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2015 Stanford Cardinal football
Pac-12 champion
Pac-12 North Division champion
Rose Bowl champion
Pac-12 Championship Game, W 41–22 vs. USC
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 coachDavid Shaw (5th season)
Offensive coordinatorMike Bloomgren (3rd season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorLance Anderson (2nd season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumStanford Stadium
(Capacity: 50,424)
Seasons
← 2014
2016 →

Template:2015 Pac-12 football standings 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.

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[]

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[]

Name Position Stanford Years Alma mater
David Shaw Head Coach 9th Stanford (1994)
Lance Anderson Defensive Coordinator / Outside Linebackers Coach 9th Idaho State (1996)
Mike Bloomgren Associate Head Coach / Offensive Coordinator 5th Florida State (1999)
Pete Alamar Special Teams Coordinator 4th Cal Lutheran (1983)
Duane Akina Defensive Backs Coach 2nd Washington (1979)
Peter Hansen Inside Linebackers Coach 2nd Arizona (2001)
Tavita Pritchard Quarterbacks Coach / Wide Receivers Coach 3rd Stanford (2009)
Randy Hart Defensive Linemen Coach 6th Ohio State (1970)
Lance Taylor Running Backs Coach 2nd Alabama (2003)
Morgan Turner Tight Ends Coach 3rd Illinois (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 – Redshirt Senior (5'9, 198)
  • 25 Cameron Scarlett Freshman (6'1, 220)
  • 26 Barry J. SandersRedshirt 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 RectorRedshirt Junior 6'1 190)
  •  4 Jay Tyler – Freshman (5'8, 167)
  •  5 Kodi Whitfield – Senior (6'2, 197)
  •  6 Francis OwusuJunior (6'3, 193)
  •  6 Taijuan Thomas – Junior (5'10, 185)
  • 11 Dontonio Jordan – Redshirt Junior (5'11, 188)
  • 13 Rollins Stallworth – Redshirt Senior (6'4, 196)
  • 19 JJ Arcega-WhitesideFreshman (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 – Redshirt Junior (6'4, 195)
  • 85 Treyvion Foster – Junior (6'1, 213)
  • 89 Devon CajusteRedshirt Senior (6'4, 232)

Offensive Guards/Offensive Tackles

  • 51 Joshua GarnettSenior (6'5, 317) OG
  • 54 Nick Wilson – Freshman (6'3, 268) OG
  • 57 Johnny Caspers – Redshirt Junior (6'4, 292) OG
  • 60 Lucas Hinds – Redshirt Sophomore (6'4, 290) OG
  • 62 Austin Maihen – Freshman – (6'5, 280) OG
  • 64 David Bright – Redshirt Sophomore (6'5, 290) OG/OT
  • 66 Nick Davidson – Redshirt Junior (6'7, 283) OT
  • 71 Brandon Fanaika - Sophomore (6'3, 321) OG
  • 74 Brendon Austin – Redshirt 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 MurphySenior (6'7, 272) OT
 

Tight Ends

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

Centers

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

Defensive Tackles

Defensive Ends

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

Linebackers

  •  3 Noor DavisRedshirt Junior (6'4, 227) ILB
  •  4 Blake MartinezSenior (6'2, 238) ILB
  • 15 Jordan Perez – Redshirt Freshman (6'2, 207) ILB
  • 20 Bobby Okereke - Redshirt Freshman (6'3, 217) ILB
  • 27 Sean Barton – Freshman (6'3, 212) ILB
  • 31 Mustafa Branch – Freshman (5'11, 218) ILB
  • 32 Joey Alfieri – Redshirt Freshman (6'3, 228) OLB
  • 33 Mike Tyler – Redshirt Sophomore (6'5, 225) OLB
  • 34 Peter KalambayiRedshirt Sophomore (6'3, 240) OLB
  • 43 Ryan Beecher– Freshman (6'1, 230) ILB
  • 44 Kevin Palma – Redshirt Sophomore (6'2, 240) ILB
  • 47 Sam Yules – Redshirt Junior (6'2, 221) ILB
  • 49 Lewis Burik– Freshman (5'10, 216) ILB
  • 50 Sam Shober– Redshirt Junior (6'3, 223) OLB
  • 52 Casey Toohill– Freshman (6'4, 230) OLB
  • 53 Torsten Rotto – Redshirt Senior (6'2, 240) OLB
  • 59 Craig Jones – Redshirt Junior (6'0, 215) ILB
  • 86 Lane Veach – Redshirt 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 - Redshirt Freshman (6'2, 174) CB
  • 21 Ronnie Harris – Redshirt Senior (5'10, 170) CB
  • 23 Alameen Murphy - Redshirt Freshman (5'11, 185) CB
  • 24 Quenton Meeks – ''Freshman (6'2, 195) CB
  • 38 Ra'Chard Pippens – Redshirt Senior (6'2, 198) CB

