2015 Navy Midshipmen football team

The 2015 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Midshipmen were led by eighth-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo and played their home games at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Midshipmen competed as a member of the Western Division of the American Athletic Conference, and were first year members of the conference. In their entire football history, this was the first season that Navy did not compete as an Independent. They finished the season 11–2, 7–1 in American Athletic play to finish in a tie for the Western Division title with Houston. However, due to their head to head loss to Houston, they did not represent the Western Division in the American Championship. They were invited to the Military Bowl where they defeated Pittsburgh.

2015 Navy Midshipmen football
The American West Division co-champion
Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy
Military Bowl champion
Military Bowl, W 44–28 vs. Pittsburgh
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
DivisionWestern Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 18
APNo. 18
2015 record11–2 (7–1 The American)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorIvin Jasper (8th season)
Offensive schemeTriple option
Defensive coordinatorDale Pehrson (interim season)
Base defenseMultiple
Captains
Home stadiumNavy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
(Capacity: 34,000)
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  
UConn  4 –4     6 –7  
East Carolina  3 –5     5 –7  
UCF  0 –8     0 –12  
West Division
No. 8 Houston xy$  7 –1     13 –1  
No. 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

Before the season

Previous season

The Navy Midshipmen began the 2014 season with a loss over #6 ranked Ohio State, but won two in a row defeating Temple and Texas State. However, they suffered three consecutive losses to Rutgers and WKU, along with rival Air Force. They rebounded by beating VMI and San Jose State, before falling to #10 ranked rival Notre Dame. Navy ended their season with three victories over Georgia Southern, South Alabama, and military rival Army in the 115th Army–Navy Game, their 13th consecutive victory over Army. The Midshipmen finished the regular season with a 7–5 record. This earned the Midshipmen an invitation to the 2014 Poinsettia Bowl, their 11th bowl game in a row, in which they beat the 7–5 San Diego State Aztecs 17–16.

Spring practices

Navy held spring practices during March and April 2015.

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 512:00 p.m.Colgate*
CBSSNW 48–1028,015
September 193:30 p.m.East Carolina
  • Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
  • Annapolis, MD
CBSSNW 45–2134,717
September 2612:00 p.m.at UConn
CBSSNW 28–1833,204
October 33:30 p.m.Air Force*
CBSSNW 33–1132,705
October 103:30 p.m.at No. 15 Notre Dame*
NBCL 24–4180,795
October 241:00 p.m.Tulane
  • Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
  • Annapolis, MD
CBSSNW 31–1432,033
October 3112:00 p.m.South Florida
  • Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
  • Annapolis, MD
CBSSNW 29–1726,766
November 77:00 p.m.at No. 15 Memphis
ESPN2W 45–2055,212
November 143:30 p.m.SMUNo. 22
  • Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
  • Annapolis, MD (Gansz Trophy)
CBSSNW 55–1435,778
November 217:00 p.m.at TulsaNo. 19
CBSSNW 44–2122,749
November 2712:00 p.m.at No. 21 HoustonNo. 16
ABCL 31–5240,562
December 123:00 p.m.vs. Army*No. 21
CBSW 21–1769,722
December 28[2]2:30 p.m.vs. Pittsburgh*No. 21
  • Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
  • Annapolis, MD (Military Bowl)
ESPNW 44–2836,352[3]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Rankings
Further information: 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Note: Navy is ranked for the first time since their 2004 season. (Ranked 24 in AP poll)

The Midshipmen have been nationally ranked for four consecutive weeks, making it the first time this has happened since 1978.

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Final 
AP NR NR NR NR RV RV RV NR NR RV 22 19 16 16 22 21 18 
Coaches NR NR NR NR RV RV RV RV RV RV 23 19 15 15 22 22 18 
CFP Not released NR 20 16 15 15 23 21 Not released

