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2015 Wisconsin

10–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Paul Chryst, finished No. 21 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 2015, game by game: lost vs. No. 3 Alabama 17–35; won vs. Miami (OH) 58–0; won vs. Troy 28–3; won vs. Hawai’i 28–0; lost vs. Iowa 6–10; won at Nebraska 23–21; won vs. Purdue 24–7; won at Illinois 24–13; won vs. Rutgers 48–10; won at Maryland 31–24; lost vs. No. 20 Northwestern 7–13; won at Minnesota 31–21; won vs. USC 23–21+58−18Lost 17–35 vs. No. 3 Alabama-18No. 3 AlabamaWon 58–0 vs. Miami (OH)+58Miami (OH)Won 28–3 vs. Troy+25TroyWon 28–0 vs. Hawai’i+28Hawai’iLost 6–10 vs. Iowa-4IowaWon 23–21 at Nebraska+2NebraskaWon 24–7 vs. Purdue+17PurdueWon 24–13 at Illinois+11IllinoisWon 48–10 vs. Rutgers+38RutgersWon 31–24 at Maryland+7MarylandLost 7–13 vs. No. 20 Northwestern-6No. 20 NorthwesternWon 31–21 at Minnesota+10MinnesotaWon 23–21 vs. USC+2USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vs3AlabamaL 17–⁠3541%
Sep 12vsMiami (OH)W 58–⁠087%
Sep 19vsTroyW 28–⁠385%
Sep 26vsHawai’iW 28–⁠082%
Oct 3vsIowaL 6–⁠1066%
Oct 10atNebraskaW 23–⁠2150%
Oct 17vsPurdueW 24–⁠788%
Oct 24atIllinoisW 24–⁠1366%
Oct 31vsRutgersW 48–⁠1078%
Nov 7atMarylandW 31–⁠2475%
Nov 21vs20NorthwesternL 7–⁠1373%
Nov 28atMinnesotaW 31–⁠2161%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsUSCHoliday BowlW 23–⁠2152%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat USC 23–⁠21 in the Holiday Bowl; No. 21 in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 13th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 20
  2. Wk 3: 24
  3. Wk 4: 22
  4. Wk 5: 19
  5. Wk 11: 23
  6. Wk 12: 21
  7. Wk 14: 25
  8. Wk 15: 23
  9. Final: 21
Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 4th in Big Ten
AP final
No. 21 peak No. 19
Points
348–⁠178
Coach
Paul Chryst
Elo
1683 +37 this season
SP+ rating
15.1 No. 21 of 128; offense No. 76, defense No. 3, special teams No. 42
SRS
10.1 No. 24 of 128 in FBS
Returning
56% of last season’s EPA, No. 70 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 41 roster talent No. 37 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Joe Rudolph
Defensive coordinator
Dave Aranda
Captains
Michael Caputo, Alex Erickson, Joe Schobert and Joel Stave
Most valuable player
Joe Schobert
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense63rd of 128
  • Defense5th of 128
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted56th of 128
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted20th of 128
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0844%1.1263rd of 128
Defense-0.0733%1.125th of 128
Opponent-adjusted0.11 off
-0.00 def		44% off
36% def		—56th off
20th 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
Offense3.8own 352% allowed
Defense2.1own 323% 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 yardsJoel Stave QB2,687 yds
Passing touchdownsJoel Stave QB11 TD
Rushing yardsDare Ogunbowale RB819 yds
Rushing touchdownsDare Ogunbowale RB7 TD
Receiving yardsAlex Erickson WR978 yds
Receiving touchdownsAustin Traylor TE4 TD
InterceptionsTanner McEvoy S6 INT

Top recruits in the 2015 class

Arrington Farrar S★★★★No. 274
Jon Dietzen OT★★★★No. 336
Kyle Penniston TE★★★★No. 342
Kevin Estes OT★★★No. 383
David Moorman OT★★★No. 391

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

The 2015 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.811
Receivers33.00.809
Offensive line33.30.887
Defensive line23.00.832
Linebackers33.00.829
Defensive backs32.70.790
Whole class153.00.828

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 4Joe Schobert OLBCleveland Browns
Rd 6Derek Watt FBSan Diego Chargers

Roster 106

The 2015 roster

106 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2015 line; 32 have a stat line. See the roster

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 2 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 Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Iowa8–⁠012–⁠29
Ohio State7–⁠112–⁠14
Michigan State7–⁠112–⁠26
Northwestern6–⁠210–⁠323
Wisconsin6–⁠210–⁠321
Michigan6–⁠210–⁠312
Penn State4–⁠47–⁠6
Nebraska3–⁠56–⁠7
Minnesota2–⁠66–⁠7
Indiana2–⁠66–⁠7
Illinois2–⁠65–⁠7
Rutgers1–⁠74–⁠8
Maryland1–⁠73–⁠9
Purdue1–⁠72–⁠10

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