  9. Wk 13: 12
  10. Wk 14: 19
  11. Wk 15: 17
  12. Final: 12
Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 4th in Big Ten
AP final
No. 12 peak No. 12
Points
408–⁠213
Coach
Jim Harbaugh
Elo
1688 +192 this season
SP+ rating
19.7 No. 10 of 128; offense No. 34, defense No. 10, special teams No. 34
SRS
17.0 No. 7 of 128 in FBS
Returning
51% of last season’s EPA, No. 81 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 37 roster talent No. 9 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Tim Drevno
Defensive coordinators
D.J. Durkin and Greg Mattison
Captains
Joe Bolden and Joe Kerridge
Most valuable player
Jehu Chesson
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense44th of 128
  • Defense8th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted37th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted13th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1346%1.1344th of 128
Defense-0.0633%1.288th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.14 off
-0.02 def		46% off
34% def		—37th off
13th 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
Offense3.9own 332% allowed
Defense2.5own 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 yardsJake Rudock QB3,017 yds
Passing touchdownsJake Rudock QB20 TD
Rushing yardsDe’Veon Smith RB753 yds
Rushing touchdownsDe’Veon Smith RB6 TD
Receiving yardsJehu Chesson WR764 yds
Receiving touchdownsJehu Chesson WR9 TD
InterceptionsJeremy Clark CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Brian Cole ATH★★★★No. 72
Zach Gentry PRO★★★★No. 176
Tyree Kinnel S★★★★No. 193
Grant Newsome OT★★★★No. 220
Alex Malzone PRO★★★★No. 288
Tyrone Wheatley Jr. TE★★★★No. 311

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks24.00.913
Running backs13.00.874
Receivers23.50.876
Offensive line14.00.913
Defensive line23.00.873
Defensive backs14.00.921
Athletes and specialists23.50.887
Whole class113.50.891

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 3Graham Glasgow CDetroit Lions
Rd 4Willie Henry DTBaltimore Ravens
Rd 6Jake Rudock QBDetroit Lions

Roster 128

The 2015 roster

128 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 34 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

4 first team

First 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.