2015_Auburn_Tigers_football_team

2015 Auburn Tigers football team

2015 Auburn Tigers football team

American college football season


The 2015 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers played their home games at Jordan–Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama and competed in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by third-year head coach Gus Malzahn. They finished the season 7–6, 2–6 in SEC play to finish in last place in the Western Division. They were invited to the Birmingham Bowl where they defeated Memphis.

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Before the season

Departures

The Tigers would lose 18 seniors to graduation as well as 2 juniors who would choose to forgo their senior season in pursuit of an earlier NFL career. The Tigers would lose 12 more players from the 2014 team due to various reasons.

NamePositionYearReason
Chad SladeOGrSRGraduation/NFL (Houston Texans—FA)
Jeff WhitakerDTrSRGraduation
LaDarius OwensDErSRGraduation
Jonathon MincyCBrSRGraduation/NFL (Atlanta Falcons—FA)
Trovon ReedCBrSRGraduation/NFL (Seattle Seahawks—FA)
Corey GrantRBrSRGraduation/NFL (Jacksonville Jaguars—FA)
Nick MarshallQBSRGraduation/NFL (Jacksonville Jaguars—FA)
Cameron Artis-PayneRBSRGraduation/NFL (Carolina Panthers—5th Round)
Quan BrayWRSRGraduation/NFL (Indianapolis Colts—FA)
C. J. UzomahTESRGraduation/NFL (Cincinnati Bengals—5th Round)
Brandon FulseTESRGraduation/NFL (Chicago Bears—FA)
Reese DismukesCSRGraduation/NFL (Pittsburgh Steelers—FA)
Gabe WrightDTSRGraduation/NFL (Detroit Lions—4th Round)
Angelo BlacksonDTSRGraduation/NFL (Tennessee Titans—4th Round)
Ben BradleyDTSRGraduation
Jermaine WhiteheadSSRGraduation/NFL (San Francisco 49ers—FA)
Robensen TherezieSSRGraduation/NFL (Atlanta Falcons—FA)
Brandon KingSSRGraduation/NFL (New England Patriots—FA)
Jaylon DensonWRrJRGraduation (injury forced him to end career)
Anthony SwainLBrJRChose to graduate and transfer
Sammie CoatesWRrJRNFL (Pittsburgh Steelers—3rd Round)
Patrick MillerOTJRNFL (San Francisco 49ers—FA)
Derrick MoncriefLB/SJRTransferred
Joe TurnerCBJRTransferred
Elijah DanielDESODismissed
Khari HardingLBSOTransferred
Mackenro AlexanderSSOTransferred
Kamryn MeltonCBrFRTransferred
Dominick WalkerWRrFRTransferred
Jimmy HutchinsonPrFRChose to end football career
Jakell MitchellTEFRMurdered on December 14, 2014
Kalvaraz BessentCBFRTransferred

Returning starters

Returning players that started all or a significant number of games in the 2014 season.

Offense

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Indicates player was a starter in 2013 but missed all of 2014 due to injury.

Recruiting class

The Tigers would go on to land another top 10 recruiting class in 2015 (#3 by Scout, #7 by Rivals, #7 by ESPN, and #9 by 247). The signing class was highlighted by Byron Cowart (DE)--widely considered the #1 recruit in the nation in the 2015 recruiting cycle. All of the players would qualify academically and enroll over the summer.

The Tigers would also add three transfer players: graduate student Blake Countess (CB) from Michigan who is able to play immediately, as well as Darius James (OL) from Texas and Jamel Dean (CB) from Ohio State, both of whom must sit out one year to satisfy the NCAA's transfer rule.

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Spring game

The Tigers spring game 'A-Day' was held on Saturday April 18. Team Auburn defeated team Tigers 24–14 with wide receiver Myron Burton and safety Tray Matthews earning offensive and defensive MVP honors respectively. 62,143 fans attended the game making it the highest attended spring game of the year in which the fans had to pay to attend ($5), and the 4th most attended Auburn spring game after 2013, 2014, and 2010.