Roster
2015 Navy Midshipmen football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
WR 2 Trayvon Clark Fr
WR 2 Luke Holley So
QB 3 Zach Abey Jr
WR 4 Jamir Tillman Jr
QB 5 Travis Marshall So
SB 5 Akili Taylor Fr
QB 7 Garret Lewis Fr
QB 8 Cole Euverard Fr
SB 9 Cameron Dudeck Fr
QB 10 Derek Morefield Fr
WR 11 Conrey Meagher So
QB 11 Troy Thompson Jr
WR 13 Tyris Wooten So
WR 14 Chris Von Hendrix Fr
QB 15 Will Worth Jr
QB 17 Brandon Coleman Fr
QB 18 Tago Smith Jr
QB 19 Keenan Reynolds (C) Sr
SB 20 Calvin Cass Jr. Jr
SB 21 DeBrandon Sanders Sr
SB 22 Toneo Gulley Jr
FB 23 Myles Swain Jr
SB 24 Joshua Walker So
SB 24 Jahmaal Daniel So
SB 25 Demond Brown Sr
SB 26 Bryan Hammond Fr
SB 28 Dishan Romine Jr
SB 29 Darryl Bonner So
FB 31 Shawn White Jr
FB 32 Quentin Ezell Sr
FB 33 Chris High So
FB 34 Anthony Gargiulo Fr
WR 35 Kel Williamson Fr
FB 36 Jalen White Jr
FB 37 Chris Swain Sr
SB 38 John Brown III So
FB 39 Justin Artis So
SB 40 Mike Martin Fr
SB 42 Kendrick Mouton Jr
SB 44 Josh Brown So
FB 46 Will Huntsman Sr
SB 47 Travis Pospisil Fr
WR 49 Colin Butler So
WR 81 Taylor Johnson Fr
WR 82 Craig Scott So
WR 83 Marc Meier Sr
WR 84 Chad Lewellyn So
WR 86 Julian Turner Jr
WR 87 Brandon Colon So
WR 88 Tyler Carmona So
WR 89 Thomas Wilson Sr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
CB 2 Brendon Clements Jr
S 2 Lorentez Barbour Sr
OLB 3 Brandon Jones So
S 4 Isaac Wright So
CB 5 Quincy Adams Sr
CB 6 Sean Williams Fr
CB 7 Shelley White Sr
S 8 Randy Beggs So
OLB 9 Myer Krah Sr
CB 10 Cameron Bryant Jr
S 11 Jerry Thompson So
CB 13 Kyle Battle Jr
CB 14 Elijah Merchant So
CB 15 John Gillis Fr
CB 16 Jarid Ryan Fr
S 17 Kwazel Bertrnad So
CB 19 Elijah Jones Fr
S 20 James Munson So
CB 21 Abdul Majeed So
S 22 Conner Doyle Fr
LB 23 Mason Hicks So
S 24 Forrest Forte Fr
S 25 Juan Hailey Fr
S 26 Daiquan Thomasson Jr
OLB 28 Travis Kerchner Fr
S 29 Brady Petersen Fr
S 31 Khaylan Williams Fr
LB 32 John Fiorelli Fr
S 34 Justin Norton So
OLB 35 Nick Martinez Sr
OLB 37 Tony Delmonico Fr
OLB 38 Dexter Bell So
OLB 39 Dre Williamson Fr
OLB 40 Kevin McCoy So
LB 47 Zach Hester Sr
OLB 43 Jordan Pittman So
LB 44 Micah Thomas So
OLB 45 D.J. Palmore So
OLB 46 Terrence Laster So
OLB 47 A.K. Akpunku Sr
OLB 48 Joshua Powell Jr
OLB 49 Mike Kelly Jr
LB 50 Don Pearson Sr
OG 50 Steve Satchall Fr
LB 51 Winn Howard So
OT 51 Adam Amosa Fr
OT 52 Zach Peck So
DE 52 Amos Mason Jr
OT 53 Tony Taylor Fr
OLB 53 Kikau Pescaia Sr
OG 54 Chibuzo Ukandu Fr
LB 54 Tyler Goble Sr
OT 55 Jake Hawk Fr
OLB 55 Ted Colburn Jr
LB 56 Myles Davenport So
OLB 57 Trey Olsen So
OG 57 E.K. Binns Sr
LB 58 Daniel Gonzalas Jr
OG 58 Chris Gesell Fr
LB 59 Ryan Harris Jr
OC 59 Tyler Morgenthaler Fr
NG 60 Lance Angulo Fr
OG 60 Ben Tamburello Sr
C 61 Brandon Greene Sr
DE 61 Jake Banholzer Fr
C 62 Parker Wade So
DE 62 Buck Elliot Fr
DE 63 Kevin Uebelhardt Fr
OT 63 Seth White So
C 64 Bryan Barrett Fr
C 64 Blaze Ryder Sr
NG 64 Anthony Villalobos Fr
OT 65 Joey Gaston Sr
DE 65 Josh Webb Fr
DE 66 J.T. Wise Fr
OG 66 Jeremiah Robbins Jr
DE 67 Jarvis Polu Fr
C 67 Zach Laniewski Sr
NG 68 Patrick Forrestal Jr
OG 68 Alex Brown Jr
DE 69 Nick Czar Fr
OT 69 Andrew Wood Fr
C 70 Maurice Norris Jr
NG 70 Austin Hauge So
DE 71 Garrett Wiedle Fr
OG 71 Evan Martin So
DE 72 Jackson Mitchell Fr
OG 72 Adam West Jr
OT 73 Shane Artim So
NG 73 Alec Keener Fr
OT 74 Rob Dusz Jr
OT 74 Artie Vasquez Fr
OT 75 Robert Lindsey So
NG 76 Trenton Nollar So
OT 76 Evan Akins So
NG 77 Benard Sarra (C) Sr
OG 77 Laurent Njiki Fr
OT 78 John Ferguson Jr
OT 79 Blake Copeland Jr
OLB 80 Monte Armstrong Fr
OLB 81 Eli Dawson So
LB 82 Conner Doris Fr
LB 83 Taylor Heflin Fr
LB 84 Hawken Hydrick Fr
OLB 85 Zach Richards Fr
LB 86 Matt Stewart Fr
LB 87 Hudson Sullivan Fr
OLB 89 Ryan West Fr
DE 90 Will Anthony Sr
DE 91 Tyler Sayles So
DE 92 David Gordeuk Sr
DE 93 Reggie Miles So
NG 94 Nofo Tii Fr
DE 95 Sean Spencer So
DE 96 Michael Raiford So
DE 97 Nnamdi Uzoma Jr
NG 98 Dylan Fischer So
DE 99 Sean Reaver Sr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 1 Patrick Cassley So
K 6 Nick Sloan Sr
P 16 Gavin Jernigan Sr
K 43 Austin Grebe Sr
K 48 D.J. Grant-Johnson Jr
P 80 Alex Barta Jr
LS 85 Ronnie Querry So
LK 93 Bennett Moehring Fr
K 94 Josh Antol Fr
P 98 Erik Harris Fr
LS 99 Nate Hawkins So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Chris Culton – Offensive Line
  • Justin Davis – Outside Linebackers
  • Dan O'Brien – Outside Linebackers
  • Buddy Green – Defensive Coordinator/Secondary (replaced by Dale Pehrson)
  • Ashley Ingram – Offensive Line
  • Ivin Jasper – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
  • Steve Johns – Inside Linebackers/Special Teams
  • Keith Jones – Secondary
  • Mike Judge – Fullbacks
  • Shaun Nua – Defensive Line
  • Danny O'Rourke – Slot Backs
  • Dale Pehrson – Defensive Line
  • Mick Yokitis – Wide Receivers
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster
Last update: September 5, 2015

