2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season

2015 NCAA Division I FBS season
Number of teams	127 full members, 1 transitional
Duration	September 3, 2015 – December 12, 2015
Preseason AP #1	Ohio State Buckeyes
Post-season
Duration	December 19, 2015 – January 11, 2016 (excluding all-star games)
Bowl games	41 (including national championship game)
AP Poll #1	Alabama Crimson Tide
Coaches Poll #1	Alabama Crimson Tide
Heisman Trophy	Derrick Henry, Alabama
College Football Playoff
2016 College Football Playoff National Championship
Site	University of Phoenix Stadium Glendale, Arizona
Winner	Alabama Crimson Tide
Division I FBS football seasons
← 2014 2016 →

The 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level, began on September 3, 2015, the regular season ended December 12, 2015, and (not including all-star games) concluded on January 11, 2016 with the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship. This was the second season of the four-team College Football Playoff tournament system.

Rule changes

The following rule changes have been made by the NCAA Football Rules Committee for the 2015 season:^[1]

• Making eight-man officiating crews (including the Center Judge) standard in FBS. Various FBS conferences experimented with eight-man crews in the 2013 and 2014 seasons.
• Unsportsmanlike conduct (15 yards) penalties will be called on players who pull or yank opponents off piles (ex. fumbles).
• A 10-second runoff and resetting of the play clock to 40 seconds will occur if a defensive player's helmet comes off within the final minute of either half. Previously the play clock was set to 25 seconds and no runoff occurred.
• The five-yard penalty for a first offense sideline warning has been deleted, modifying a 2008 rule change. The second offense will be penalized five yards, followed by 15 yards (unsportsmanlike conduct) starting with the third offense.
• Officials will require players with illegal equipment (such as, but not limited to, "crop-top" jerseys that expose the back pads (popularized by Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott) and writing on eye block) to leave the field for one play to correct it. A time-out may be taken to correct the equipment and avoid the player having to sit out the one play.
• Instant replay can be used to review if the kicking team blocked the receiving team before an onside kick has gone 10 yards.
• Teams must have 22 minutes for pre-game warmups, which can be shortened by mutual agreement of both teams.
• The play clock will be reset to 40 seconds if the play clock reaches 25 seconds before the ball is ready for play. Previously it was reset if the play clock ran to 20 seconds before the ball was ready for play.
• Non-standard/overbuilt facemasks are prohibited.

A proposed rule to change the ineligible downfield rule from three yards to one yard past the line of scrimmage was tabled and not voted on, however it will be a point of emphasis for the season.

The use of advanced technology in games (such as wireless communication from one player on offense and defense to the bench, allow use of tablets by coaches for non-medical reasons, helmet cameras for players, etc.) is being studied by a committee for possible future implementation.

Conference realignment

Membership changes

School	Former conference	New conference
Charlotte 49ers	FCS Independent	Conference USA
Navy Midshipmen	FBS Independent	The American
UAB Blazers	Conference USA	Shut down football program (to be reinstated in 2017)

Other headlines

• June 1 – UAB, which had dropped football after the 2014 season, announced that it would reinstate it as early as 2016–17.^[2]
• July 21 – UAB announced that it had pushed back the return of football to the 2017 season.^[3]
• September 1 – The Sun Belt Conference announced that Coastal Carolina would become a full member of the conference on July 1, 2016. The Coastal Carolina football team, at the time of the announcement a member of the FCS Big South Conference along with the rest of the athletic program, will begin a transition to FBS after the 2015 season, join Sun Belt football in 2017, and become fully bowl-eligible in 2018.^[4]
• January 13, 2016 – The NCAA Division I council approved a rule that, from the 2016 season forward, allows FBS conferences to stage championship games regardless of their current membership numbers. The new rule, as originally proposed by the Big 12 Conference and amended by the Big Ten Conference, stipulates that a conference with fewer than 12 members can stage a championship game under either of the following circumstances:^[5]
  • The game involves two division winners, with each division having played a round-robin schedule.
  • The game involves the top two teams in the conference standings after a full round-robin conference schedule.

Upsets

Similar to the 2007 season, an unranked or lower-ranked opponent defeated a higher-ranked team several times over the course of the regular season, 55 in total as of December 5. This list does not include other upsets involving two unranked teams. The following list^[6] shows rankings as the AP Poll:

