2015 Stanford Cardinal football team

The 2015 Stanford Cardinal football team represented Stanford University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinal were led by fifth-year head coach David Shaw. They played their home games at Stanford Stadium and were members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference.

2015 Stanford Cardinal football
Pac-12 champion
Pac-12 North Division champion
Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 45–16 vs. Iowa
ConferencePac-12 Conference
DivisionNorth Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 3
2015 record12–2 (8–1 Pac-12)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMike Bloomgren (3rd season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorLance Anderson (2nd season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumStanford Stadium
(Capacity: 50,424)
2015 Pac-12 Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
North Division
No. 3 Stanford x$  8 –1     12 –2  
No. 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  
No. 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
Rankings from AP Poll

In 2015, the Cardinal were the champions of the Pac-12. After finishing in first place in the North Division, they beat USC in the Pac-12 Championship Game by a score of 41–22.[1] They defeated Iowa 45–16 in the Rose Bowl on January 1, 2016.

The Cardinal finished the season ranked #3 in the final Coaches Poll, their highest final ranking in the history of that poll. They were similarly ranked #3 in the final AP Poll, their highest final ranking in 75 years, following the 1940 national championship season.

Previous season
Main article: 2014 Stanford Cardinal football team

After two consecutive Pac-12 championships, the Cardinal finished second in the North Division with an 8–5 record, ending its season by defeating Maryland in the 2014 Foster Farms Bowl.

Personnel

Coaching staff
NamePositionStanford YearsAlma mater
David ShawHead Coach9thStanford (1994)
Lance AndersonDefensive Coordinator / Outside Linebackers Coach9thIdaho State (1996)
Mike BloomgrenAssociate Head Coach / Offensive Coordinator5thFlorida State (1999)
Pete AlamarSpecial Teams Coordinator4thCal Lutheran (1983)
Duane AkinaDefensive Backs Coach2ndWashington (1979)
Peter HansenInside Linebackers Coach2ndArizona (2001)
Tavita PritchardQuarterbacks Coach / Wide Receivers Coach3rdStanford (2009)
Randy HartDefensive Linemen Coach6thOhio State (1970)
Lance TaylorRunning Backs Coach2ndAlabama (2003)
Morgan TurnerTight Ends Coach3rdIllinois (2009)

Roster
2015 Stanford Cardinal Roster

Quarterbacks

Running Backs

  •  5 Christian McCaffrey - Sophomore (6'0, 197)
  • 15 Reagan Williams Freshman (6'3, 218)
  • 19 Ryan Gaertner Junior (5'10, 215)
  • 20 Bryce Love Freshman (5'10, 184)
  • 22 Remound Wright – Senior (5'9, 198)
  • 25 Cameron Scarlett Freshman (6'1, 220)
  • 26 Barry J. Sanders – Junior (5'10, 191)
  • 35 Daniel Marx – Sophomore (6'2, 247)
  • 42 Pat McFadden – Junior (5'10, 195)

Wide Receivers

  •  2 Trenton Irwin – Freshman (6’2, 199)
  •  3 Michael Rector – Junior 6'1 190)
  •  4 Jay Tyler – Freshman (5'8, 167)
  •  5 Kodi Whitfield – Senior (6'2, 197)
  •  6 Francis Owusu – Junior (6'3, 193)
  •  6 Taijuan Thomas – Junior (5'10, 185)
  • 11 Dontonio Jordan – Junior (5'11, 188)
  • 13 Rollins Stallworth – Senior (6'4, 196)
  • 19 J. J. Arcega-Whiteside – Freshman (6'3, 207)
  • 21 Isaiah Brandt-Sims – Sophomore (5'11, 175)
  • 41 Addison Johnson - Sophomore (5'9, 175)
  • 46 Sidhart Krishnamurthi – Freshman (5'11, 175)
  • 81 Conner Crane – Junior (6'4, 195)
  • 85 Treyvion Foster – Junior (6'1, 213)
  • 89 Devon Cajuste – Senior (6'4, 232)