Safeties

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

Punters/Kickers

  • 14 Jake BaileyFreshman (6'2 186) P
  • 27 Charlie Beall – Freshman (6'2 215) K
  • 34 Conrad Ukropina – Redshirt Junior (6'1 185) K
  • 47 Alex Robinson – Redshirt 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 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. 21ESPNL 6–1636,024[2]
September 127:30 p.m.UCF*FS1W 31–750,420[3]
September 195:00 p.m.at No. 6 USCABCW 41–3178,306[4]
September 257:00 p.m.at Oregon StateNo. 21FS1W 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.WashingtondaggerNo. 10
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
ESPNW 31–1450,424[8]
October 317:30 p.m.at Washington StateNo. 8ESPNW 30–2830,012[9]
November 710:00 a.m.at ColoradoNo. 9P12NW 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. 6ESPNW 45–1694,268
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Pacific time

Game summaries[]

Northwestern[]

1 2 3 4 OT
#21 Cardinal 3 0 0 3 6
Wildcats 3 7 0 6 16



UCF[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Knights 0 0 0 7 7
Cardinal 0 10 7 14 31



USC[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Cardinal 7 17 7 10 41
#6 Trojans 14 7 7 3 31



Oregon State[]

1 2 3 4 OT
#21 Cardinal 14 7 14 7 42
Beavers 7 10 0 7 24



Arizona[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Wildcats 0 3 14 0 17
#18 Cardinal 13 14 21 7 55



UCLA[]

1 2 3 4 OT
#18 Bruins 10 7 3 15 35
#15 Cardinal 14 21 21 0 56



Washington[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Huskies 0 0 7 7 14
#10 Cardinal 7 10 14 0 31



Washington State[]

1 2 3 4 OT
#8 Cardinal 3 0 17 10 30
Cougars 3 9 10 6 28



Colorado[]

1 2 3 4 OT
#9 Cardinal 7 21 7 7 42
Buffaloes 7 0 3 0 10



Oregon[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Ducks 14 7 14 3 38
#7 Cardinal 10 13 0 13 36



California[]

1 2 3 4 OT
Golden Bears 3 3 10 6 22
#15 Cardinal 7 14 0 14 35



Notre Dame[]

1 2 3 4 OT
#4 Fighting Irish 7 13 9 7 36
#13 Cardinal 14 7 7 10 38



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.

USC (Pac-12 Championship)[]

1 2 3 4 OT
#24 Trojans 0 3 13 6 22
#7 Cardinal 3 10 14 14 41



Iowa (Rose Bowl)[]

1 2 3 4 OT
#5 Cardinal 21 14 3 7 45
#6 Hawkeyes 0 0 3 13 16



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[]

Template:Further information

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = 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
Coaches 21 RV NR 24 20 18 16 11 8 8 7 15 12 7 6
CFP Not released 11 7 11 9 7 6 Not released


Statistics[]

Team[]