Winner	Score	Loser	Date
Northwestern	16–6	#21 Stanford	September 5
Texas A&M	38–17	#15 Arizona State	September 5
Toledo	16–12	#18 Arkansas	September 12
BYU	35–24	#18 Boise State	September 12
#15 Ole Miss	43–37	#02 #2 Alabama	September 19
Stanford	41–31	#06 #6 USC	September 19
Duke	34–20	#20 Georgia Tech	September 26
Michigan	31–0	#22 BYU	September 26
#18 Utah	62–20	#13 Oregon	September 26
Kentucky	21–13	#25 Missouri	September 26
Iowa	10–6	#19 Wisconsin	October 3
#25 Florida	38–10	#03 #3 Ole Miss	October 3
#12 Clemson	24–22	#06 #6 Notre Dame	October 3
#13 Alabama	38–10	#08 #8 Georgia	October 3
Arizona State	38–23	#08 #7 UCLA	October 3
Washington	17–12	#17 USC	October 8
Texas	24–17	#10 Oklahoma	October 10
#18 Michigan	38–0	#13 Northwestern	October 10
Tennessee	38–31	#19 Georgia	October 10
Utah State	52–26	#20 Boise State	October 16
Memphis	37–24	#13 Ole Miss	October 17
#10 Alabama	41–23	#09 #9 Texas A&M	October 17
UCLA	40–24	#20 California	October 22
Georgia Tech	22–16	#09 #9 Florida State	October 24
#24 Ole Miss	23–3	#15 Texas A&M	October 24
USC	42–24	#03 #3 Utah	October 24
North Carolina	26–19	#23 Pittsburgh	October 29
Miami (FL)	30–27	#22 Duke	October 31
Northern Illinois	32–27	#20 (CFP #24) Toledo	November 3
#12 (CFP #14) Oklahoma State	49–27	#05 #5 (CFP #8) TCU	November 7
Arkansas	53–52 OT	#19 (CFP #18) Ole Miss	November 7
Navy	45–20	#15 (CFP #13) Memphis	November 7
Nebraska	39–38	#067 #6 (CFP #7) Michigan State	November 7
Auburn	26–10	#25 (CFP #19) Texas A&M	November 7
#7 (CFP #4) Alabama	30–16	#04 #4 (CFP #2) LSU	November 7
Arkansas	31–14	#09 #9 (CFP #9) LSU	November 14
South Florida	44–23	#21 (CFP #22) Temple	November 14
Oregon	38–36	#07 #7 (CFP #7) Stanford	November 14
#12 (CFP #12) Oklahoma	44–34	#04 #4 (CFP #6) Baylor	November 14
Arizona	37–30 2OT	#10 (CFP #10) Utah	November 14
Washington State	31–27	#19 (CFP #18) UCLA	November 14
Connecticut	20–17	#13 (CFP #19) Houston	November 21
#9 (CFP #9) Michigan State	17–14	#2 (CFP #3) Ohio State	November 21
#25 (CFP #22) Ole Miss	38–17	#17 (CFP #15) LSU	November 21
UCLA	17–9	#18 (CFP #13) Utah	November 21
#10 (CFP #10) Baylor	45–35	#4 (CFP #6) Oklahoma State	November 21
#21 Houston	52–31	#16 (CFP #15) Navy	November 27
Western Michigan	35–30	#24 (CFP #24) Toledo	November 27
Washington	45–10	#20 (CFP #20) Washington State	November 27
#15 (CFP #19) TCU	28–21 2OT	#7 (CFP #7) Baylor	November 27
USC	40–21	#22 (CFP #22) UCLA	November 28
#13 (CFP #9) Stanford	38–36	#4 (CFP #6) Notre Dame	November 28
#14 (CFP #13) Florida State	27–2	#10 (CFP #12) Florida	November 28
Texas	23–17	#12 (CFP #12) Baylor	December 5
#5 (CFP #5) Michigan State	16–13	#4 (CFP #4) Iowa	December 5

Jacksonville State at Auburn game

On September 12, Auburn avoided a defeat that would have ranked with the biggest upsets in college football history with an overtime touchdown run to a 27-20 win over FCS foe Jacksonville State. Auburn had to score a touchdown in the final minute of regulation just to tie the game and then had to convert another touchdown in Auburn's first possession in overtime to win.^[7] No FCS team has defeated a ranked FBS team since August 31, 2013, when Eastern Washington beat Oregon State 49-46. An Auburn loss would have compared with Michigan's loss to Appalachian State on September 3, 2007.^[7] Jacksonville State, 41-point underdogs entering Saturday's game, nearly became just the second FCS team to defeat an AP Top 10 FBS opponent.^[8]

Upsets involving officiating

Miami vs. Duke

On October 31, Miami beat Duke 30-27 with a final eight lateral kickoff return for a touchdown. However, the Atlantic Coast Conference acknowledged the next day the kickoff return touchdown should not have counted as officials made four major errors during the play. The ACC determined that a Miami player's knee was down before releasing one of the eight laterals that allowed the play to happen, which was apparent both on video and in still pictures that were being circulated on social media late Saturday night. The ACC acknowledged that this call should have been overturned. "If called, this would have ended the game," the ACC said. The ACC also said that the officials should have called an illegal block during the return at Miami's 16-yard line, which would have given the Hurricanes an untimed down at their own 8-yard line. The league said the flag for a block in the back that was picked up — initially negating Miami's touchdown before officials conferred — was called correctly but that the referee didn’t properly communicate why the decision was made.^[9][10]