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Auburn A-Day Game

at Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, Alabama

  • Date: April 18, 2015
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Temperature: 70 °F (21 °C) • Wind 3 mph (4.8 km/h) S • Weather: Cloudy
  • Game attendance: 62,143
  • TV announcers (SEC Network+): Dave Baker (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analyst), Maria Taylor (sideline reporter)

Personnel

Roster and staff

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Depth chart

Official Depth Chart as of 9/1/2015[1][2]

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Schedule

Auburn announced their 2015 football schedule on October 14, 2014. The 2015 schedule consist of 7 home games and 4 away games in the regular season. One game is at a neutral site in Atlanta, Georgia against the Louisville Cardinals in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game on September 5. The Tigers will host SEC foes Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss, and will travel to Arkansas, Kentucky, LSU, and Texas A&M, also the Tigers made it to the Birmingham Bowl which is played at Legion Field.[3]

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[4]

Game summaries

Louisville

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2015 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game
Louisville Cardinals vs #6 Auburn Tigers – Game summary

at Georgia DomeAtlanta, Georgia

It was announced on August 29, 2013, that Auburn and Louisville would meet in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in 2015. In the game, Auburn started with an interception and scored in the first 2 minutes. Auburn jumped out to a 24–0 lead, but Louisville, led by Lamar Jackson came back. After an timeout for Louisville with around a minute to go, Auburn was able to run out the clock and win 31–24.

Jacksonville State

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Jacksonville State Gamecocks at #6 Auburn Tigers – Game summary

at Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, Alabama

  • Date: September 12, 2015
  • Game time: 11:01 a.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 70 °F (21 °C) • Wind N 5 mph (8.0 km/h) • Weather: Cloudy
  • Game attendance: 87,451
  • Referee: Brad Rogers
  • TV announcers (SEC Network): Dave Neal (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (analyst), Dawn Davenport (sideline reporter)
  • Sources:[7]

In their home opener, Auburn played Jacksonville State. This was the debut of Auburn's new jumbotron which is the biggest in college football. In a game that many expected to be a blowout, Jacksonville State hung with Auburn and led at halftime. With 39 seconds left in the ballgame and Jacksonville State leading 20–13, Melvin Ray caught a touchdown from Jeremy Johnson. Jacksonville State got the ball back and took a knee, sending the game to overtime. In overtime, Peyton Barber scored from four yards out putting Auburn ahead 27–20. Jacksonville State got the ball and got it to the 5 yard line. On 3rd Down and Goal, Cassanova McKinzy sacked Eli Jenkins setting up 4th Down and Goal. Jenkins threw a pass to the end zone which was caught out of bounds, so it was incomplete and Auburn had escaped with a 27–20 win in overtime.

LSU

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#18 Auburn Tigers at #13 LSU Tigers – Game summary

at Tiger StadiumBaton Rouge, Louisiana

  • Date: September 19, 2015
  • Game time: 2:39 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 91 °F (33 °C) • Wind 8 mph (13 km/h) NW • Weather: Partly Cloudy
  • Game attendance: 102,321
  • Referee: Matt Loeffler
  • TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (analyst), Allie LaForce (sideline reporter)
  • Sources:[8]

In the third game of the season, Auburn traveled to what is widely considered to be the toughest place to play in college football. They took on the LSU Tigers in the 50th meeting in the Tiger Bowl rivalry game. Leonard Fournette had a career game and LSU jumped out to a 24–0 lead en route to a 45–21 victory. Auburn's record fell to 2–1.

Mississippi State

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Mississippi State Bulldogs at Auburn Tigers – Game summary

at Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, Alabama

  • Date: September 26, 2015
  • Game time: 6:36 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: • Wind: • Weather:
  • Game attendance: 87,451
  • Referee: John McDaid
  • TV announcers (ESPN2): Mark Jones (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (analyst), Quint Kessenich (sideline reporter)
  • Sources: [9]

In the fourth game of the season, Auburn took on the Mississippi State Bulldogs. It was Sean White's first start as quarterback for Auburn. The offense and defense both looked improved from the last two weeks, but Auburn had to settle for field goals rather than touchdowns in the red zone. Miscues such as an interception, and a high snap, both in the red zone hurt Auburn's chances in the ballgame, and Mississippi State won 17–9. It was the first time in the Gus Malzahn era at Auburn (including his time as offensive coordinator from 2009 to 2011) that Auburn had failed to score a touchdown.

