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2015 Temple

10–⁠4 (7–⁠1 American Athletic Conference), coached by Matt Rhule.

Schedule and results

Temple in 2015, game by game: won vs. Penn State 27–10; won at Cincinnati 34–26; won at Massachusetts 25–23; won at Charlotte 37–3; won vs. Tulane 49–10; won vs. UCF 30–16; won at East Carolina 24–14; lost vs. No. 9 Notre Dame 20–24; won at SMU 60–40; lost at South Florida 23–44; won vs. Memphis 31–12; won vs. UConn 27–3; lost at No. 17 Houston 13–24; lost vs. Toledo 17–32+39−21Won 27–10 vs. Penn State+17Penn StateWon 34–26 at Cincinnati+8CincinnatiWon 25–23 at Massachusetts+2MassachusettsWon 37–3 at Charlotte+34CharlotteWon 49–10 vs. Tulane+39TulaneWon 30–16 vs. UCF+14UCFWon 24–14 at East Carolina+10East CarolinaLost 20–24 vs. No. 9 Notre Dame-4No. 9 Notre DameWon 60–40 at SMU+20SMULost 23–44 at South Florida-21South FloridaWon 31–12 vs. Memphis+19MemphisWon 27–3 vs. UConn+24UConnLost 13–24 at No. 17 Houston-11No. 17 HoustonLost 17–32 vs. Toledo-15Toledo
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsPenn StateW 27–⁠1053%
Sep 12atCincinnatiW 34–⁠2635%
Sep 19atMassachusettsW 25–⁠2370%
Oct 2atCharlotteW 37–⁠378%
Oct 10vsTulaneW 49–⁠1075%
Oct 17vsUCFW 30–⁠1676%
Oct 22atEast CarolinaW 24–⁠1448%
Oct 31vs9Notre DameL 20–⁠2449%
Nov 6atSMUW 60–⁠4081%
Nov 14atSouth FloridaL 23–⁠4464%
Nov 21vsMemphisW 31–⁠1250%
Nov 28vsUConnW 27–⁠376%
Dec 5at17HoustonAmerican Athletic Championship GameL 13–⁠2434%
Dec 22Bowls & playoffvsToledoBoca Raton BowlL 17–⁠3244%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Toledo 32–⁠17 in the Boca Raton Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for first in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 9th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 92 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 8: 22
  2. Wk 9: 21
  3. Wk 10: 23
  4. Wk 11: 21
  5. Wk 13: 25
  6. Wk 14: 20
  7. Wk 15: 24

AAC East champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Bronko Nagurski TrophyTyler Matakevich, LB; also the Bednarik

Consensus All-AmericanTyler Matakevich, LB

Record
10–⁠4
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 20
Points
417–⁠281
Coach
Matt Rhule
Elo
1574 +90 this season
SP+ rating
6.0 No. 54 of 128; offense No. 83, defense No. 25, special teams No. 56
SRS
5.9 No. 47 of 128 in FBS
Returning
49% of last season’s EPA, No. 85 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 80 roster talent No. 85 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Marcus Satterfield
Defensive coordinator
Phil Snow
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense84th of 128
  • Defense13th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted91st of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted18th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0439%1.2684th of 128
Defense-0.0436%1.1713th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.05 off
-0.01 def		39% off
37% def		—91st off
18th 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
Offense3.5own 352% allowed
Defense2.6own 312% 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 yardsP.J. Walker QB2,973 yds
Passing touchdownsP.J. Walker QB19 TD
Rushing yardsJahad Thomas RB1,262 yds
Rushing touchdownsJahad Thomas RB17 TD
Receiving yardsRobby Anderson WR939 yds
Receiving touchdownsRobby Anderson WR7 TD
InterceptionsSean Chandler DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

T.J. Simmons RB★★★No. 459
Kareem Ali CB★★★No. 484
Patrick Anderson WR★★★No. 1670
Daishaun Grimes OLB★★★No. 1744
Jager Gardner ATH★★★No. 1749

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs42.50.806
Receivers42.50.782
Offensive line12.00.795
Defensive line42.00.778
Linebackers13.00.815
Defensive backs13.00.874
Athletes and specialists42.50.794
Whole class192.40.796

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 4Tavon Young CBBaltimore Ravens
Rd 5Matt Ioannidis DTWashington Redskins
Rd 7Tyler Matakevich ILBPittsburgh Steelers

Roster 130

The 2015 roster

130 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 34 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.