Nebraska vs. Michigan State

Michigan State lost 39-38 to Nebraska on November 7. Nebraska ran a 91-yard drive in 38 seconds, capped by Tommy Armstrong Jr.'s 30-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Reilly, leaving 17 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Before the catch, Reilly went out of bounds on his route, rendering him as an ineligible receiver. The officials determined that MSU cornerback Jermaine Edmondson had forced him out of bounds. However, replay footage showed Reilly had gone out of bounds on his own accord. Replay officials then reviewed the play to determine if Edmondson had forced Reilly out, though such a call is typically not review-able. The ruling on the field stood, solidifying Nebraska's game-winning touchdown. After the game Bill Carollo, the Big Ten's coordinator of officials, said in a statement via ESPN: "They can't review whether it was a force out/contact on the play. They can only review if there was clear evidence of no contact and he (Reilly) re-established himself in the field of play. If he goes out of bounds on his own with no contact, it's an illegal touch. Therefore the call stood."^[11]

Updated stadiums

No FBS programs opened new stadiums for the 2015 season. However, one school played its first season in FBS, and several other programs expanded or renovated their stadiums:

• Charlotte, playing its first season in FBS, debuted at the on-campus Jerry Richardson Stadium. The stadium opened for the 49ers' first season in 2013 with a capacity of 15,314, but was designed for quick expansion to as much as 40,000.
• Kentucky debuted a major renovation to Commonwealth Stadium. A $110 million project reduced the capacity from 67,530 to 61,000, and added a new recruiting plaza in the east end zone surrounded by a new student section, more than 20 new luxury boxes and 2,000 new club seats, new home-team facilities, a revamped exterior, and improved concourses.^[12]
• UCF took out about 2,000 seats from the east side of Bright House Networks Stadium, replacing them with a new club seating section with a capacity of about 1,000 that includes a beach area.^[13]
• Auburn debuted the largest video board in college football in Jordan–Hare Stadium. The video board measures 190 feet by 57. The project was expected to cost $13.9 million.
• Duke featured a newly renovated Wallace Wade Stadium. The renovations included removal of the track and lowering of the field by several feet; more seating capacity near field level along both sidelines and the north end zone; the replacement of bleachers on the west side of the stadium with Duke blue seats; new brick facades around much of the field; a brand-new, much larger video board and new speakers; a refresh of the concourse area around the top of the bowl, with new sidewalks and brick separating the concourse from the seating area; and new concession booths, restrooms, and concourse lighting along with a new elevator tower. Construction on a new press box, luxury boxes, and attached seats was ongoing throughout the season, and was expected to be complete in time for the 2016 season. These marked the first major upgrades to Wallace Wade Stadium in over 70 years.
• Kansas State debuted the Vanier Football Complex in the north end zone of Bill Snyder Family Stadium. This feature includes new seating, a video board, offices, locker rooms and strength training facilities. kstatesports.com
• Cincinnati debuted renovations to Nippert Stadium that increased the capacity to 40,000 and added premium seating, a new press box, a new pavilion, additional restrooms, upgraded concessions and improved concourses.
• Ole Miss announced plans to renovate Vaught–Hemingway Stadium during the 2015 season and the 2015–16 offseason. The project was intended to bring the stadium's ultimate capacity to 64,038. The stadium was to be turned into a complete bowl, adding club level seating, restrooms, concessions, etc. The renovation was planned for completion by the start of the 2016–17 season. This renovation was part of the Forward Together campaign, which also gave the Rebels a new basketball arena, The Pavilion at Ole Miss, right next to the football stadium.
• Texas A&M completed renovations to the west side and facade of Kyle Field, reducing the capacity from the previous season. The project cost over $450 million.

Television viewers and ratings

Most watched regular season games

• Excludes Conference Championships

Rank	Date	Matchup				Channel	Viewers	TV Rating	Significance
1	November 7, 8:00 ET	#2 LSU	16	#4 Alabama	30	CBS	11.06 Million	6.4	Rivalry
2	November 21, 3:30 ET	#9 Michigan State	17	#3 Ohio State	14	ABC	11.05 Million	6.6
3	November 28, 12:00 ET	#8 Ohio State	42	#10 Michigan	13		10.83 Million	6.4	The Game
4	September 7, 8:00 ET	#1 Ohio State	42	Virginia Tech	24	ESPN	10.59 Million	6.0
5	November 28, 3:30 ET	#2 Alabama	29	Auburn	13	CBS	9.29 Million	5.3	Iron Bowl
6	September 5, 8:00 ET	#20 Wisconsin	17	#3 Alabama	35	ABC	7.97 Million	4.3	Advocare Classic
7	September 12, 8:00 ET	#7 Oregon	28	#5 Michigan State	31		7.90 Million	4.8
8	October 3, 8:00 ET	#6 Notre Dame	22	#12 Clemson	24		7.65 Million	4.5
9	September 19, 9:00 ET	#15 Ole Miss	43	#2 Alabama	37	ESPN	7.61 Million	4.6
10	November 7, 3:30 ET	#16 Florida State	13	#1 Clemson	23	ABC	7.56 Million	4.7

