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2015 San Diego State

11–⁠3 (8–⁠0 Mountain West Conference), coached by Rocky Long.

Schedule and results

San Diego State in 2015, game by game: won vs. San Diego 37–3; lost at California 7–35; lost vs. South Alabama 27–34; lost at Penn State 21–37; won vs. Fresno State 21–7; won at Hawai’i 28–14; won at San José State 30–7; won vs. Utah State 48–14; won at Colorado State 41–17; won vs. Wyoming 38–3; won at UNLV 52–14; won vs. Nevada 31–14; won vs. Air Force 27–24; won vs. Cincinnati 42–7+38−28Won 37–3 vs. San Diego+34San DiegoLost 7–35 at California-28CaliforniaLost 27–34 vs. South Alabama-7South AlabamaLost 21–37 at Penn State-16Penn StateWon 21–7 vs. Fresno State+14Fresno StateWon 28–14 at Hawai’i+14Hawai’iWon 30–7 at San José State+23San José StateWon 48–14 vs. Utah State+34Utah StateWon 41–17 at Colorado State+24Colorado StateWon 38–3 vs. Wyoming+35WyomingWon 52–14 at UNLV+38UNLVWon 31–14 vs. Nevada+17NevadaWon 27–24 vs. Air Force+3Air ForceWon 42–7 vs. Cincinnati+35Cincinnati
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsSan DiegoW 37–⁠374%
Sep 12atCaliforniaL 7–⁠3554%
Sep 19vsSouth AlabamaL 27–⁠3468%
Sep 26atPenn StateL 21–⁠3733%
Oct 3vsFresno StateW 21–⁠763%
Oct 10atHawai’iW 28–⁠1452%
Oct 17atSan José StateW 30–⁠750%
Oct 23vsUtah StateW 48–⁠1444%
Oct 31atColorado StateW 41–⁠1752%
Nov 14vsWyomingW 38–⁠390%
Nov 21atUNLVW 52–⁠1475%
Nov 28vsNevadaW 31–⁠1477%
Dec 5vsAir ForceMountain West Championship GameW 27–⁠2468%
Dec 24Bowls & playoffvsCincinnatiHawai’i BowlW 42–⁠764%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Cincinnati 42–⁠7 in the Hawai’i Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Mountain West Conference champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 86 on file).

Mountain West Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference, won the Mountain West Championship Game

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Mountain West Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
450–⁠230
Coach
Rocky Long
Elo
1672 +149 this season
SP+ rating
8.0 No. 47 of 128; offense No. 68, defense No. 37, special teams No. 8
SRS
5.6 No. 50 of 128 in FBS
Returning
67% of last season’s EPA, No. 58 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 70 roster talent No. 70 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Jeff Horton
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense25th of 128
  • Defense11th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted48th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted19th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1844%1.1925th of 128
Defense-0.0537%1.2211th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.12 off
-0.01 def		42% off
38% def		—48th off
19th 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
Offense3.8own 333% allowed
Defense2.4own 275% 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 yardsMaxwell Smith QB1,529 yds
Passing touchdownsMaxwell Smith QB13 TD
Rushing yardsDonnel Pumphrey RB1,653 yds
Rushing touchdownsDonnel Pumphrey RB17 TD
Receiving yardsMikah Holder WR439 yds
Receiving touchdownsMikah Holder WR6 TD
InterceptionsDamontae Kazee CB8 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Desean Holmes WR★★★★No. 221
Kyahva Tezino OLB★★★★No. 249
Juwan Washington RB★★★No. 1447
Jatory Sparks-Brown RB★★★No. 1562
Dwayne Parchment RB★★★No. 1564

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.821
Running backs33.00.827
Receivers52.60.815
Offensive line22.00.761
Defensive line22.00.772
Linebackers43.00.830
Whole class172.60.810

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; 25 have a stat line. See the roster

2015 Mountain West Conference standings

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.