CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2015 UConn

6–⁠7 (4–⁠4 American Athletic Conference), coached by Bob Diaco.

Schedule and results

UConn in 2015, game by game: won vs. Villanova 20–15; won vs. Army 22–17; lost at No. 22 Missouri 6–9; lost vs. Navy 18–28; lost at BYU 13–30; won at UCF 40–13; lost vs. South Florida 20–28; lost at Cincinnati 13–37; won vs. East Carolina 31–13; won at Tulane 7–3; won vs. No. 13 Houston 20–17; lost at No. 25 Temple 3–27; lost vs. Marshall 10–16+27−24Won 20–15 vs. Villanova+5VillanovaWon 22–17 vs. Army+5ArmyLost 6–9 at No. 22 Missouri-3No. 22 MissouriLost 18–28 vs. Navy-10NavyLost 13–30 at BYU-17BYUWon 40–13 at UCF+27UCFLost 20–28 vs. South Florida-8South FloridaLost 13–37 at Cincinnati-24CincinnatiWon 31–13 vs. East Carolina+18East CarolinaWon 7–3 at Tulane+4TulaneWon 20–17 vs. No. 13 Houston+3No. 13 HoustonLost 3–27 at No. 25 Temple-24No. 25 TempleLost 10–16 vs. Marshall-6Marshall
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsVillanovaW 20–⁠1543%
Sep 12vsArmyW 22–⁠1757%
Sep 19at22MissouriL 6–⁠913%
Sep 26vsNavyL 18–⁠2833%
Oct 2atBYUL 13–⁠3020%
Oct 10atUCFW 40–⁠1327%
Oct 17vsSouth FloridaL 20–⁠2861%
Oct 24atCincinnatiL 13–⁠3724%
Oct 30vsEast CarolinaW 31–⁠1337%
Nov 7atTulaneW 7–⁠348%
Nov 21vs13HoustonW 20–⁠1726%
Nov 28at25TempleL 3–⁠2724%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsMarshallSt. Petersburg BowlL 10–⁠1625%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Marshall 16–⁠10 in the St. Petersburg Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 14th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 72 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
223–⁠253
Coach
Bob Diaco
Elo
1432 +73 this season
SP+ rating
-6.3 No. 91 of 128; offense No. 118, defense No. 43, special teams No. 81
SRS
−4.5 No. 87 of 128 in FBS
Returning
27% of last season’s EPA, No. 120 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 99 roster talent No. 89 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Frank Verducci
Defensive coordinator
Anthony Poindexter
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense109th of 128
  • Defense27th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted111th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted30th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0340%1.07109th of 128
Defense0.0041%1.0927th of 128
Opponent-adjusted-0.01 off
0.02 def		40% off
42% def		—111th off
30th 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
Offense2.6own 302% allowed
Defense2.6own 302% 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 yardsBryant Shirreffs QB2,078 yds
Passing touchdownsBryant Shirreffs QB9 TD
Rushing yardsArkeel Newsome RB792 yds
Rushing touchdownsArkeel Newsome RB6 TD
Receiving yardsNoel Thomas WR719 yds
Receiving touchdownsNoel Thomas WR3 TD
InterceptionsJamar Summers CB8 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Nazir Williams OLB★★★No. 1632
Kevin Murphy DT★★★No. 1704
Aaron Garland S★★★No. 1718
David Ryslik SDE★★★No. 1744
Philippe Okounam SDE★★★No. 1762

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.803
Receivers62.20.785
Offensive line32.00.776
Defensive line72.70.802
Linebackers13.00.821
Defensive backs33.00.805
Athletes and specialists22.50.791
Whole class232.50.795

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 112

The 2015 roster

112 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 29 have a stat line. See the roster

2015 American Athletic Conference standings

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.