Conference championship games

Rank	Date	Matchup				Channel	Viewers	TV Rating	Conference	Location
1	December 5, 4:00 ET	#18 Florida	15	#2 Alabama	29	CBS	12.8 Million	7.8	SEC	Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA
2	December 5, 8:19 ET	#5 Michigan State	16	#4 Iowa	13	FOX	9.8 Million	5.7	Big Ten	Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
3	December 5, 8:00 ET	#1 Clemson	45	#10 North Carolina	37	ABC	7.9 Million	4.1	ACC	Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
4	December 5, 7:45 ET	#20 USC	22	#7 Stanford	41	ESPN	2.6 Million	1.6	Pac-12	Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
5	December 5, 12:00 ET	#22 Temple	13	#19 Houston	24	ABC	2.5 Million	1.8	AAC	TDECU Stadium, Houston, TX
6	December 4, 7:27 ET	Bowling Green	34	Northern Illinois	14	ESPN2	1.0 Million	0.7	MAC	Ford Field, Detroit, MI
7	December 5, 12:00 ET	Southern Miss	28	Western Kentucky	45	ESPN2	488K	N/A	C-USA	Houchens Industries-L. T. Smith Stadium, Bowling Green, KY
8	December 5, 10:00 ET	Air Force	24	San Diego State	27	ESPN2	363K	N/A	MWC	Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, CA

College Football Playoff

Note: All games aired on ESPN

Game	Date		Matchup				Viewers	TV Rating
Orange Bowl	December 31, 2015	4:00 ET	#4 Oklahoma	17	#1 Clemson	37	15.64 Million	9.1
Cotton Bowl	December 31, 2015	8:00 ET	#3 Michigan State	0	#2 Alabama	38	18.55 Million	9.6
National Championship	January 11, 2016	8:30 ET	#2 Alabama	45	#1 Clemson	40	26.18 Million*	15.0