Team statistics
  Stanford Opponents
Scoring 529 316
Points Per Game 37.8 22.6
Points Off Turnovers 96 60
First Downs 311 267
Rushing 155 106
Passing 129 145
Penalty 27 16
Rushing Yardage 3132 1958
Yards gained rushing 3358 2358
Yards lost rushing 226 400
Rushing Attempts 610 453
Average Per Rush 5.1 4.3
Average Per Game 223.7 139.9
TDs Rushing 33 16
Passing Yardage 2965 3198
Comp-Att-Int 213-318-8 271-473-8
Average Per Pass 9.3 6.8
Average Per Catch 13.9 11.8
Average Per Game 211.8 228.4
TDs Passing 30 19
Total Offense 6097 5156
Total Plays 928 926
Average Per Play 6.6 5.6
Average Per Game 435.5 368.3
Kick Returns: #-Yards 51-1265 70-1473
Punt Returns: #-Yards 17-154 11-93
INT Returns: #-Yards 8-125 8-101
Kick Return Average 24.8 21.0
Punt Return Average 9.1 8.5
INT Return Average 15.6 12.6
Fumbles-Lost 12-5 10-6
Penalties-Yards 78-648 80-742
Average Per Game 46.3 53.0
Punts-Yards 48-1959 66-2797
Average Per Punt 40.8 42.4
Net punt average 37.2 39.1
Kickoffs-Yards 96-5900 69-4003
Average Per Kick 61.5 58.0
Net kick average 41.4 34.2
Time of Possession/Game 34:48 25:12
3rd-Down Conversions 91/182 70/193
3rd-Down Pct 50% 36%
4th-Down Conversions 13/16 15/24
4th-Down Pct 81% 62%
Sacks By-Yards 34-260 20-104
Miscellaneous Yards 0 0
Touchdowns Scored 68 36
Field Goals-Attempts 18-20 23-26
On-Side Kicks 0-1 0-3
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%
Attendance 349,381 221,786
Games/Avg Per Game 7/49,912 5/44,357
Neutral Site Games 2/76,372

All opponents

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



Pac-12 opponents

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



Non-conference opponents

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



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. http://espn.go.com/college-football/game?gameId=400756891. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  3. "Stanford vs UCF Game Summary". ESPN. September 12, 2015. http://espn.go.com/college-football/game?gameId=400757023. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  4. "Stanford vs USC Game Summary". ESPN. September 25, 2015. http://espn.go.com/college-football/game?gameId=400757026. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  5. "Stanford vs Oregon State Game Summary". ESPN. September 25, 2015. http://espn.go.com/college-football/recap?gameId=400757035. Retrieved September 26, 2015.
  6. "Arizona vs Stanford Game Summary". ESPN. October 3, 2015. http://espn.go.com/college-football/game?gameId=400757041. Retrieved October 3, 2015.
  7. "UCLA vs Stanford Game Summary". ESPN. October 15, 2015. http://espn.go.com/college-football/recap?gameId=400757050. Retrieved October 16, 2015.
  8. "Washington vs Stanford Game Summary". ESPN. October 24, 2015. http://espn.go.com/college-football/recap?gameId=400757060. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  9. "Stanford vs Washington State Game Summary". ESPN. October 31, 2015. http://espn.go.com/college-football/recap?gameId=400757066. Retrieved November 2, 2015.
  10. "Stanford vs Colorado Game Summary". ESPN. November 7, 2015. http://espn.go.com/college-football/recap?gameId=400757070. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  11. "Oregon vs Stanford Game Summary". ESPN. November 14, 2015. http://espn.go.com/college-football/recap?gameId=400757077. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  12. "California vs Stanford Game Summary". ESPN. November 21, 2015. http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=400757084. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  13. "Notre Dame vs Stanford Game Summary". ESPN. November 28, 2015. http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=400757090. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  14. "All Purpose | FBS Football Statistics - NCAA.com". https://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/individual/20. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
  15. "Rushing Defense | FBS Football Statistics - NCAA.com". https://www.ncaa.com/stats/football/fbs/current/team/24. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
  16. 16.0 16.1 16.2 "Christian McCaffrey sets Rose Bowl record as Stanford routs Iowa". https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2016/01/01/christian-mccaffrey-sets-rose-bowl-record-stanford-routs-iowa/78195914/. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
  17. 17.0 17.1 "Stanford vs. Iowa - Box Score - January 1, 2016 - ESPN". http://espn.go.com/college-football/boxscore?gameId=400852737. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
  18. "Stanford vs. Iowa - Team Statistics - January 1, 2016 - ESPN". http://espn.go.com/college-football/matchup?gameId=400852737. Retrieved 2016-01-03.
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