Offensive Guards/Offensive Tackles

  • 51 Joshua Garnett – Senior (6'5, 317) OG
  • 54 Nick Wilson – Freshman (6'3, 268) OG
  • 57 Johnny Caspers – Junior (6'4, 292) OG
  • 60 Lucas Hinds – Sophomore (6'4, 290) OG
  • 62 Austin Maihen – Freshman – (6'5, 280) OG
  • 64 David Bright – Sophomore (6'5, 290) OG/OT
  • 66 Nick Davidson – Junior (6'7, 283) OT
  • 71 Brandon Fanaika - Sophomore (6'3, 321) OG
  • 74 Brendon Austin – Senior (6'6, 304) OG
  • 75 A. T. Hall – Sophomore (6'5, 278) OT
  • 76 Jack Dreyer - Freshman (6'8, 286) OT
  • 77 Casey Tucker – Sophomore (6'6, 305) OT
  • 78 Kyle Murphy – Senior (6'7, 272) OT
  

Tight Ends

  •  9 Dalton Schultz – Sophomore (6'6, 239)
  • 18 Austin Hooper – Sophomore (6'4, 225)
  • 80 Eric Cotton – Sophomore (6'6, 235)
  • 82 Chris Harrell – Senior (6'4, 236)
  • 87 Ben Snyder – Freshman (6'4, 240)
  • 88 Greg Taboada – Sophomore (6'5, 235)
  • 99 Luke Kaumatule – Senior (6'7, 260)

Centers

  • 52 Graham Shuler – Junior (6'4, 277)
  • 64 Brian Chaffin – Freshman (6'2, 278)
  • 73 Jesse Burkett - Freshman (6'4, 288)

Defensive Tackles

  • 58 David Parry – Senior
  • 79 Alex Yazdi – Junior
  • 95 Lance Callihan – Junior

Defensive Ends

  •  7 Aziz Shittu – Senior (6'3, 275)
  • 17 Brennan Scarlett – Senior (6'4, 265)
  • 48 Kevin Anderson – Senior (6'4, 245)
  • 55 Nate Lohn – Junior (6'3, 274)
  • 56 Wesley Annan – Freshman (6'4, 285)
  • 66 Harrison Phillips – Sophomore (6'4, 255)
  • 75 Jordan Watkins – Junior (6'5, 271)
  • 90 Solomon Thomas - Sophomore (6'3, 256)
  • 97 Dylan Jackson – Freshman (6'6, 248)

Linebackers

  •  3 Noor Davis – Junior (6'4, 227) ILB
  •  4 Blake Martinez – Senior (6'2, 238) ILB
  • 15 Jordan Perez – Freshman (6'2, 207) ILB
  • 20 Bobby Okereke - Freshman (6'3, 217) ILB
  • 27 Sean Barton – Freshman (6'3, 212) ILB
  • 31 Mustafa Branch – Freshman (5'11, 218) ILB
  • 32 Joey Alfieri – Freshman (6'3, 228) OLB
  • 33 Mike Tyler – Sophomore (6'5, 225) OLB
  • 34 Peter Kalambayi – Sophomore (6'3, 240) OLB
  • 43 Ryan Beecher– Freshman (6'1, 230) ILB
  • 44 Kevin Palma – Sophomore (6'2, 240) ILB
  • 47 Sam Yules – Junior (6'2, 221) ILB
  • 49 Lewis Burik– Freshman (5'10, 216) ILB
  • 50 Sam Shober– Junior (6'3, 223) OLB
  • 52 Casey Toohill – Freshman (6'4, 230) OLB
  • 53 Torsten Rotto – Senior (6'2, 240) OLB
  • 59 Craig Jones – Junior (6'0, 215) ILB
  • 86 Lane Veach – Freshman (6'6, 233) OLB
  

Defensive Backs

  •  8 Frank Buncom – Freshman (6'2, 192) CB
  • 11 Terrence Alexander - Sophomore (5'10, 178) CB
  • 13 Alijah Holder - Freshman (6'2, 174) CB
  • 21 Ronnie Harris – Senior (5'10, 170) CB
  • 23 Alameen Murphy - Freshman (5'11, 185) CB
  • 24 Quenton Meeks – ''Freshman (6'2, 195) CB
  • 38 Ra'Chard Pippens – Senior (6'2, 198) CB

