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2015 South Florida

8–⁠5 (6–⁠2 American Athletic Conference), coached by Willie Taggart.

Schedule and results

South Florida in 2015, game by game: won vs. Florida A&M 51–3; lost at No. 11 Florida State 14–34; lost at Maryland 17–35; lost vs. Memphis 17–24; won vs. Syracuse 45–24; won at UConn 28–20; won vs. SMU 38–14; lost at Navy 17–29; won at East Carolina 22–17; won vs. No. 21 Temple 44–23; won vs. Cincinnati 65–27; won at UCF 44–3; lost vs. No. 25 Western Kentucky 35–45+48−20Won 51–3 vs. Florida A&M+48Florida A&MLost 14–34 at No. 11 Florida State-20No. 11 Florida StateLost 17–35 at Maryland-18MarylandLost 17–24 vs. Memphis-7MemphisWon 45–24 vs. Syracuse+21SyracuseWon 28–20 at UConn+8UConnWon 38–14 vs. SMU+24SMULost 17–29 at Navy-12NavyWon 22–17 at East Carolina+5East CarolinaWon 44–23 vs. No. 21 Temple+21No. 21 TempleWon 65–27 vs. Cincinnati+38CincinnatiWon 44–3 at UCF+41UCFLost 35–45 vs. No. 25 Western Kentucky-10No. 25 Western Kentucky
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsFlorida A&MW 51–⁠376%
Sep 12at11Florida StateL 14–⁠3410%
Sep 19atMarylandL 17–⁠3530%
Oct 2vsMemphisL 17–⁠2425%
Oct 10vsSyracuseW 45–⁠2443%
Oct 17atUConnW 28–⁠2039%
Oct 24vsSMUW 38–⁠1469%
Oct 31atNavyL 17–⁠2923%
Nov 7atEast CarolinaW 22–⁠1735%
Nov 14vs21TempleW 44–⁠2336%
Nov 20vsCincinnatiW 65–⁠2748%
Nov 26atUCFW 44–⁠371%
Dec 21Bowls & playoffvs25Western KentuckyMiami Beach BowlL 35–⁠4533%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Western Kentucky 45–⁠35 in the Miami Beach Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 4th in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 12th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 28 on file).

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 4th in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
437–⁠298
Coach
Willie Taggart
Elo
1543 +168 this season
SP+ rating
3.6 No. 63 of 128; offense No. 61, defense No. 59, special teams No. 52
SRS
5.7 No. 49 of 128 in FBS
Returning
39% of last season’s EPA, No. 106 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 66 roster talent No. 61 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Danny Hope and David Reaves
Defensive coordinator
Tom Allen
Offense
Gulf Coast
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense32nd of 128
  • Defense43rd of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted41st of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted42nd of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1643%1.2732nd of 128
Defense0.0540%1.2743rd of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.14 off
0.04 def		43% off
40% def		—41st off
42nd 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
Offense3.7own 323% allowed
Defense2.9own 324% 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 yardsQuinton Flowers QB2,296 yds
Passing touchdownsQuinton Flowers QB22 TD
Rushing yardsMarlon Mack RB1,381 yds
Rushing touchdownsQuinton Flowers QB12 TD
Receiving yardsRodney Adams WR822 yds
Receiving touchdownsRodney Adams WR9 TD
InterceptionsDeatrick Nichols CB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Danny Thomas WDE★★★No. 786
Trevon Sands ATH★★★No. 788
Marlon Gonzalez SDE★★★No. 851
Ronnie Hoggins CB★★★No. 861
Billy Atterbury OT★★★No. 1306

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.821
Receivers23.00.829
Offensive line22.50.816
Defensive line33.00.846
Linebackers13.00.812
Defensive backs42.80.817
Athletes and specialists13.00.857
Whole class142.90.827

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 110

The 2015 roster

110 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 32 have a stat line. See the roster

2015 American Athletic Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Houston7–⁠113–⁠18
Navy7–⁠111–⁠218
Temple7–⁠110–⁠4
South Florida6–⁠28–⁠5
Memphis5–⁠39–⁠4
Cincinnati4–⁠47–⁠6
UConn4–⁠46–⁠7
Tulsa3–⁠56–⁠7
East Carolina3–⁠55–⁠7
Tulane1–⁠73–⁠9
SMU1–⁠72–⁠10
UCF0–⁠80–⁠12

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