• ESPN Megacast

Conference standings

2015 American Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Division Temple x   7 – 1         10 – 4   South Florida   6 – 2         8 – 5   Cincinnati   4 – 4         7 – 6   Connecticut   4 – 4         6 – 7   East Carolina   3 – 5         5 – 7   UCF   0 – 8         0 – 12   West Division #8 Houston xy$   7 – 1         13 – 1   #18 Navy x   7 – 1         11 – 2   Memphis   5 – 3         9 – 4   Tulsa   3 – 5         6 – 7   Tulane   1 – 7         3 – 9   SMU   1 – 7         2 – 10   Championship: Houston 24, Temple 13 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant As of December 31, 2015; Rankings from AP Poll	2015 ACC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Atlantic Division #2 Clemson x$^   8 – 0         14 – 1   #14 Florida State   6 – 2         10 – 3   Louisville   5 – 3         8 – 5   NC State   3 – 5         7 – 6   Syracuse   2 – 6         4 – 8   Wake Forest   1 – 7         3 – 9   Boston College   0 – 8         3 – 9   Coastal Division #15 North Carolina x   8 – 0         11 – 3   Pittsburgh   6 – 2         8 – 5   Miami   5 – 3         8 – 5   Duke   4 – 4         8 – 5   Virginia Tech   4 – 4         7 – 6   Virginia   3 – 5         4 – 8   Georgia Tech   1 – 7         3 – 9   Championship: Clemson 45, North Carolina 37 ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions As of January 12, 2016; Rankings from AP Poll	2015 Big Ten football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Division #6 Michigan State xy$^   7 – 1         12 – 2   #4 Ohio State x   7 – 1         12 – 1   #12 Michigan   6 – 2         10 – 3   Penn State   4 – 4         7 – 6   Indiana   2 – 6         6 – 7   Rutgers   1 – 7         4 – 8   Maryland   1 – 7         3 – 9   West Division #9 Iowa x   8 – 0         12 – 2   #23 Northwestern   6 – 2         10 – 3   #21 Wisconsin   6 – 2         10 – 3   Nebraska   3 – 5         6 – 7   Minnesota   2 – 6         6 – 7   Illinois   2 – 6         5 – 7   Purdue   1 – 7         2 – 10   Championship: Michigan State 16, Iowa 13 ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant As of January 2, 2016; Rankings from AP Poll
2015 Big 12 football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #5 Oklahoma $^   8 – 1         11 – 2   #20 Oklahoma State   7 – 2         10 – 3   #7 TCU   7 – 2         11 – 2   #13 Baylor   6 – 3         10 – 3   West Virginia   4 – 5         8 – 5   Texas Tech   4 – 5         7 – 6   Texas   4 – 5         5 – 7   Kansas State   3 – 6         6 – 7   Iowa State   2 – 7         3 – 9   Kansas   0 – 9         0 – 12   ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	2015 Conference USA football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Division #24 WKU x$   8 – 0         12 – 2   Middle Tennessee   6 – 2         7 – 6   Marshall   6 – 2         10 – 3   FIU   3 – 5         5 – 7   Old Dominion   3 – 5         5 – 7   Florida Atlantic   3 – 5         3 – 9   Charlotte   0 – 8         2 – 10   West Division Southern Miss x   7 – 1         9 – 5   Louisiana Tech   6 – 2         9 – 4   UTSA   3 – 5         3 – 9   UTEP   3 – 5         5 – 7   Rice   3 – 5         5 – 7   North Texas   1 – 7         1 – 11   Championship: WKU 45, Southern Miss 28 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions As of 8:39, January 12, 2015 (UTC); Rankings from AP Poll	2015 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Division Bowling Green x$   7 – 1         10 – 4   Ohio   5 – 3         8 – 5   Akron   5 – 3         8 – 5   Buffalo   3 – 5         5 – 7   Kent State   2 – 6         3 – 9   Miami   2 – 6         3 – 9   UMass   2 – 6         3 – 9   West Division Northern Illinois xy   6 – 2         8 – 6   Western Michigan x   6 – 2         8 – 5   Toledo x   6 – 2         10 – 2   Central Michigan x   6 – 2         7 – 6   Ball State   2 – 6         3 – 9   Eastern Michigan   0 – 8         1 – 11   Championship: Bowling Green 34, Northern Illinois 14 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant As of December 26, 2015; Rankings from AP Poll
2015 Mountain West football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Mountain Division Air Force x   6 – 2         8 – 6   New Mexico   5 – 3         7 – 6   Utah State   5 – 3         6 – 7   Boise State   5 – 3         9 – 4   Colorado State   5 – 3         7 – 6   Wyoming   2 – 6         2 – 10   West Division San Diego State x$   8 – 0         11 – 3   Nevada   4 – 4         7 – 6   San Jose State   4 – 4         6 – 7   Fresno State   2 – 6         3 – 9   UNLV   2 – 6         3 – 9   Hawaii   0 – 8         3 – 10   Championship: San Diego State 27, Air Force 24 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions As of 04:57, 26 December 2015 (UTC); Rankings from AP Poll	2015 Pac-12 football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   North Division #3 Stanford x$   8 – 1         12 – 2   #19 Oregon   7 – 2         9 – 4   Washington State   6 – 3         9 – 4   California   4 – 5         8 – 5   Washington   4 – 5         7 – 6   Oregon State   0 – 9         2 – 10   South Division USC xy   6 – 3         8 – 6   #17 Utah x   6 – 3         10 – 3   UCLA   5 – 4         8 – 5   Arizona State   4 – 5         6 – 7   Arizona   3 – 6         7 – 6   Colorado   1 – 8         4 – 9   Championship: Stanford 41, USC 22 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant As of January 12, 2016; Rankings from AP Poll	2015 SEC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Division #25 Florida x   7 – 1         10 – 4   #22 Tennessee   5 – 3         9 – 4   Georgia   5 – 3         10 – 3   Vanderbilt   2 – 6         4 – 8   Kentucky   2 – 6         5 – 7   Missouri   1 – 7         5 – 7   South Carolina   1 – 7         3 – 9   West Division #1 Alabama x$#^   7 – 1         14 – 1   #10 Ole Miss   6 – 2         10 – 3   Arkansas   5 – 3         8 – 5   #16 LSU   5 – 3         9 – 3   Texas A&M   4 – 4         8 – 5   Mississippi State   4 – 4         9 – 4   Auburn   2 – 6         7 – 6   Championship: Alabama 29, Florida 15 # – College Football Playoff champion ^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll
2015 Sun Belt football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Arkansas State $   8 – 0         9 – 4   Appalachian State   7 – 1         11 – 2   Georgia Southern   6 – 2         9 – 4   Georgia State   5 – 3         6 – 7   South Alabama   3 – 5         5 – 7   Idaho   3 – 5         4 – 8   Troy   3 – 5         4 – 8   Louisiana–Lafayette   3 – 5         4 – 8   New Mexico State   3 – 5         3 – 9   Texas State   2 – 6         3 – 9   Louisiana–Monroe   1 – 7         2 – 11   $ – Conference champion As of December 23, 2015; Rankings from AP Poll	2015 Division I FBS independents football records Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #11 Notre Dame     –           10 – 3   BYU     –           9 – 4   Army     –           2 – 10   Rankings from AP Poll

Conference summaries

Power 5 Conferences

Conference	Champion	Runner-up	Score	Record	Offensive Player of the Year	Defensive Player of the Year	Coach of the Year
ACC	Clemson (Atlantic) CFP	North Carolina (Coastal)	Clemson 45–37	Clemson 13-0	Deshaun Watson, QB, Clemson	Jeremy Cash, S, Duke	Dabo Swinney, Clemson
Big 12	Oklahoma CFP	Oklahoma State	N/A	Oklahoma 11-1	Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma	Emmanuel Ogbah, DE, Oklahoma State & Andrew Billings, DT, Baylor	Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
Big Ten	Michigan State (East) CFP	Iowa (West)	Michigan St 16–13	Michigan State 12-1	Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Ohio State	Carl Nassib, DE, Penn St	Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
Pac-12	Stanford (North)	USC (South)	Stanford 41–22	Stanford 11-2	Christian McCaffrey, RB, Stanford	DeForest Buckner, DE, Oregon	Mike Leach, Washington State and David Shaw Stanford
SEC	Alabama (West) CFP	Florida (East)	Alabama 29–15	Alabama 12-1	Derrick Henry, RB, Alabama	Reggie Ragland, LB, Alabama	Jim McElwain, Florida

Group of Five Conferences

Note: Records are regular-season only, and do not include playoff games.