Safeties

  •  2 Brandon Simmons – Freshman (6'0, 182) FS
  •  9 Ben Edwards – Freshman (6'0, 191) FS
  • 22 Justin Reid – Junior (6'1, 195) SS
  • 28 Denzel Franklin – Sophomore (6'0, 198) SS
  • 29 Dallas Lloyd – Junior (6'3, 209) SS
  • 45 Calvin Chandler – Sophomore (6'2, 215) SS

Punters/Kickers

  • 14 Jake Bailey – Freshman (6'2 186) P
  • 27 Charlie Beall – Freshman (6'2 215) K
  • 34 Conrad Ukropina – Junior (6'1 185) K
  • 47 Alex Robinson – Sophomore (6'0 200) P

Long Snappers

  • 67 Reed Miller – Senior (6'2, 222)
  • 68 C.J. Keller - Sophomore (6'3, 215)

Terms:

  • Freshman – A player in his first year.
  • Sophomore – A player in his second year.
  • Junior – A player in his third year.
  • Senior – A player in his fourth year.
  • Redshirt – A player who sat out a previous season.
Source: 2015 Stanford Cardinal Football Roster

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 59:00 a.m.at Northwestern*No. 21
ESPNL 6–1636,024[2]
September 127:30 p.m.UCF*
FS1W 31–750,420[3]
September 195:00 p.m.at No. 6 USC
ABCW 41–3178,306[4]
September 257:00 p.m.at Oregon StateNo. 21
FS1W 42–2437,302[5]
October 37:30 p.m.ArizonaNo. 18
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
P12NW 55–1746,628[6]
October 157:30 p.m.No. 18 UCLANo. 15
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
ESPNW 56–3550,464[7]
October 247:30 p.m.WashingtonNo. 10
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
ESPNW 31–1450,424[8]
October 317:30 p.m.at Washington StateNo. 8
ESPNW 30–2830,012[9]
November 710:00 a.m.at ColoradoNo. 9
P12NW 42–1040,142[10]
November 144:30 p.m.OregonNo. 7
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
FOXL 36–3848,633[11]
November 217:30 p.m.CaliforniaNo. 15
ESPNW 35–2251,424[12]
November 284:30 p.m.No. 4 Notre Dame*No. 13
FOXW 38–3651,424[13]
December 54:45 p.m.vs. No. 24 USCNo. 7
ESPNW 41–2258,476
January 1, 20162:10 p.m.vs. No. 5 IowaNo. 6
ESPNW 45–1694,268
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Pacific time

Game summaries

at Northwestern
1 2 3 4 Total
#21 Cardinal 3 0 0 3 6
Wildcats 3 7 0 6 16
See also: 2015 Northwestern Wildcats football team

UCF
1 2 3 4 Total
Knights 0 0 0 7 7
Cardinal 0 10 7 14 31
See also: 2015 UCF Knights football team

at #6 USC
1 2 3 4 Total
Cardinal 7 17 7 10 41
#6 Trojans 14 7 7 3 31
See also: 2015 USC Trojans football team and Stanford–USC football rivalry

at Oregon State
1 2 3 4 Total
#21 Cardinal 14 7 14 7 42
Beavers 7 10 0 7 24
See also: 2015 Oregon State Beavers football team

Arizona
1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 0 3 14 0 17
#18 Cardinal 13 14 21 7 55
See also: 2015 Arizona Wildcats football team

#18 UCLA
1 2 3 4 Total
#18 Bruins 10 7 3 15 35
#15 Cardinal 14 21 21 0 56
See also: 2015 UCLA Bruins football team

Washington
1 2 3 4 Total
Huskies 0 0 7 7 14
#10 Cardinal 7 10 14 0 31
See also: 2015 Washington Huskies football team

at Washington State
1 2 3 4 Total
#8 Cardinal 3 0 17 10 30
Cougars 3 9 10 6 28
See also: 2015 Washington State Cougars football team

at Colorado
1 2 3 4 Total
#9 Cardinal 7 21 7 7 42
Buffaloes 7 0 3 0 10
See also: 2015 Colorado Buffaloes football team

Oregon
1 2 3 4 Total
Ducks 14 7 14 3 38
#7 Cardinal 10 13 0 13 36
See also: 2015 Oregon Ducks football team

California
1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Bears 3 3 10 6 22
#15 Cardinal 7 14 0 14 35
See also: 2015 California Golden Bears football team and Big Game (American football)

