The 2015 Auburn Tigers football team represented
Auburn University
Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...
in the
2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season
The 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on September 3, 2015 and ended on D ...
. The Tigers played their home games at
Jordan–Hare Stadium
Jordan–Hare Stadium (properly pronounced n central Alabama dialectas ) is an American football stadium in Auburn, Alabama on the campus Auburn University. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Auburn Tigers football team. The stadium i ...
in
Auburn, Alabama
Auburn is a city in Lee County, Alabama, United States. It is the largest city in eastern Alabama, with a 2020 population of 76,143. It is a principal city of the Auburn-Opelika Metropolitan Area. The Auburn-Opelika, AL MSA with a population o ...
and competed in the Western Division of the
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...
(SEC). They were led by third-year head coach
Gus Malzahn
Arthur Gustavo Malzahn III (; born October 28, 1965) is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach at the University of Central Florida (UCF Knights football, UCF). He was the head football coach at Auburn University from 2013 t ...
. 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
The Birmingham Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game played annually in Birmingham, Alabama. First held in 2006, the game is owned and operated by ESPN Events. The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UA ...
where they defeated
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
.
Before the season
Previous season
With high expectations going into Gus Malzahn's second year on the plains after an SEC Championship and a National Championship berth in his first season, Auburn would race out to a 5–0 (2–0) record reaching a #2 ranking in the nation in the polls. However, the Tigers would suffer a defensive collapse in the latter half of the season in which the Tigers would surrender over 30 points in 7 of their last 8 games. The Tigers high scoring offense struggled to overcome these defensive woes which would end up causing them to drop 5 of those last 8 games on their way to a disappointing 8–5 (4–4) season.
This defensive collapse suffered by the Tigers would lead to the firing of Defensive Coordinator
Ellis Johnson followed by the hiring of recently fired Florida head coach
Will Muschamp
William Lawrence Muschamp (born August 3, 1971) is an American football coach and former player. He is the co- defensive coordinator and safeties coach at the University of Georgia. He served as head football coach at the University of Florida fr ...
. Muschamp would subsequently let go of assistant coaches Charlie Harbison and Melvin Smith and bring on former Auburn player and alum
Travaris Robinson, who worked for him at Florida, and Lance Thompson from Alabama.
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.
Returning starters
Returning players that started all or a significant number of games in the 2014 season.
Offense
Defense
Special teams
† 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
Blake Countess (born August 8, 1993) is an American football cornerback for the New Jersey Generals of the United States Football League (USFL). He played college football for Michigan, using three years of eligibility between 2011 and 2014. He ...
(CB) from Michigan who is able to play immediately, as well as Darius James (OL) from Texas and
Jamel Dean
Jamel Dean (born October 15, 1996) is an American football cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Auburn.
College career
After spending a semester at Ohio State while medical ...
(CB) from Ohio State, both of whom must sit out one year to satisfy the NCAA's transfer rule.
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.
Personnel
Roster and staff
Depth chart
''Official Depth Chart as of 9/1/2015''
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
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
against the
Louisville Cardinals
The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...
in the
Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game
The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game is an annual series of college football games played on the opening weekend of the NCAA Division I FBS season in Atlanta, Georgia. Organized by the Peach Bowl, the event coincides with Labor Day weekend in the United ...
on September 5. The Tigers will host SEC foes
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
,
Mississippi State
Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univers ...
, and
Ole Miss, and will travel to
Arkansas
Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...
,
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
,
LSU
Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...
, and
Texas A&M
Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...
, also the Tigers made it to the
Birmingham Bowl
The Birmingham Bowl is a post-season NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game played annually in Birmingham, Alabama. First held in 2006, the game is owned and operated by ESPN Events. The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UA ...
which is played at
Legion Field
Legion Field is an outdoor stadium in the southeastern United States in Birmingham, Alabama, primarily designed to be used as a venue for American football, but occasionally used for other large outdoor events. Opened in 1927, it is named in ho ...
.
Game summaries
Louisville
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
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
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
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 2009–2011) that Auburn had failed to score a touchdown.
San Jose State
Kentucky
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
((-))
Rankings
References
{{Auburn Tigers football navbox
Auburn
Auburn may refer to:
Places Australia
* Auburn, New South Wales
* City of Auburn, the local government area
*Electoral district of Auburn
*Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region
*Auburn, South Australia
*Auburn, Tasmania
*Aub ...
Auburn Tigers football seasons
Birmingham Bowl champion seasons
Auburn Tigers football
The Auburn Tigers football program represents Auburn University in the sport of American college football. Auburn competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Division o ...