Conference	Champion	Runner Up	Score	Record	Offensive Player of the Year	Defensive Player of the Year	Coach of the Year
AAC	Houston (West)	Temple (East)	Houston 24–13	Houston 12-1	Keenan Reynolds, QB, Navy	Tyler Matakevich, LB, Temple	Ken Niumatalolo, Navy and Tom Herman, Houston
C-USA	WKU (East)	Southern Miss (West)	WKU 45–28	WKU 11-2	Brandon Doughty, QB, WKU (MVP) Nick Mullens, QB, Southern Miss (Offensive POY)	Evan McKelvey, LB, Marshall	Todd Monken, Southern Miss
MAC	Bowling Green (East)	Northern Illinois (West)	Bowling Green 34–14	Bowling Green 9-4	Matt Johnson, QB, Bowling Green	Jatavis Brown, LB, Akron	Matt Campbell, Toledo
MW	San Diego State (West)	Air Force (Mountain)	SDSU 27–24	San Diego State 10-3	Donnel Pumphrey, RB, San Diego State	Demontae Kazee, CB, San Diego State	Rocky Long, San Diego State
Sun Belt	Arkansas State	N/A	N/A	Arkansas State 9-3	Nick Arbuckle, QB, Georgia State (MVP) Larry Rose III, RB, New Mexico State (Offensive POY)	Ronald Blair, DE, Appalachian State	Trent Miles, Georgia State

Playoff qualifiers

Automatic berths for conference champions

Conference	Team	Appearance	Last bid	Result
ACC	Clemson	1st	Never	Never
Big Ten	Michigan State	1st	Never	Never
Big 12	Oklahoma	1st	Never	Never
Pac-12	Stanford*	1st	Never	Never
SEC	Alabama	2nd	2014	Semifinal (L – Ohio State)

• Big Ten – Ohio State (abstentions)
• Pac–12 – Stanford (abstentions)

Bowl eligibility

Bowl Eligible Teams

• American Athletic Conference (8): Memphis, Houston, Temple, Navy, South Florida, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Tulsa
• Atlantic Coast Conference (9): Clemson, Florida State, Duke, Pittsburgh, North Carolina, Miami (FL), North Carolina State, Louisville, Virginia Tech
• Big 12 Conference (7): Baylor, TCU, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, West Virginia, Kansas State
• Big Ten Conference (8): Ohio State, Michigan State, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Penn State, Northwestern, Wisconsin
• Conference USA (5): Western Kentucky, Marshall, Louisiana Tech, Southern Mississippi, Middle Tennessee State
• Independents (2): Notre Dame, BYU
• Mid-American Conference (7): Toledo, Bowling Green, Northern Illinois, Western Michigan, Ohio, Central Michigan, Akron
• Mountain West Conference (7): Boise State, San Diego State, Air Force, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah State, Colorado State
• Pac-12 Conference (10): Stanford, Utah, UCLA, Washington State, USC, Oregon, Arizona, California, Arizona State, Washington
• Southeastern Conference (10): LSU, Alabama, Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Texas A&M, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Auburn
• Sun Belt Conference (4): Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Appalachian State, Arkansas State

Total: 77

Bowl Ineligible Teams

• American Athletic Conference (4): Central Florida, East Carolina, SMU, Tulane
• Atlantic Coast Conference (5): Boston College, Georgia Tech, Syracuse, Wake Forest, Virginia
• Big 12 Conference (3): Iowa State, Kansas, Texas
• Big Ten Conference (6): Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota*, Nebraska*, Purdue, Rutgers
• Conference USA (8): Charlotte, North Texas, UTSA, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, UTEP, Rice, Old Dominion
• Independents (1): Army
• Mid-American Conference (6): Buffalo, Miami (OH), Eastern Michigan, Massachusetts, Ball State, Kent State
• Mountain West Conference (5): Wyoming, Hawaii, Fresno State, UNLV, San José State*
• Pac-12 Conference (2): Oregon State, Colorado
• Southeastern Conference (4): South Carolina, Vanderbilt, Missouri, Kentucky
• Sun Belt Conference (7): Louisiana-Lafayette, New Mexico State, Louisiana-Monroe, Idaho, South Alabama, Troy, Texas State

Note: Teams with Asterisk(*) qualified for bowls based on Academic Progress Rate, despite not having a bowl eligible record ^[14]

Total: 51

Postseason

Since the 2014–15 postseason, six College Football Playoff (CFP) bowl games have hosted two semifinal playoff games on a rotating basis. For this season, the Orange Bowl and the Cotton Bowl Classic will host the semifinal games, with the winners advancing to the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

	Semifinals					2016 Championship Game
	December 31 – Orange Bowl
	1	Clemson	37
	4	Oklahoma	17
						January 11 – National Championship
					1	Clemson	40
					2	Alabama	45
	December 31 – Cotton Bowl Classic
	2	Alabama	38
	3	Michigan State	0

