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2015 West Virginia

8–⁠5 (4–⁠5 Big 12), coached by Dana Holgorsen.

Schedule and results

West Virginia in 2015, game by game: won vs. Georgia Southern 44–0; won vs. Liberty 41–17; won vs. Maryland 45–6; lost at No. 15 Oklahoma 24–44; lost vs. No. 21 Oklahoma State 26–33; lost at No. 2 Baylor 38–62; lost at No. 5 TCU 10–40; won vs. Texas Tech 31–26; won vs. Texas 38–20; won at Kansas 49–0; won vs. Iowa State 30–6; lost at Kansas State 23–24; won vs. Arizona State 43–42+49−30Won 44–0 vs. Georgia Southern+44Georgia SouthernWon 41–17 vs. Liberty+24LibertyWon 45–6 vs. Maryland+39MarylandLost 24–44 at No. 15 Oklahoma-20No. 15 OklahomaLost 26–33 vs. No. 21 Oklahoma State-7No. 21 Oklahoma StateLost 38–62 at No. 2 Baylor-24No. 2 BaylorLost 10–40 at No. 5 TCU-30No. 5 TCUWon 31–26 vs. Texas Tech+5Texas TechWon 38–20 vs. Texas+18TexasWon 49–0 at Kansas+49KansasWon 30–6 vs. Iowa State+24Iowa StateLost 23–24 at Kansas State-1Kansas StateWon 43–42 vs. Arizona State+1Arizona State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsGeorgia SouthernW 44–⁠063%
Sep 12vsLibertyW 41–⁠1777%
Sep 26vsMarylandW 45–⁠668%
Oct 3at15OklahomaL 24–⁠4436%
Oct 10vs21Oklahoma StateL 26–⁠3351%
Oct 17at2BaylorL 38–⁠6220%
Oct 29at5TCUL 10–⁠4018%
Nov 7vsTexas TechW 31–⁠2661%
Nov 14vsTexasW 38–⁠2060%
Nov 21atKansasW 49–⁠079%
Nov 28vsIowa StateW 30–⁠678%
Dec 5atKansas StateL 23–⁠2452%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvsArizona StateCactus BowlW 43–⁠4250%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Arizona State 43–⁠42 in the Cactus Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Big 12.

In program history: The 34th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 23
Record
8–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠5 tied for 5th in Big 12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 23
Points
442–⁠320
Coach
Dana Holgorsen
Elo
1595 +62 this season
SP+ rating
12.9 No. 27 of 128; offense No. 38, defense No. 20, special teams No. 112
SRS
7.9 No. 34 of 128 in FBS
Returning
37% of last season’s EPA, No. 109 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 35 roster talent No. 41 in FBS
Defensive coordinator
Tony Gibson
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense53rd of 128
  • Defense16th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted58th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted6th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1044%1.1753rd of 128
Defense-0.0336%1.1816th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.10 off
-0.04 def		45% off
36% def		—58th off
6th 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
Offense3.4own 302% allowed
Defense2.9own 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 yardsSkyler Howard QB3,145 yds
Passing touchdownsSkyler Howard QB26 TD
Rushing yardsWendell Smallwood RB1,519 yds
Rushing touchdownsWendell Smallwood RB9 TD
Receiving yardsShelton Gibson WR887 yds
Receiving touchdownsShelton Gibson WR9 TD
InterceptionsDaryl Worley CB6 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Tyrek Cole CB★★★★No. 157
Jovon Durante WR★★★★No. 159
David Sills V PRO★★★No. 484
Matt Jones OT★★★No. 493
Stone Wolfley SDE★★★No. 497

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.874
Receivers23.50.892
Offensive line23.00.853
Defensive line13.00.873
Linebackers13.00.858
Defensive backs14.00.932
Athletes and specialists13.00.822
Whole class93.20.872

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 1Karl Joseph SOakland Raiders
Rd 3Daryl Worley CBCarolina Panthers
Rd 4Nick Kwiatkoski ILBChicago Bears
Rd 5Wendell Smallwood RBPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 5K.J. Dillon SHouston Texans

Roster 129

The 2015 roster

129 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 30 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big 12

2 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2015 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2015 Big 12 standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma8–⁠111–⁠25
TCU7–⁠211–⁠27
Oklahoma State7–⁠210–⁠320
Baylor6–⁠310–⁠313
West Virginia4–⁠58–⁠5
Texas Tech4–⁠57–⁠6
Texas4–⁠55–⁠7
Kansas State3–⁠66–⁠7
Iowa State2–⁠73–⁠9
Kansas0–⁠90–⁠12

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