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2015 Ohio State

12–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Urban Meyer, finished No. 4 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 2015, game by game: won at Virginia Tech 42–24; won vs. Hawai’i 38–0; won vs. Northern Illinois 20–13; won vs. Western Michigan 38–12; won at Indiana 34–27; won vs. Maryland 49–28; won vs. Penn State 38–10; won at Rutgers 49–7; won vs. Minnesota 28–14; won at Illinois 28–3; lost vs. No. 9 Michigan State 14–17; won at No. 12 Michigan 42–13; won vs. No. 8 Notre Dame 44–28+42−3Won 42–24 at Virginia Tech+18Virginia TechWon 38–0 vs. Hawai’i+38Hawai’iWon 20–13 vs. Northern Illinois+7Northern Illino…Won 38–12 vs. Western Michigan+26Western MichiganWon 34–27 at Indiana+7IndianaWon 49–28 vs. Maryland+21MarylandWon 38–10 vs. Penn State+28Penn StateWon 49–7 at Rutgers+42RutgersWon 28–14 vs. Minnesota+14MinnesotaWon 28–3 at Illinois+25IllinoisLost 14–17 vs. No. 9 Michigan State-3No. 9 Michigan StateWon 42–13 at No. 12 Michigan+29No. 12 MichiganWon 44–28 vs. No. 8 Notre Dame+16No. 8 Notre Dame
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 7atVirginia TechW 42–⁠2470%
Sep 12vsHawai’iW 38–⁠091%
Sep 19vsNorthern IllinoisW 20–⁠1379%
Sep 26vsWestern MichiganW 38–⁠1290%
Oct 3atIndianaW 34–⁠2779%
Oct 10vsMarylandW 49–⁠2891%
Oct 17vsPenn StateW 38–⁠1083%
Oct 24atRutgersW 49–⁠781%
Nov 7vsMinnesotaW 28–⁠1489%
Nov 14atIllinoisW 28–⁠385%
Nov 21vs9Michigan StateL 14–⁠1769%
Nov 28at12MichiganW 42–⁠1362%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs8Notre DameFiesta BowlW 44–⁠2867%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Notre Dame 44–⁠28 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 4 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

Big Ten East champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Michigan State

2 consensus All-AmericansTaylor Decker, OL; Joey Bosa, DL

Record
12–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 tied for 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 4 peak No. 1
Points
464–⁠196
Coach
Urban Meyer
Elo
1860 +107 this season
SP+ rating
29.5 No. 1 of 128; offense No. 12, defense No. 6, special teams No. 12
SRS
21.0 No. 2 of 128 in FBS
Returning
83% of last season’s EPA, No. 25 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 7 roster talent No. 3 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Ed Warinner and Tim Beck
Defensive coordinators
Luke Fickell and Chris Ash
Captains
J.T. Barrett, Jacoby Boren, Joshua Perry and Tyvis Powell
Offense
Spread
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense26th of 128
  • Defense14th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted22nd of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted14th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1850%1.1126th of 128
Defense-0.0435%1.2114th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
-0.02 def		50% off
35% def		—22nd off
14th 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 343% allowed
Defense2.7own 262% 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 yardsCardale Jones QB1,460 yds
Passing touchdownsJ.T. Barrett QB11 TD
Rushing yardsEzekiel Elliott RB1,821 yds
Rushing touchdownsEzekiel Elliott RB23 TD
Receiving yardsMichael Thomas WR781 yds
Receiving touchdownsMichael Thomas WR9 TD
InterceptionsTyvis Powell S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Justin Hilliard OLB★★★★★No. 35
Jerome Baker ATH★★★★No. 61
Mike Weber RB★★★★No. 75
Torrance Gibson ATH★★★★No. 82
Jashon Cornell SDE★★★★No. 95
Eric Glover-Williams CB★★★★No. 99
Isaiah Prince OT★★★★No. 101
Matthew Burrell OG★★★★No. 110

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.900
Running backs14.00.963
Receivers24.00.917
Offensive line33.70.927
Defensive line33.70.924
Linebackers24.50.950
Defensive backs43.50.880
Athletes and specialists33.30.905
Whole class193.70.915

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 1Joey Bosa DESan Diego Chargers
Rd 1Ezekiel Elliott RBDallas Cowboys
Rd 1Eli Apple CBNew York Giants
Rd 1Taylor Decker OTDetroit Lions
Rd 1Darron Lee OLBNew York Jets
Rd 2Michael Thomas WRNew Orleans Saints
Rd 2Vonn Bell SNew Orleans Saints
Rd 3Adolphus Washington DTBuffalo Bills
Rd 3Braxton Miller WRHouston Texans
Rd 3Nick Vannett TESeattle Seahawks
Rd 4Joshua Perry ILBSan Diego Chargers
Rd 4Cardale Jones QBBuffalo Bills

Roster 116

The 2015 roster

116 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 26 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

7 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second 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.