Depth chart

The following players comprised the team's Depth chart prior to the 2014 Poinsettia Bowl:

Game Summaries

Colgate
1 234Total
Colgate 3 007 10
• Navy 10 21710 48
See also: 2015 Colgate Raiders football team

East Carolina
1 234Total
East Carolina 7 707 21
• Navy 7 21017 45
  • Date: September 19, 2015
  • Location: Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Maryland
  • Game start: 3:34 pm EST
  • Elapsed time: 3 hours 22 minutes
  • Game attendance: 34,717
  • Game weather: Temp: 80 F • Wind: SSE 10-15 MPH • Weather: Sunny, Clear Skies
  • Referee: Rick Lourniet
  • TV announcers (CBS Sports Network): John Sadak and Randy Cross
See also: 2015 East Carolina Pirates football team

at UConn
1 234Total
• Navy 7 1407 28
UConn 3 708 18
See also: 2015 UConn Huskies football team

Air Force
Commander-in-Chief's Trophy
1 234Total
Air Force 0 038 11
• Navy 7 1466 33
  • Date: October 3, 2015
  • Location: Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Maryland
  • Game start: 3:39 pm EST
  • Elapsed time: 3 hours 24 minutes
  • Game attendance: 32,705
  • Game weather: Temp: 56 F • Wind: NE 12-30 MPH • Weather: Overcast, Light Rain
  • Referee: C. Castlebury
  • TV announcers (CBS Sports Network): John Sadak, Randy Cross and Sheehan Stanwick Burch (sideline)
See also: 2015 Air Force Falcons football team and Commander-in-Chief's Trophy

at Notre Dame
Rip Miller Trophy
1 234Total
Navy 7 1430 24
• #15 Notre Dame 7 17143 41
See also: 2015 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team and Navy–Notre Dame football rivalry

