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2015 Notre Dame

10–⁠3, coached by Brian Kelly, finished No. 11 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Notre Dame in 2015, game by game: won vs. Texas 38–3; won at Virginia 34–27; won vs. No. 14 Georgia Tech 30–22; won vs. Massachusetts 62–27; lost at No. 12 Clemson 22–24; won vs. Navy 41–24; won vs. USC 41–31; won at No. 21 Temple 24–20; won at Pittsburgh 42–30; won vs. Wake Forest 28–7; won vs. Boston College 19–16; lost at No. 13 Stanford 36–38; lost vs. No. 7 Ohio State 28–44+35−16Won 38–3 vs. Texas+35TexasWon 34–27 at Virginia+7VirginiaWon 30–22 vs. No. 14 Georgia Tech+8No. 14 Georgia TechWon 62–27 vs. Massachusetts+35MassachusettsLost 22–24 at No. 12 Clemson-2No. 12 ClemsonWon 41–24 vs. Navy+17NavyWon 41–31 vs. USC+10USCWon 24–20 at No. 21 Temple+4No. 21 TempleWon 42–30 at Pittsburgh+12PittsburghWon 28–7 vs. Wake Forest+21Wake ForestWon 19–16 vs. Boston College+3Boston CollegeLost 36–38 at No. 13 Stanford-2No. 13 StanfordLost 28–44 vs. No. 7 Ohio State-16No. 7 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsTexasW 38–⁠364%
Sep 12atVirginiaW 34–⁠2763%
Sep 19vs14Georgia TechW 30–⁠2252%
Sep 26vsMassachusettsW 62–⁠2789%
Oct 3at12ClemsonL 22–⁠2438%
Oct 10vsNavyW 41–⁠2463%
Oct 17vsUSCW 41–⁠3163%
Oct 31at21TempleW 24–⁠2051%
Nov 7atPittsburghW 42–⁠3061%
Nov 14vsWake ForestW 28–⁠791%
Nov 21vsBoston CollegeW 19–⁠1684%
Nov 28at13StanfordL 36–⁠3839%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs7Ohio StateFiesta BowlL 28–⁠4433%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ohio State 44–⁠28 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 11 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 47th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 131 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

Butkus AwardJaylon Smith, OLB

2 consensus All-AmericansRonnie Stanley, OL; Jaylon Smith, OLB

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
—
AP final
No. 11 peak No. 4
Points
445–⁠313
Coach
Brian Kelly
Elo
1699 +115 this season
SP+ rating
22.4 No. 8 of 128; offense No. 6, defense No. 29, special teams No. 78
SRS
15.8 No. 10 of 128 in FBS
Returning
54% of last season’s EPA, No. 75 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 13 roster talent No. 8 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mike Sanford Jr.
Defensive coordinator
Brian VanGorder
Captains
Sheldon Day, Nick Martin, Joe Schmidt, Jaylon Smith and Matthias Farley
Most valuable player
Will Fuller
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3 multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense10th of 128
  • Defense72nd of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted6th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted76th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2448%1.2610th of 128
Defense0.1141%1.2572nd of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.25 off
0.10 def		49% off
41% def		—6th off
76th 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
Offense4.0own 292% allowed
Defense3.6own 271% 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 yardsDeShone Kizer QB2,884 yds
Passing touchdownsDeShone Kizer QB21 TD
Rushing yardsC.J. Prosise RB1,032 yds
Rushing touchdownsC.J. Prosise RB11 TD
Receiving yardsChris Brown WR597 yds
Receiving touchdownsChris Brown WR4 TD
InterceptionsCole Luke CB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Brandon Wimbush DUAL★★★★No. 46
Alize Mack TE★★★★No. 63
Tristen Hoge OC★★★★No. 89
Dexter Williams RB★★★★No. 94
Shaun Crawford CB★★★★No. 112
Josh Barajas OLB★★★★No. 133
Jerry Tillery OT★★★★No. 156
Equanimeous St. Brown WR★★★★No. 163

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.979
Running backs24.00.928
Receivers53.80.922
Offensive line33.70.922
Defensive line14.00.897
Linebackers34.00.921
Defensive backs23.50.912
Whole class173.80.923

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 1Ronnie Stanley OTBaltimore Ravens
Rd 1Will Fuller WRHouston Texans
Rd 2Jaylon Smith OLBDallas Cowboys
Rd 2Nick Martin CHouston Texans
Rd 3Keivarae Russell CBKansas City Chiefs
Rd 3C.J. Prosise RBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 4Sheldon Day DTJacksonville Jaguars

Roster 116

The 2015 roster

116 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 29 have a stat line. See the roster