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2015 Syracuse

4–⁠8 (2–⁠6 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Scott Shafer.

Schedule and results

Syracuse in 2015, game by game: won vs. Rhode Island 47–0; won vs. Wake Forest 30–17; won vs. Central Michigan 30–27; lost vs. No. 8 LSU 24–34; lost at South Florida 24–45; lost at Virginia 38–44; lost vs. No. 25 Pittsburgh 20–23; lost at No. 17 Florida State 21–45; lost at Louisville 17–41; lost vs. No. 1 Clemson 27–37; lost at NC State 29–42; won vs. Boston College 20–17+47−24Won 47–0 vs. Rhode Island+47Rhode IslandWon 30–17 vs. Wake Forest+13Wake ForestWon 30–27 vs. Central Michigan+3Central MichiganLost 24–34 vs. No. 8 LSU-10No. 8 LSULost 24–45 at South Florida-21South FloridaLost 38–44 at Virginia-6VirginiaLost 20–23 vs. No. 25 Pittsburgh-3No. 25 PittsburghLost 21–45 at No. 17 Florida State-24No. 17 Florida StateLost 17–41 at Louisville-24LouisvilleLost 27–37 vs. No. 1 Clemson-10No. 1 ClemsonLost 29–42 at NC State-13NC StateWon 20–17 vs. Boston College+3Boston College
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsRhode IslandW 47–⁠088%
Sep 12vsWake ForestW 30–⁠1763%
Sep 19vsCentral MichiganW 30–⁠2758%
Sep 26vs8LSUL 24–⁠3436%
Oct 10atSouth FloridaL 24–⁠4557%
Oct 17atVirginiaL 38–⁠4443%
Oct 24vs25PittsburghL 20–⁠2335%
Oct 31at17Florida StateL 21–⁠4510%
Nov 7atLouisvilleL 17–⁠4118%
Nov 14vs1ClemsonL 27–⁠3713%
Nov 21atNC StateL 29–⁠4220%
Nov 28vsBoston CollegeW 20–⁠1750%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Boston College 20–⁠17; unranked in the final AP poll; 11th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 116th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
2–⁠6 11th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
327–⁠372
Coach
Scott Shafer
Elo
1390 −57 this season
SP+ rating
-3.9 No. 86 of 128; offense No. 64, defense No. 101, special teams No. 85
SRS
−0.8 No. 73 of 128 in FBS
Returning
68% of last season’s EPA, No. 56 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 57 roster talent No. 66 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Tim Lester
Defensive coordinator
Chuck Bullough
Offense
West Coast
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense106th of 128
  • Defense106th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted84th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted105th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0039%1.18106th of 128
Defense0.1849%1.15106th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.06 off
0.15 def		43% off
48% def		—84th off
105th 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 312% allowed
Defense3.5own 281% 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 yardsEric Dungey QB1,298 yds
Passing touchdownsEric Dungey QB11 TD
Rushing yardsJordan Fredericks RB607 yds
Rushing touchdownsEric Dungey QB5 TD
Receiving yardsSteve Ishmael WR570 yds
Receiving touchdownsSteve Ishmael WR7 TD
InterceptionsAntwan Cordy DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Dontae Strickland ATH★★★No. 462
Steven Clark DT★★★No. 1344
Qaadir Sheppard OLB★★★No. 1419
Evan Adams OT★★★No. 1444
Jordan Fredericks RB★★★No. 1462

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs13.00.831
Offensive line32.70.808
Defensive line43.00.821
Linebackers23.00.828
Defensive backs12.00.779
Athletes and specialists32.70.817
Whole class142.80.816

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 7Riley Dixon PDenver Broncos

Roster 99

The 2015 roster

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

2015 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson8–⁠014–⁠12
North Carolina8–⁠011–⁠315
Florida State6–⁠210–⁠314
Pittsburgh6–⁠28–⁠5
Miami5–⁠38–⁠5
Louisville5–⁠38–⁠5
Duke4–⁠48–⁠5
Virginia Tech4–⁠47–⁠6
NC State3–⁠57–⁠6
Virginia3–⁠54–⁠8
Syracuse2–⁠64–⁠8
Georgia Tech1–⁠73–⁠9
Wake Forest1–⁠73–⁠9
Boston College0–⁠83–⁠9

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