Conference performance in bowl games

Conference	Total games	Wins	Losses	Pct.
SEC	11	9	2	.818
ACC	9	4	5	.444
Big Ten	10	5	5	.500
Pac-12	10	6	4	.600
Big 12	7	3	4	.429
MW	8	4	4	.500
The American	8	2	6	.250
C-USA	5	3	2	.600
MAC	7	3	4	.429
Independents	2	0	2	.000
Sun Belt	4	2	2	.500

Rankings

Final CFP rankings

CFP	School	Record	Bowl Game
1	Clemson Tigers	13–0	Orange Bowl
2	Alabama Crimson Tide	12–1	Cotton Bowl
3	Michigan State Spartans	12–1	Cotton Bowl
4	Oklahoma Sooners	11–1	Orange Bowl
5	Iowa Hawkeyes	12–1	Rose Bowl
6	Stanford Cardinal	11–2	Rose Bowl
7	Ohio State Buckeyes	11–1	Fiesta Bowl
8	Notre Dame Fighting Irish	10–2	Fiesta Bowl
9	Florida State Seminoles	10–2	Peach Bowl
10	North Carolina Tar Heels	11–2	Russell Athletic Bowl
11	TCU Horned Frogs	10–2	Alamo Bowl
12	Ole Miss Rebels	9–3	Sugar Bowl
13	Northwestern Wildcats	10–2	Outback Bowl
14	Michigan Wolverines	9–3	Citrus Bowl
15	Oregon Ducks	9–3	Alamo Bowl
16	Oklahoma State Cowboys	10–2	Sugar Bowl
17	Baylor Bears	9–3	Russell Athletic Bowl
18	Houston Cougars	12–1	Peach Bowl
19	Florida Gators	10–3	Citrus Bowl
20	LSU Tigers	8–3	Texas Bowl
21	Navy Midshipmen	10–2	Military Bowl
22	Utah Utes	9–3	Las Vegas Bowl
23	Tennessee Volunteers	8–4	Outback Bowl
24	Temple Owls	10–2	Boca Raton Bowl
25	USC Trojans	8–5	Holiday Bowl

Final rankings

Rank	Associated Press	USA TODAY/AFCA*
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25

* - The AFCA requires that their voters make the winner of the CFP Championship at the number one position in the final poll.
^≠ -

Awards and honors

Heisman Trophy

The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player.

Player	School	Position	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Derrick Henry	Alabama	RB	378	277	144	1832
Christian McCaffrey	Stanford	RB	290	246	177	1539
Deshaun Watson	Clemson	QB	148	240	241	1165

Other overall

• Archie Griffin Award (MVP): Deshaun Watson, Clemson
• AP Player of the Year: Christian McCaffrey, Stanford
• Chic Harley Award (Player of the Year): Christian McCaffrey, Stanford
• Maxwell Award (top player): Derrick Henry, Alabama
• SN Player of the Year: Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
• Walter Camp Award (top player): Derrick Henry, Alabama

Special overall

• Burlsworth Trophy (top player who began as walk-on): Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
• Paul Hornung Award (most versatile player): Christian McCaffrey, Stanford
• Campbell Trophy ("academic Heisman"): Ty Darlington, Oklahoma
• Wuerffel Trophy (humanitarian-athlete): Ty Darlington, Oklahoma

Offense

Quarterback

• Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback): Deshaun Watson, Clemson
• Johnny Unitas Award (senior/4th year quarterback): Connor Cook, Michigan State
• Kellen Moore Award (quarterback): Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
• Manning Award (quarterback): Deshaun Watson, Clemson
• Sammy Baugh Trophy (passing quarterback): Matt Johnson, Bowling Green

Running back

• Doak Walker Award (running back): Derrick Henry, Alabama
• Jim Brown Trophy (running back): Dalvin Cook, Florida State

Wide receiver

• Fred Biletnikoff Award (wide receiver): Corey Coleman, Baylor
• Paul Warfield Trophy (wide receiver): Roger Lewis, Bowling Green

Tight end

• John Mackey Award (tight end): Hunter Henry, Arkansas
• Ozzie Newsome Award (tight end): Jake Butt, Michigan

Lineman

• Dave Rimington Trophy (center): Ryan Kelly, Alabama
• Jim Parker Trophy (offensive lineman): Landon Turner, North Carolina

Defense

• Bronko Nagurski Trophy (defensive player): Tyler Matakevich, Temple
• Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player): Tyler Matakevich, Temple
• Lott Trophy (defensive impact): Carl Nassib, Penn State

Defensive line

• Bill Willis Award (defensive lineman): Myles Garrett, Texas A&M
• Dick Butkus Award (linebacker): Jaylon Smith, Notre Dame
• Jack Lambert Trophy (linebacker): Joe Schobert, Wisconsin
• Rotary Lombardi Award (defensive lineman/linebacker): Carl Nassib, Penn State
• Ted Hendricks Award (defensive end): Carl Nassib, Penn State