Tulane Green Wave
1 234Total
Tulane 0 707 14
• Navy 7 3714 31
  • Date: October 24, 2015
  • Location: Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Maryland
  • Game start: 1:04 pm EST
  • Elapsed time: 3 hours 13 minutes
  • Game attendance: 32,033
  • Game weather: Temp: 54 F • Wind: S 5 MPH • Weather: Overcast
  • Referee: Todd LaPenta
  • TV announcers (CBS Sports Network): John Sadak, Randy Cross and Sheehan Stanwick Burch (sideline)
See also: 2015 Tulane Green Wave football team

South Florida
1 234Total
South Florida 10 070 17
• Navy 3 10313 29
  • Date: October 31, 2015
  • Location: Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Maryland
  • Game start: 12:04 pm EST
  • Elapsed time: 3 hours 6 minutes
  • Game attendance: 26,766
  • Game weather: Temp: 53 F • Wind: SE 9 MPH • Weather: Sunny
  • Referee: Rick Loumiet
  • TV announcers (CBS Sports Network): John Sadak, Randy Cross and Sheehan Stanwick Burch (sideline)
See also: 2015 South Florida Bulls football team

at Memphis
1 234Total
• Navy 7 101414 45
Memphis 10 0100 20
See also: 2015 Memphis Tigers football team

SMU
Gansz Trophy
1 234Total
SMU 0 770 14
• Navy 14 14621 55
  • Date: November 14, 2015
  • Location: Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Maryland
  • Game start: 3:39 pm EST
  • Elapsed time: 3 hours 9 minutes
  • Game attendance: 35,778
  • Game weather: Temp: 53 F • Wind: NW 12-20 MPH • Weather: Sunny
  • Referee: Todd LaPenta
  • TV announcers (CBS Sports Network): John Sadak, Randy Cross and Sheehan Stanwick Burch (sideline)
See also: 2015 SMU Mustangs football team and Gansz Trophy

On Senior Day, Navy quarterback Keenan Reynolds reached the end zone for the 78th time to set the NCAA record for career rushing touchdowns, surpassing University of Wisconsin's Montee Ball who amassed 77 touchdowns during the 2009–2012 seasons. Number 78 came quickly on a 4-yard run on Navy's opening drive. Reynolds then scored three more rushing touchdowns to boost his career total to 81, leading his #20 ranked team past SMU. The Midshipmen racked up 403 yards rushing, reaching a season high in total points. With this win, they also remain undefeated in the American Athletic Conference (ACC).

at Tulsa
1 234Total
• Navy 7 16147 44
Tulsa 0 777 21
See also: 2015 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

The Navy offense racked up a total of 512 yards on the ground, while quarterback Keenan Reynolds ran for 81 yards with a rushing touchdown in the Midshipmen win over Tulsa with a score of 44-21. Reynolds also threw for a touchdown to become Navy's all-time leading rusher with 4,195 yards, breaking fellow Midshipmen Napoleon McCallum's record of 4,179 yards.

at Houston
1 234Total
Navy 7 7314 31
• Houston 14 101414 52
See also: 2015 Houston Cougars football team

Despite the American Athletic Conference west division title loss, Navy Midshipmen quarterback and Heisman Trophy contender Keenan Reynolds tied the Navy record for passing touchdowns with 29. Reynolds also tied Wisconsin's Montee Ball for the most touchdowns with 83 in FBS history.

vs. Army
116th Army–Navy Game/Commander-in-Chief's Trophy
1 234Total
• Navy 7 770 21
Army 10 700 17
See also: 2015 Army Black Knights football team and Army–Navy Game

vs. Pittsburgh (Military Bowl)
2015 Military Bowl
1 234Total
Pittsburgh 7 0147 28
• Navy 14 71013 44
See also: 2015 Pittsburgh Panthers football team and 2015 Military Bowl

With this win, the Midshipmen ended the season 11-2, the first time in 135 years of school football history. Senior quarterback Keenan Reynolds scored four touchdowns: one touchdown pass and three rushing, becoming the NCAA career leader with 88 touchdowns and scoring a total of 530 points. Meanwhile, senior fullback Chris Swain rushed for a career 1,000 yards. The senior class picked up their 36th win, which tied the Midshipmen class of 1909.

References
  1. http://www.navysports.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/010915aaf.html
  2. http://militarybowl.org/no-22-navy-accepts-bid-to-play-in-2015-military-bowl-presented-by-northrop-grumman/
  3. https://twitter.com/MilitaryBowl/status/681594756795871233
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