San Jose State

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San Jose State Spartans at Auburn Tigers – Game summary

at Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, Alabama

  • Date: October 3, 2015
  • Game time: 3:01 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 63 °F (17 °C) • Wind 10 mph (16 km/h) • Weather: Cloudy
  • Game attendance: 87,451
  • Referee: Marvel July
  • TV announcers (SEC Network): Dave Neal (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (analyst), Kayce Smith (sideline reporter)
  • Sources:[10]

Kentucky

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Auburn Tigers at Kentucky Wildcats – Game summary

at Commonwealth StadiumLexington, Kentucky

  • Date: October 15, 2015
  • Game time: 6:01 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 66 °F (19 °C) • Wind SSW 7 mph (11 km/h) • Weather: Sunny, Chilling
  • Game attendance: 63,407
  • Referee: Hubert Owens
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Dave Flemming (play-by-play), Mack Brown (analyst), Allison Williams (sideline reporter)
  • Sources:[11]

After their only bye week, Auburn went to Lexington, Kentucky to face the Kentucky Wildcats on a Thursday night. It was a great game for both teams. Kentucky had dropped passes and threw an interception in the end zone which cost the Wildcats. On the final, possible game-winning, drive for Kentucky, Auburn stopped them on 4th and 3 with almost 30 seconds left to win.

Arkansas

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Auburn Tigers at Arkansas Razorbacks – Game summary

at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback StadiumFayetteville, Arkansas

  • Date: October 24, 2015
  • Game time: 11:01 a.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 58 °F (14 °C) • Wind NNW 8 mph (13 km/h) • Weather: Mostly Cloudy
  • Game attendance: 72,008
  • Referee: Matt Austin
  • TV announcers (SEC Network): Tom Hart (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analyst), Kevin Weidl (sideline reporter)
  • Sources:[12]

The seventh game of the season was against the Arkansas Razorbacks. In an exciting game, dropped passes hurt Auburn as the Tigers fell in 4 overtimes. Now the Tigers lead the all-time series 13–11–1.

Ole Miss

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#19 Ole Miss Rebels at Auburn Tigers – Game summary

at Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, Alabama

  • Date: October 31, 2015
  • Game time: 11:01 a.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 65 °F (18 °C) • Wind SE 6 mph (9.7 km/h) • Weather: Cloudy
  • Game attendance: 87,451
  • Referee: Matt Loeffler
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Brian Griese (analyst), Tom Luginbill (sideline reporter)
  • Sources:[13]

The eighth game of the season was against Ole Miss. Auburn struggled in the red zone and had to settle for field goals rather than touchdowns. Many people thought bad coaching and play calls contributed to the 27–19 loss. The Tigers now lead the series 29–11–0.

Texas A&M

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Auburn Tigers at #25 Texas A&M Aggies – Game summary

at Kyle FieldCollege Station, Texas

  • Date: November 7, 2015
  • Game time: 6:39 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 63 °F (17 °C) • Wind: NNE 15 mph (24 km/h) • Weather: Rainy
  • Game attendance: 104,625
  • Referee: Ken Williamson
  • TV announcers (SEC Network): Brent Musburger (play-by-play), Jesse Palmer (analyst), Maria Taylor (sideline reporter)
  • Sources:[14]

The ninth contest of the season was a trip to Texas to face Texas A&M. Auburn had their best game of the season, according to head coach Gus Malzahn. The defense was especially great, forcing 3 turnovers, all interceptions, 2 of which were inside Auburn's 5 yard line. The win meant Auburn was 1 win away from bowl eligibility. Jeremy Johnson started in place of an injured Sean White, making his first start since the LSU game on September 19. The Aggies now lead the series 4–2–0.

