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2015 Minnesota

6–⁠7 (2–⁠6 Big Ten), coached by Jerry Kill, then Tracy Claeys (remainder of season).

Schedule and results

Minnesota in 2015, game by game: lost vs. No. 2 TCU 17–23; won at Colorado State 23–20; won vs. Kent State 10–7; won vs. Ohio 27–24; lost at No. 16 Northwestern 0–27; won at Purdue 41–13; lost vs. Nebraska 25–48; lost vs. No. 15 Michigan 26–29; lost at No. 1 Ohio State 14–28; lost at No. 8 Iowa 35–40; won vs. Illinois 32–23; lost vs. Wisconsin 21–31; won vs. Central Michigan 21–14+28−27Lost 17–23 vs. No. 2 TCU-6No. 2 TCUWon 23–20 at Colorado State+3Colorado StateWon 10–7 vs. Kent State+3Kent StateWon 27–24 vs. Ohio+3OhioLost 0–27 at No. 16 Northwestern-27No. 16 NorthwesternWon 41–13 at Purdue+28PurdueLost 25–48 vs. Nebraska-23NebraskaLost 26–29 vs. No. 15 Michigan-3No. 15 MichiganLost 14–28 at No. 1 Ohio State-14No. 1 Ohio StateLost 35–40 at No. 8 Iowa-5No. 8 IowaWon 32–23 vs. Illinois+9IllinoisLost 21–31 vs. Wisconsin-10WisconsinWon 21–14 vs. Central Michigan+7Central Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vs2TCUL 17–⁠2340%
Sep 12atColorado StateW 23–⁠2041%
Sep 19vsKent StateW 10–⁠780%
Sep 26vsOhioW 27–⁠2463%
Oct 3at16NorthwesternL 0–⁠2741%
Oct 10atPurdueW 41–⁠1367%
Oct 17vsNebraskaL 25–⁠4858%
Oct 31vs15MichiganL 26–⁠2946%
Nov 7at1Ohio StateL 14–⁠2811%
Nov 14at8IowaL 35–⁠4021%
Nov 21vsIllinoisW 32–⁠2363%
Nov 28vsWisconsinL 21–⁠3139%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsCentral MichiganQuick Lane BowlW 21–⁠1445%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Central Michigan 21–⁠14 in the Quick Lane Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 79th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 9th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
292–⁠327
Coach
Jerry Kill, then Tracy Claeys (remainder of season)
Elo
1524 −30 this season
SP+ rating
8.1 No. 46 of 128; offense No. 72, defense No. 35, special teams No. 5
SRS
0.5 No. 65 of 128 in FBS
Returning
53% of last season’s EPA, No. 77 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 63 roster talent No. 64 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Matt Limegrover
Defensive coordinator
Tracy Claeys
Captains
K.J. Maye, Mitch Leidner, Briean Boddy-Calhoun and Eric Murray
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense87th of 128
  • Defense55th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted68th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted60th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0440%1.1487th of 128
Defense0.0743%1.0655th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.08 off
0.08 def		43% off
43% def		—68th off
60th 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 283% allowed
Defense3.4own 292% 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 yardsMitch Leidner QB2,701 yds
Passing touchdownsMitch Leidner QB14 TD
Rushing yardsShannon Brooks RB709 yds
Rushing touchdownsShannon Brooks RB7 TD
Receiving yardsDrew Wolitarsky WR524 yds
Receiving touchdownsBrandon Lingen TE3 TD
InterceptionsBriean Boddy-Calhoun DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Quinn Oseland OT★★★No. 755
Tyler Moore OC★★★No. 788
Ted Stieber OT★★★No. 1221
Jaylen Waters ILB★★★No. 1221
James Johannesson RB★★★No. 1326

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs33.00.822
Receivers23.00.817
Offensive line52.80.818
Defensive line23.00.827
Linebackers32.70.782
Defensive backs43.00.819
Athletes and specialists32.00.728
Whole class222.80.802

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 4Eric Murray CBKansas City Chiefs
Rd 4De’Vondre Campbell OLBAtlanta Falcons

Roster 118

The 2015 roster

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

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.