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2015 North Carolina

11–⁠3 (8–⁠0 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Larry Fedora, finished No. 15 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

North Carolina in 2015, game by game: lost vs. South Carolina 13–17; won vs. North Carolina A&T 53–14; won vs. Illinois 48–14; won vs. Delaware 41–14; won at Georgia Tech 38–31; won vs. Wake Forest 50–14; won vs. Virginia 26–13; won at No. 23 Pittsburgh 26–19; won vs. Duke 66–31; won vs. Miami 59–21; won at Virginia Tech 30–27; won at NC State 45–34; lost vs. No. 1 Clemson 37–45; lost vs. No. 18 Baylor 38–49+39−11Lost 13–17 vs. South Carolina-4South CarolinaWon 53–14 vs. North Carolina A&T+39North Carolina …Won 48–14 vs. Illinois+34IllinoisWon 41–14 vs. Delaware+27DelawareWon 38–31 at Georgia Tech+7Georgia TechWon 50–14 vs. Wake Forest+36Wake ForestWon 26–13 vs. Virginia+13VirginiaWon 26–19 at No. 23 Pittsburgh+7No. 23 PittsburghWon 66–31 vs. Duke+35DukeWon 59–21 vs. Miami+38MiamiWon 30–27 at Virginia Tech+3Virginia TechWon 45–34 at NC State+11NC StateLost 37–45 vs. No. 1 Clemson-8No. 1 ClemsonLost 38–49 vs. No. 18 Baylor-11No. 18 Baylor
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsSouth CarolinaL 13–⁠1737%
Sep 12vsNorth Carolina A&TW 53–⁠1471%
Sep 19vsIllinoisW 48–⁠1459%
Sep 26vsDelawareW 41–⁠1484%
Oct 3atGeorgia TechW 38–⁠3133%
Oct 17vsWake ForestW 50–⁠1477%
Oct 24vsVirginiaW 26–⁠1376%
Oct 29at23PittsburghW 26–⁠1944%
Nov 7vsDukeW 66–⁠3160%
Nov 14vsMiamiW 59–⁠2169%
Nov 21atVirginia TechW 30–⁠2757%
Nov 28atNC StateW 45–⁠3457%
Dec 5vs1ClemsonACC Championship GameL 37–⁠4537%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvs18BaylorRussell Athletic BowlL 38–⁠4948%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Baylor 49–⁠38 in the Russell Athletic Bowl; No. 15 in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 13th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 127 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 10: 21
  2. Wk 11: 17
  3. Wk 12: 12
  4. Wk 13: 11
  5. Wk 14: 8
  6. Wk 15: 10
  7. Final: 15

ACC Coastal null champions8–⁠0 in the conference

Led the nationMack Hollins: yards per catch (24.8)

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
8–⁠0 shared first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 15 peak No. 8
Points
570–⁠343
Coach
Larry Fedora
Elo
1665 +169 this season
SP+ rating
20.0 No. 9 of 128; offense No. 7, defense No. 51, special teams No. 8
SRS
15.3 No. 11 of 128 in FBS
Returning
89% of last season’s EPA, No. 14 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 28 roster talent No. 26 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Seth Littrell
Defensive coordinator
Gene Chizik
Captains
Marquise Williams, Landon Turner, Shakeel Rashad, Jeff Schoettmer and Mack Hollins
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense5th of 128
  • Defense76th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted1st of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted71st of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2949%1.315th of 128
Defense0.1148%1.0476th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.28 off
0.09 def		50% off
46% def		—1st off
71st 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
Offense4.4own 321% allowed
Defense3.1own 282% 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 yardsMarquise Williams QB3,072 yds
Passing touchdownsMarquise Williams QB24 TD
Rushing yardsElijah Hood 1,463 yds
Rushing touchdownsElijah Hood 17 TD
Receiving yardsMack Hollins WR745 yds
Receiving touchdownsMack Hollins WR8 TD
InterceptionsM.J. Stewart CB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Jalen Dalton WDE★★★★No. 57
Tommy Hatton OC★★★★No. 178
William Sweet OT★★★★No. 236
Ty’Son Williams RB★★★★No. 284
Anthony Ratliff-Williams DUAL★★★No. 396

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.882
Running backs14.00.902
Receivers13.00.876
Offensive line24.00.917
Defensive line33.30.907
Defensive backs13.00.836
Whole class93.40.895

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 113

The 2015 roster

113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 35 have a stat line. See the roster

2015 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson8–⁠014–⁠12
North Carolina8–⁠011–⁠315
Florida State6–⁠210–⁠314
Pittsburgh6–⁠28–⁠5
Miami5–⁠38–⁠5
Louisville5–⁠38–⁠5
Duke4–⁠48–⁠5
Virginia Tech4–⁠47–⁠6
NC State3–⁠57–⁠6
Virginia3–⁠54–⁠8
Syracuse2–⁠64–⁠8
Georgia Tech1–⁠73–⁠9
Wake Forest1–⁠73–⁠9
Boston College0–⁠83–⁠9

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