Georgia

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Georgia Bulldogs at Auburn Tigers – Game summary

at Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, Alabama

  • Date: November 14, 2015
  • Game time: 11:08 a.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 60 °F (16 °C) • Wind NE 8 mph (13 km/h) • Weather: Sunny
  • Game attendance: 87,451
  • Referee: John McDaid
  • TV announcers (CBS): Carter Blackburn (play-by-play), Aaron Taylor (analyst), Jenny Dell (sideline reporter)
  • Sources:[15]

In the tenth game of the season, Auburn face off against rival Georgia. Auburn's passing game was not good in this ballgame. The Tigers blew a 10–3 halftime lead, and lost 20–13. A late Ricardo Louis fumble at the UGA 1 cost the Tigers greatly. The overall series record is 55–56–8.

Idaho

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Idaho Vandals at Auburn Tigers – Game summary

at Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, Alabama

  • Date: November 21, 2015
  • Game time: 3:01 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 64 °F (18 °C) • Wind: Calm • Weather: Partly cloudy
  • Game attendance: 87,451
  • Referee: James Carter
  • TV announcers (SEC Network Alternate): Mike Couzens (play-by-play), Cole Cubelic (analyst), Kevin Weidl (sideline reporter)
  • Sources:[16]

The eleventh game of the season was against the Idaho Vandals. Behind Jeremy Johnson's 4 touchdowns, the offense put a season high 56 points on the scoreboard as they cruised to a 56–34 win. The win gave the Tigers their 6th win of the season, giving them bowl eligibility.

Alabama

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#2 Alabama Crimson Tide at Auburn Tigers – Game summary

at Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, Alabama

  • Date: November 28, 2015
  • Game time: 2:40 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 73° • Wind SE 5 mph (8.0 km/h) • Weather: Sunny
  • Game attendance: 87,451
  • Referee: Tom Ritter
  • TV announcers (CBS): Verne Lundquist (play-by-play), Gary Danielson (analyst), Allie LaForce (sideline reporter)
  • Sources:[17]

In the twelfth and final game of the regular season, Auburn will take on arch-rival Alabama. Their last meeting ended in a 55–44 loss for the Tigers in the 2014 season. Alabama leads the all-time series 43–35–1.

Memphis

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2015 Birmingham Bowl
Auburn Tigers vs. Memphis Tigers (Birmingham Bowl) – Game summary

at Legion FieldBirmingham, Alabama

  • Date: December 30, 2015
  • Game time: 11:03 a.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 56 • Wind NNW 2 mph (3.2 km/h) • Weather: Cloudy/Rain
  • Game attendance: 59,430
  • Referee: Jeff Heaser
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Beth Mowins (play-by-play), Anthony Becht (analyst), Paul Carcaterra (sideline reporter)

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Rankings

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References

  1. "Auburn Football Depth Chart". Auburn University Department of Athletics. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  2. Tate, Jay G. (September 1, 2015). "The Depth Chart". Rivals. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  3. "Your 2015 Schedule: Auburn at Kentucky On Thursday Night" (Press release). Auburn University Department of Athletics. October 14, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  4. "2015 Auburn Tigers Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  5. Goldberg, Charles (August 29, 2013). "Auburn to Open 2015 Against Louisville in Kickoff Game". Auburn University Department of Athletics. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  6. "Scoring Summary (Louisville)". Auburn University Department of Athletics. September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2015.
  7. "Scoring Summary (Jacksonville State)" (PDF). Auburn University Department of Athletics. September 12, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 23, 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  8. "Scoring Summary (LSU)". Auburn University Department of Athletics. September 19, 2015. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  9. "Scoring Summary (Mississippi State)". Auburn University Department of Athletics. September 26, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  10. "Scoring Summary (San Jose State)". Auburn University Department of Athletics. October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  11. "Scoring Summary (Kentucky)". Auburn University Department of Athletics. October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
  12. "Scoring Summary (Arkansas)". Auburn University Department of Athletics. October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 25, 2015.

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