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2015 Wake Forest

3–⁠9 (1–⁠7 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Dave Clawson.

Schedule and results

Wake Forest in 2015, game by game: won vs. Elon 41–3; lost at Syracuse 17–30; won at Army 17–14; lost vs. Indiana 24–31; lost vs. No. 11 Florida State 16–24; won at Boston College 3–0; lost at North Carolina 14–50; lost vs. NC State 17–35; lost vs. Louisville 19–20; lost at No. 6 Notre Dame 7–28; lost at No. 1 Clemson 13–33; lost vs. Duke 21–27+38−36Won 41–3 vs. Elon+38ElonLost 17–30 at Syracuse-13SyracuseWon 17–14 at Army+3ArmyLost 24–31 vs. Indiana-7IndianaLost 16–24 vs. No. 11 Florida State-8No. 11 Florida StateWon 3–0 at Boston College+3Boston CollegeLost 14–50 at North Carolina-36North CarolinaLost 17–35 vs. NC State-18NC StateLost 19–20 vs. Louisville-1LouisvilleLost 7–28 at No. 6 Notre Dame-21No. 6 Notre DameLost 13–33 at No. 1 Clemson-20No. 1 ClemsonLost 21–27 vs. Duke-6Duke
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsElonW 41–⁠384%
Sep 12atSyracuseL 17–⁠3037%
Sep 19atArmyW 17–⁠1446%
Sep 26vsIndianaL 24–⁠3148%
Oct 3vs11Florida StateL 16–⁠2416%
Oct 10atBoston CollegeW 3–⁠024%
Oct 17atNorth CarolinaL 14–⁠5023%
Oct 24vsNC StateL 17–⁠3536%
Oct 30vsLouisvilleL 19–⁠2028%
Nov 14at6Notre DameL 7–⁠289%
Nov 21at1ClemsonL 13–⁠336%
Nov 28vsDukeL 21–⁠2737%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Duke 27–⁠21; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 12th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 92nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 119 on file).

Record
3–⁠9
Conference
1–⁠7 tied for 12th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
209–⁠295
Coach
Dave Clawson
Elo
1353 −57 this season
SP+ rating
-4.5 No. 88 of 128; offense No. 112, defense No. 50, special teams No. 33
SRS
−2.8 No. 82 of 128 in FBS
Returning
20% of last season’s EPA, No. 123 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 51 roster talent No. 69 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Warren Ruggiero
Defensive coordinator
Mike Elko
Captains
Dylan Intemann, Alex Kinal, Brandon Chubb, Hunter Williams and Ryan Janvion
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense120th of 128
  • Defense82nd of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted121st of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted69th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.1134%1.30120th of 128
Defense0.1242%1.2282nd of 128
Opponent-adjusted-0.06 off
0.09 def		37% off
40% def		—121st off
69th 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
Offense2.7own 262% allowed
Defense3.0own 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 yardsJohn Wolford QB1,791 yds
Passing touchdownsJohn Wolford QB9 TD
Rushing yardsTyler Bell RB451 yds
Rushing touchdownsKendall Hinton WR7 TD
Receiving yardsCortez Lewis WR611 yds
Receiving touchdownsCam Serigne TE4 TD
InterceptionsBrad Watson DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Scott Washington WR★★★No. 772
Amari Henderson S★★★No. 1507
Charles Wade Jr. ATH★★★No. 1512
Justin Strnad OLB★★★No. 1548
Jessie Bates III S★★★No. 1742

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs13.00.803
Receivers23.00.832
Offensive line12.00.782
Defensive line22.50.797
Linebackers23.00.816
Defensive backs23.00.822
Athletes and specialists22.50.780
Whole class122.80.807

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 97

The 2015 roster

97 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 25 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.