No. 4 Notre Dame
1 2 3 4 Total
#4 Fighting Irish 7 13 9 7 36
#13 Cardinal 14 7 7 10 38
See also: 2015 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team and Notre Dame–Stanford football rivalry

In arguably one of the best college football games of the year, a game that had ten lead changes and almost 1,000 yards of offense, Stanford scored five touchdowns in five red zone trips, but it would be Stanford Kicker Conrad Ukropina who hit the game-winning field goal as time expired, which also ended Notre Dame's College Football Playoff hopes while keeping Stanford's playoff hopes alive. With 6:48 left in the game and the Cardinal leading 35-29, the Irish would march 88 yards in 15 plays (using up 6:18 of the play clock). It was capped off by Notre Dame Quarterback DeShone Kizer's two-yard touchdown run to give the Irish the lead with just 30 seconds left in the game. But the Irish defense could not hold as Stanford would go 45 yards in just 28 seconds and finish off the game with the win from Ukropina's field goal.

vs. #24 USC (Pac-12 Championship)
1 2 3 4 Total
#24 Trojans 0 3 13 6 22
#7 Cardinal 3 10 14 14 41
See also: 2015 Pac-12 Football Championship Game, 2015 USC Trojans football team, and Stanford–USC football rivalry

vs. #6 Iowa (Rose Bowl)
1 2 3 4 Total
#5 Cardinal 21 14 3 7 45
#6 Hawkeyes 0 0 3 13 16
See also: 2015 Iowa Hawkeyes football team and 2016 Rose Bowl

Sports analysts had anticipated the contest to be exciting, due mainly to the matchup between Iowa's strong run defense and Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey, the Heisman Trophy runner-up. McCaffrey led the FBS in the 2015 season with 3,864 all-purpose yards, which came from punt/kick returns, runs from scrimmage, and passes out of the backfield.[14] In contrast, Iowa's run defense finished the season ranked 14th, allowing only 121 yards per game and having defeated historically rushing teams like Wisconsin, Indiana, and Nebraska.[15]

McCaffrey caught a short pass and turned it into a 75-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. The Hawkeyes were unable to stop him, as he averaged 9.6 YPC (172 yards on 18 carries), returned a punt for a touchdown, and converted many third downs. Though he did not rush for any touchdowns from scrimmage, he proved to be the primary playmaker for Stanford, catching a third of Cardinal Quarterback Kevin Hogan's twelve passes. McCaffrey was such an offensive threat that Hogan was able to make large gains with the read option, including a wide-open first-quarter option TD run.

Stanford's 21-0 first-quarter lead was the most first-quarter points scored by one team in Rose Bowl history.[16] Stanford shut Iowa out in the first half 35-0, with Stanford's 35 points the most scored in the first half of a Rose Bowl in its entire 102-year history.[16] McCaffrey gained a total of 368 all-purpose yards, setting another Rose Bowl record.[16]

Iowa was unable to get their run game going, rushing as a team for 1.3 YPC (48 yards on 38 carries). The longest Iowa runs were 14 and 12 yards,[17] as well as a 14-yard scramble by Quarterback C. J. Beathard. Iowa's inability to establish a run game closed up Iowa's potential for play-action passing, which had been Beathard's bread and butter all season. Iowa's halfbacks, their biggest threat all season, were overall unable to garner any significant yardage on the ground.[17]

By the second half, Stanford's explosiveness slowed down, scoring just 10 second-half points versus their 35 first-half points. Iowa did not score until the 3rd quarter when placekicker Marshall Koehn kicked a field goal after converting on 4th down earlier in the drive; Beathard threw 2 touchdowns in the 4th quarter, with Koehn missing one of the two PATs.

