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2015 USC

8–⁠6 (6–⁠3 Pac-12), coached by Steve Sarkisian, then Clay Helton (interim, remainder of season).

Schedule and results

USC in 2015, game by game: won vs. Arkansas State 55–6; won vs. Idaho 59–9; lost vs. Stanford 31–41; won at Arizona State 42–14; lost vs. Washington 12–17; lost at No. 14 Notre Dame 31–41; won vs. No. 3 Utah 42–24; won at California 27–21; won vs. Arizona 38–30; won at Colorado 27–24; lost at No. 23 Oregon 28–48; won vs. No. 22 UCLA 40–21; lost vs. No. 7 Stanford 22–41; lost vs. No. 23 Wisconsin 21–23+50−20Won 55–6 vs. Arkansas State+49Arkansas StateWon 59–9 vs. Idaho+50IdahoLost 31–41 vs. Stanford-10StanfordWon 42–14 at Arizona State+28Arizona StateLost 12–17 vs. Washington-5WashingtonLost 31–41 at No. 14 Notre Dame-10No. 14 Notre DameWon 42–24 vs. No. 3 Utah+18No. 3 UtahWon 27–21 at California+6CaliforniaWon 38–30 vs. Arizona+8ArizonaWon 27–24 at Colorado+3ColoradoLost 28–48 at No. 23 Oregon-20No. 23 OregonWon 40–21 vs. No. 22 UCLA+19No. 22 UCLALost 22–41 vs. No. 7 Stanford-19No. 7 StanfordLost 21–23 vs. No. 23 Wisconsin-2No. 23 Wisconsin
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsArkansas StateW 55–⁠676%
Sep 12vsIdahoW 59–⁠992%
Sep 19vsStanfordL 31–⁠4159%
Sep 26atArizona StateW 42–⁠1444%
Oct 8vsWashingtonL 12–⁠1771%
Oct 17at14Notre DameL 31–⁠4137%
Oct 24vs3UtahW 42–⁠2443%
Oct 31atCaliforniaW 27–⁠2160%
Nov 7vsArizonaW 38–⁠3071%
Nov 13atColoradoW 27–⁠2478%
Nov 21at23OregonL 28–⁠4839%
Nov 28vs22UCLAW 40–⁠2155%
Dec 5vs7StanfordPac-12 Championship GameL 22–⁠4140%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvs23WisconsinHoliday BowlL 21–⁠2348%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Wisconsin 23–⁠21 in the Holiday Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 55th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 8
  2. Wk 2: 8
  3. Wk 3: 6
  4. Wk 4: 19
  5. Wk 5: 17
  6. Wk 6: 17
  7. Wk 12: 22
  8. Wk 14: 24

Pac-12 South champions6–⁠3 in the conference, shared with Utah

Record
8–⁠6
Conference
6–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Pac-12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 6
Points
475–⁠360
Coach
Steve Sarkisian, then Clay Helton (interim, remainder of season)
Elo
1647 +25 this season
SP+ rating
16.8 No. 17 of 128; offense No. 20, defense No. 41, special teams No. 19
SRS
10.0 No. 25 of 128 in FBS
Returning
53% of last season’s EPA, No. 77 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 2 roster talent No. 2 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Clay Helton and Tee Martin
Defensive coordinator
Justin Wilcox
Captains
Cody Kessler, Anthony Sarao, Su’a Cravens, Max Tuerk and Antwaun Woods
Offense
Multiple
Defense
Multiple 3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense20th of 128
  • Defense48th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted24th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted26th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2047%1.2420th of 128
Defense0.0644%1.1348th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
0.02 def		46% off
41% def		—24th off
26th 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
Offense4.0own 282% allowed
Defense3.4own 301% 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 yardsCody Kessler QB3,536 yds
Passing touchdownsCody Kessler QB29 TD
Rushing yardsRonald Jones II 987 yds
Rushing touchdownsRonald Jones II 8 TD
Receiving yardsJuJu Smith-Schuster WR1,454 yds
Receiving touchdownsJuJu Smith-Schuster WR10 TD
InterceptionsCameron Smith ILB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Iman Marshall CB★★★★★No. 4
Rasheem Green DT★★★★★No. 21
Chuma Edoga OG★★★★★No. 26
Osa Masina OLB★★★★★No. 33
Ronald Jones II RB★★★★No. 40
Porter Gustin OLB★★★★No. 41
John Houston Jr. OLB★★★★No. 49
Marvell Tell III S★★★★No. 59

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks24.00.948
Running backs33.30.915
Receivers14.00.915
Offensive line34.00.924
Defensive line34.30.955
Linebackers44.30.967
Defensive backs44.30.972
Whole class204.00.948

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 2Su’a Cravens SWashington Redskins
Rd 3Max Tuerk CSan Diego Chargers
Rd 3Cody Kessler QBCleveland Browns
Rd 6Kevon Seymour CBBuffalo Bills

Roster 117

The 2015 roster

117 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 37 have a stat line. See the roster

2015 Pac-12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Stanford8–⁠112–⁠23
Oregon7–⁠29–⁠419
Utah6–⁠310–⁠317
Washington State6–⁠39–⁠4
USC6–⁠38–⁠6
UCLA5–⁠48–⁠5
California4–⁠58–⁠5
Washington4–⁠57–⁠6
Arizona State4–⁠56–⁠7
Arizona3–⁠67–⁠6
Colorado1–⁠84–⁠9
Oregon State0–⁠92–⁠10

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