Defensive back

• Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back): Desmond King, Iowa
• Jack Tatum Trophy (defensive back): Desmond King, Iowa

Special teams

• Lou Groza Award (placekicker): Ka'imi Fairbairn, UCLA
• Vlade Award (placekicker): Aidan Schneider, Oregon
• Ray Guy Award (punter): Tom Hackett, Utah
• Jet Award (return specialist): Christian McCaffrey, Stanford

Other positional awards

• Outland Trophy (interior lineman on either offense or defense): Joshua Garnett, Stanford

Coaches

• AFCA Coach of the Year: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
• AP Coach of the Year: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
• Bobby Bowden National Collegiate Coach of the Year Award:
• Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
• Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
• Maxwell Coach of the Year:
• Paul "Bear" Bryant Award: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
• Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award:
• SN Coach of the Year: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
• The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award: Dabo Swinney, Clemson
• Woody Hayes Trophy: Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
• Walter Camp Coach of the Year: Dabo Swinney, Clemson

Assistants

• AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year: Don Brown, Boston College
• Broyles Award: Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma

All-Americans

Coaching changes

This is restricted to coaching changes taking place on or after May 1, 2015. For coaching changes that occurred earlier in 2015, see 2014 NCAA Division I FBS end-of-season coaching changes.

School	Outgoing coach	Date	Reason	Replacement
Ball State	Pete Lembo	December 22, 2015	Took job as special teams coordinator at Maryland	Mike Neu
Bowling Green	Dino Babers	December 5, 2015	Left for Syracuse	Mike Jinks
BYU	Bronco Mendenhall	December 4, 2015	Left for Virginia	Kalani Sitake
East Carolina	Ruffin McNeill	December 4, 2015	Fired	Scottie Montgomery
Georgia	Mark Richt	November 29, 2015	Fired[15]	Kirby Smart
Georgia Southern	Willie Fritz	December 11, 2015	Left for Tulane[16]	Dell McGee (interim)
Georgia Southern	Dell McGee (interim)	December 20, 2015	Permanent replacement[17]	Tyson Summers
Hawaii	Norm Chow	November 1, 2015	Fired[18]	Nick Rolovich
Illinois	Tim Beckman	August 28, 2015	Fired[19]	Bill Cubit
Illinois	Bill Cubit	March 5, 2016	Fired[20]	Lovie Smith
Iowa State	Paul Rhoads	November 22, 2015	Fired after the season[21]	Matt Campbell
Louisiana–Monroe	Todd Berry	November 14, 2015	Fired[22]	John Mumford (interim)
Louisiana–Monroe	John Mumford (interim)	December 14, 2015	Permanent replacement	Matt Viator
Maryland	Randy Edsall	October 11, 2015	Fired[23]	Mike Locksley (interim)
Maryland	Mike Locksley (interim)	December 2, 2015	Permanent replacement[24]	D. J. Durkin
Memphis	Justin Fuente	November 28, 2015	Left for Virginia Tech[25]	Mike Norvell
Miami	Al Golden	October 25, 2015	Fired[26]	Larry Scott (interim)
Miami	Larry Scott (interim)	December 2, 2015	Permanent replacement[27]	Mark Richt
Minnesota	Jerry Kill	October 28, 2015	Retired (health)[28]	Tracy Claeys
Missouri	Gary Pinkel	November 13, 2015	Resigned after the season (health)[29]	Barry Odom
North Texas	Dan McCarney	October 10, 2015	Fired[30]	Mike Canales (interim)
North Texas	Mike Canales (interim)	December 5, 2015	Permanent replacement[31]	Seth Littrell
Rutgers	Kyle Flood	November 29, 2015	Fired[32]	Chris Ash
Southern Mississippi	Todd Monken	January 24, 2016	Left for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as offensive coordinator	Jay Hopson
South Carolina	Steve Spurrier	October 12, 2015	Retired[33]	Shawn Elliott (interim)
South Carolina	Shawn Elliott (interim)	December 6, 2015	Permanent replacement[34]	Will Muschamp
Syracuse	Scott Shafer	November 23, 2015	Fired after the season[35]	Dino Babers
Texas State	Dennis Franchione	December 22, 2015	Retired	Everett Withers
Toledo	Matt Campbell	November 29, 2015	Left for Iowa State[36]	Jason Candle
Tulane	Curtis Johnson	November 28, 2015	Fired[37]	Willie Fritz
UCF	George O'Leary	October 25, 2015	Resigned/retired[38]	Danny Barrett (interim)
UCF	Danny Barrett (interim)	December 1, 2015	Permanent replacement	Scott Frost
USC	Steve Sarkisian	October 12, 2015	Fired[39]	Clay Helton
UTSA	Larry Coker	January 5, 2016	Resigned	Frank Wilson
Virginia	Mike London	November 29, 2015	Resigned[40]	Bronco Mendenhall
Virginia Tech	Frank Beamer	November 1, 2015	Retired after the season[41]	Justin Fuente

See also

• 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season

References

External links

• Media related to 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season at Wikimedia Commons