Iowa had a slight advantage in time of possession, possessing the ball for almost 33 minutes, though they were simply unable to make meaning out of their possessions. Iowa also outgained Stanford through the air by a slim margin, with 239 yards to Stanford's 223.[18]

Rankings
Further information: 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
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 Final 
AP 21 RV RV 21 18 16 15 10 8 9 7 15 13 7 5 3 
Coaches 21 RV NR 24 20 18 16 11 8 8 7 15 12 7 6 3 
CFP Not released 11 7 11 9 7 6 Not released

Statistics

Team
Team statistics
 StanfordOpponents
Scoring529316
Points Per Game37.822.6
Points Off Turnovers9660
First Downs311267
Rushing155106
Passing129145
Penalty2716
Rushing Yardage31321958
Yards gained rushing33582358
Yards lost rushing226400
Rushing Attempts610453
Average Per Rush5.14.3
Average Per Game223.7139.9
TDs Rushing3316
Passing Yardage29653198
Comp-Att-Int213-318-8271-473-8
Average Per Pass9.36.8
Average Per Catch13.911.8
Average Per Game211.8228.4
TDs Passing3019
Total Offense60975156
Total Plays928926
Average Per Play6.65.6
Average Per Game435.5368.3
Kick Returns: #-Yards51-126570-1473
Punt Returns: #-Yards17-15411-93
INT Returns: #-Yards8-1258-101
Kick Return Average24.821.0
Punt Return Average9.18.5
INT Return Average15.612.6
Fumbles-Lost12-510-6
Penalties-Yards78-64880-742
Average Per Game46.353.0
Punts-Yards48-195966-2797
Average Per Punt40.842.4
Net punt average37.239.1
Kickoffs-Yards96-590069-4003
Average Per Kick61.558.0
Net kick average41.434.2
Time of Possession/Game34:4825:12
3rd-Down Conversions91/18270/193
3rd-Down Pct50%36%
4th-Down Conversions13/1615/24
4th-Down Pct81%62%
Sacks By-Yards34-26020-104
Miscellaneous Yards00
Touchdowns Scored6836
Field Goals-Attempts18-2023-26
On-Side Kicks0-10-3
Red-Zone Scores(54-62) 87%(41-47) 87%
Red-Zone Touchdowns(41-62) 66%(21-47) 45%
PAT-Attempts(67-67) 100%(29-31) 94%
Attendance349,381221,786
Games/Avg Per Game7/49,9125/44,357
Neutral Site Games2/76,372

All opponents

1 2 3 4 Total
Stanford 123 158 132 116 529
All opponents 68 69 93 86 316

Pac-12 opponents

1 2 3 4 Total
Stanford 85 127 115 82 409
Pac-12 opponents 57 49 81 53 240

Non-conference opponents

1 2 3 4 Total
Stanford 38 31 17 34 120
Non-conference opponents 11 20 12 33 76

Players drafted into the NFL
See also: 2016 NFL Draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionNFL Club
128Joshua GarnettGSan Francisco 49ers
381Austin HooperTEAtlanta Falcons
4131Blake MartinezLBGreen Bay Packers
5162Kevin HoganQBKansas City Chiefs
6200Kyle MurphyOTGreen Bay Packers

References
  1. "Christian McCaffrey Catapults No. 7 Stanford Past USC for Pac-12 Title", USA Today, December 6, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
  2. "Stanford vs Northwestern Game Summary". ESPN. September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  3. "Stanford vs UCF Game Summary". ESPN. September 12, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  4. "Stanford vs USC Game Summary". ESPN. September 25, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  5. "Stanford vs Oregon State Game Summary". ESPN. September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  6. "Arizona vs Stanford Game Summary". ESPN. October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  7. "UCLA vs Stanford Game Summary". ESPN. October 15, 2015. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  8. "Washington vs Stanford Game Summary". ESPN. October 24, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  9. "Stanford vs Washington State Game Summary". ESPN. October 31, 2015. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  10. "Stanford vs Colorado Game Summary". ESPN. November 7, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  11. "Oregon vs Stanford Game Summary". ESPN. November 14, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  12. "California vs Stanford Game Summary". ESPN. November 21, 2015. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  13. "Notre Dame vs Stanford Game Summary". ESPN. November 28, 2015. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  14. "All Purpose | FBS Football Statistics - NCAA.com". NCAA.com. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
  15. "Rushing Defense | FBS Football Statistics - NCAA.com". NCAA.com. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
  16. "Christian McCaffrey sets Rose Bowl record as Stanford routs Iowa". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
  17. "Stanford vs. Iowa - Box Score - January 1, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
  18. "Stanford vs. Iowa - Team Statistics - January 1, 2016 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
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