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2015 Southern Miss

9–⁠5 (7–⁠1 Conference USA), coached by Todd Monken.

Schedule and results

Southern Miss in 2015, game by game: lost vs. Mississippi State 16–34; won vs. Austin Peay 52–6; won at Texas State 56–50; lost at Nebraska 28–36; won vs. North Texas 49–14; lost at Marshall 10–31; won vs. UTSA 32–10; won at Charlotte 44–10; won vs. UTEP 34–13; won at Rice 65–10; won vs. Old Dominion 56–31; won at Louisiana Tech 58–24; lost at Western Kentucky 28–45; lost vs. Washington 31–44+55−21Lost 16–34 vs. Mississippi State-18Mississippi Sta…Won 52–6 vs. Austin Peay+46Austin PeayWon 56–50 at Texas State+6Texas StateLost 28–36 at Nebraska-8NebraskaWon 49–14 vs. North Texas+35North TexasLost 10–31 at Marshall-21MarshallWon 32–10 vs. UTSA+22UTSAWon 44–10 at Charlotte+34CharlotteWon 34–13 vs. UTEP+21UTEPWon 65–10 at Rice+55RiceWon 56–31 vs. Old Dominion+25Old DominionWon 58–24 at Louisiana Tech+34Louisiana TechLost 28–45 at Western Kentucky-17Western KentuckyLost 31–44 vs. Washington-13Washington
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsMississippi StateL 16–⁠3423%
Sep 12vsAustin PeayW 52–⁠683%
Sep 19atTexas StateW 56–⁠5027%
Sep 26atNebraskaL 28–⁠3619%
Oct 3vsNorth TexasW 49–⁠1460%
Oct 9atMarshallL 10–⁠3115%
Oct 17vsUTSAW 32–⁠1056%
Oct 24atCharlotteW 44–⁠1065%
Oct 31vsUTEPW 34–⁠1367%
Nov 14atRiceW 65–⁠1043%
Nov 21vsOld DominionW 56–⁠3174%
Nov 28atLouisiana TechW 58–⁠2429%
Dec 5atWestern KentuckyConference USA Championship GameL 28–⁠4531%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsWashingtonHeart of Dallas BowlL 31–⁠4445%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Washington 44–⁠31 in the Heart of Dallas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 22nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 90 on file).

C-USA West champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Record
9–⁠5
Conference
7–⁠1 2nd in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
559–⁠358
Coach
Todd Monken
Elo
1539 +190 this season
SP+ rating
1.4 No. 70 of 128; offense No. 53, defense No. 86, special teams No. 26
SRS
0.4 No. 67 of 128 in FBS
Returning
69% of last season’s EPA, No. 55 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 87 roster talent No. 74 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Chip Lindsey
Defensive coordinator
David Duggan
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense15th of 128
  • Defense32nd of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted28th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted55th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2144%1.4615th of 128
Defense0.0340%1.1732nd of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
0.06 def		43% off
41% def		—28th off
55th 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
Offense3.6own 322% allowed
Defense3.2own 283% 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 yardsNick Mullens QB4,476 yds
Passing touchdownsNick Mullens QB38 TD
Rushing yardsIto Smith RB1,128 yds
Rushing touchdownsJalen Richard RB14 TD
Receiving yardsMichael Thomas WR1,391 yds
Receiving touchdownsMichael Thomas WR14 TD
InterceptionsKalan Reed DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Paxton Schrimsher OLB★★★No. 1626
Gabe Green DUAL★★★No. 1857
LaDarius Harris DT★★★No. 2042
Patrick Brooks RB★★★No. 2098
Drake Dorbeck OT★★No. 2162

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.810
Running backs13.00.799
Receivers12.00.781
Offensive line32.00.792
Defensive line32.30.786
Linebackers22.50.799
Athletes and specialists32.00.753
Whole class142.30.785

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 6Michael Thomas WRLos Angeles Rams
Rd 7Kalan Reed CBTennessee Titans

Roster 119

The 2015 roster

119 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 36 have a stat line. See the roster

2015 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Western Kentucky8–⁠012–⁠224
Southern Miss7–⁠19–⁠5
Marshall6–⁠210–⁠3
Louisiana Tech6–⁠29–⁠4
Middle Tennessee6–⁠27–⁠6
Rice3–⁠55–⁠7
Old Dominion3–⁠55–⁠7
Florida International3–⁠55–⁠7
UTEP3–⁠55–⁠7
UTSA3–⁠53–⁠9
Florida Atlantic3–⁠53–⁠9
North Texas1–⁠71–⁠11
Charlotte0–⁠82–⁠10

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