CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2015 Nevada

7–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Mountain West Conference), coached by Brian Polian.

Schedule and results

Nevada in 2015, game by game: won vs. UC Davis 31–17; lost vs. No. 22 Arizona 20–44; lost at No. 17 Texas A&M 27–44; won at Buffalo 24–21; lost vs. UNLV 17–23; won vs. New Mexico 35–17; lost at Wyoming 21–28; won vs. Hawai’i 30–20; won at Fresno State 30–16; won vs. San José State 37–34; lost at Utah State 27–31; lost at San Diego State 14–31; won vs. Colorado State 28–23+18−24Won 31–17 vs. UC Davis+14UC DavisLost 20–44 vs. No. 22 Arizona-24No. 22 ArizonaLost 27–44 at No. 17 Texas A&M-17No. 17 Texas A&MWon 24–21 at Buffalo+3BuffaloLost 17–23 vs. UNLV-6UNLVWon 35–17 vs. New Mexico+18New MexicoLost 21–28 at Wyoming-7WyomingWon 30–20 vs. Hawai’i+10Hawai’iWon 30–16 at Fresno State+14Fresno StateWon 37–34 vs. San José State+3San José StateLost 27–31 at Utah State-4Utah StateLost 14–31 at San Diego State-17San Diego StateWon 28–23 vs. Colorado State+5Colorado State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsUC DavisW 31–⁠1785%
Sep 12vs22ArizonaL 20–⁠4441%
Sep 19at17Texas A&ML 27–⁠4421%
Sep 26atBuffaloW 24–⁠2139%
Oct 3vsUNLVL 17–⁠2371%
Oct 10vsNew MexicoW 35–⁠1764%
Oct 17atWyomingL 21–⁠2869%
Oct 24vsHawai’iW 30–⁠2066%
Nov 5atFresno StateW 30–⁠1653%
Nov 14vsSan José StateW 37–⁠3464%
Nov 21atUtah StateL 27–⁠3131%
Nov 28atSan Diego StateL 14–⁠3123%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsColorado StateArizona BowlW 28–⁠2340%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Colorado State 28–⁠23 in the Arizona Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 22nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 7th in Mountain West Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
341–⁠349
Coach
Brian Polian
Elo
1485 −1 this season
SP+ rating
-7.1 No. 94 of 128; offense No. 78, defense No. 98, special teams No. 103
SRS
−9.1 No. 97 of 128 in FBS
Returning
47% of last season’s EPA, No. 92 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 98 roster talent No. 99 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Nick Rolovich
Defensive coordinators
Scott Boone and Bill Teerlinck
Offense
Pistol
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense55th of 128
  • Defense97th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted81st of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted109th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1043%1.1755th of 128
Defense0.1446%1.1197th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.16 def		41% off
46% def		—81st off
109th 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
Offense3.2own 261% allowed
Defense3.1own 323% 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 yardsTyler Stewart QB2,139 yds
Passing touchdownsTyler Stewart QB15 TD
Rushing yardsJames Butler RB1,345 yds
Rushing touchdownsJames Butler RB10 TD
Receiving yardsJerico Richardson WR750 yds
Receiving touchdownsJarred Gipson TE5 TD
InterceptionsDameon Baber DB6 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Kori Collons OLB★★★No. 1352
Riley Brand OLB★★★No. 1694
Gabriel Sewell ILB★★★No. 1764
Ricky Thomas Jr. OLB★★★No. 1914
Dominic Christian WR★★★No. 1997

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers22.50.791
Offensive line22.50.777
Defensive line12.00.797
Linebackers43.00.818
Defensive backs22.00.765
Athletes and specialists22.00.778
Whole class132.50.792

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.

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 Mountain West Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
San Diego State8–⁠011–⁠3
Air Force6–⁠28–⁠6
Boise State5–⁠39–⁠4
Colorado State5–⁠37–⁠6
New Mexico5–⁠37–⁠6
Utah State5–⁠36–⁠7
Nevada4–⁠47–⁠6
San José State4–⁠46–⁠7
Fresno State2–⁠63–⁠9
UNLV2–⁠63–⁠9
Wyoming2–⁠62–⁠10
Hawai’i0–⁠83–⁠10

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