2015 LSU Tigers football team

The 2015 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. They played their home games at Tiger Stadium, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and competed in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by 11th-year head coach Les Miles. They finished the season 9–3, 5–3 in SEC play to finish in a tie for third place in the Western Division. They were invited to the Texas Bowl where they defeated Texas Tech.

2015 LSU Tigers football
Texas Bowl champion
Texas Bowl, W 56–27 vs. Texas Tech
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionWestern Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 17
APNo. 16
2015 record9–3 (5–3 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorCam Cameron (3rd season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorKevin Steele (1st season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumTiger Stadium
(Capacity: 102,321)
2015 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
East Division
No. 25 Florida x  7 –1     10 –4  
No. 22 Tennessee  5 –3     9 –4  
Georgia  5 –3     10 –3  
Vanderbilt  2 –6     4 –8  
Kentucky  2 –6     5 –7  
Missouri  1 –7     5 –7  
South Carolina  1 –7     3 –9  
West Division
No. 1 Alabama x$#^  7 –1     14 –1  
No. 10 Ole Miss  6 –2     10 –3  
Arkansas  5 –3     8 –5  
No. 16 LSU  5 –3     9 –3  
Texas A&M  4 –4     8 –5  
Mississippi State  4 –4     9 –4  
Auburn  2 –6     7 –6  
Championship: Alabama 29, Florida 15
    1. – College Football Playoff champion
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season and offseason

The 2014 LSU Tigers football team finished the season 8–5 (4–4 in SEC) with a loss to Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl, 31–28. The Tigers won all four non-conference games including the Big-Ten runner-up Wisconsin Badgers, and four SEC games against Florida, Kentucky, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M. LSU suffered its first loss of the season at home against the Mississippi State Bulldogs, the first loss to the Bulldogs since 1999 and first loss to the Bulldogs at home since 1991.

The previous season was one of the worst for LSU under Les Miles, matching the record of the 2008 LSU Tigers football team. The team did manage to sign the consensus #2 recruiting class in the country, including top rated recruits Leonard Fournette, Malachi Dupre, and Brandon Harris, all who made contributions during the season. After the bowl game, Defensive Coordinator John Chavis announced he was leaving LSU for the same position at Texas A&M. LSU hired former Alabama defensive coordinator Kevin Steele to fill the position, and subsequently hired former Ole Miss head coach Ed Orgeron to coach the defensive line.[1][2] Former defensive line coach and ace recruiter Brick Haley departed for the same position at Texas in February.[3]

LSU lost only three underclassmen to the NFL in the offseason: linebacker Kwon Alexander, cornerback Jalen Collins and defensive end Danielle Hunter; this was a large decrease compared to losing 11 underclassmen in 2012 and 7 in 2013.[4] On January 16 Les Miles held a press conference announcing that six underclassmen starters would return, including leading receiver Travin Dural and star defensive back Jalen Mills, as well as offensive linemen Vadal Alexander and Jerald Hawkins, tight end Dillon Gordon, and linebacker Lamar Louis.[5]

For the third consecutive season, LSU signed a top-ten recruiting class consisting of 25 signees, highlighted by top-rated recruits Kevin Toliver II, Arden Key, Tyron Johnson, and Donte Jackson.[6] While not as acclaimed as the previous season's consensus #2 ranked class, the class was ranked #10 by ESPN, #8 by rivals.com, and #5 by 24/7 sports.

Players drafted
Main article: 2015 NFL Draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionNFL Team
242 Jalen CollinsDefensive backAtlanta Falcons
388 Danielle HunterDefensive linemanMinnesota Vikings
4124 Kwon AlexanderLinebackerTampa Bay Buccaneers
7235 Kenny HilliardRunning backHouston Texans
Reference:[7]

Class of 2015 signees

Coaching staff
NamePositionSeasons at
LSU		Alma Mater
Les MilesHead coach11Michigan (1976)
Frank WilsonRunning backs/Recruiting coordinator6Nicholls State (1997)
Bradley Dale PevetoSpecial teams/ Defensive Assistiant6Southern Methodist (1987)
Cam CameronOffensive coordinator/Quarterbacks3Indiana (1983)
Jeff GrimesOffensive line/Running Game Coordinator2Texas – El Paso (1991)
Kevin SteeleDefensive coordinator1Tennessee (1979)
Steve EnsmingerTight ends6LSU (1982)
Corey RaymondDefensive backs3LSU (1992)
Ed OrgeronDefensive line1Northwestern State (1984)
Tony BallWide receivers1UT-Chattanooga (1983)
Reference:[8]

Depth chart

The official opening day depth chart was released on August 31, 2015.[9]

Schedule

LSU announced their 2015 football schedule on October 14, 2014. The 2015 schedule consists of 7 home games and 5 away games in the regular season. The Tigers will host SEC foes Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, and Texas A&M, and will travel to Alabama, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and South Carolina.[10] The Tigers planned to open the 2015 season against the McNeese State Cowboys at home on September 5, however, several lightning delays caused the game to be canceled. As a result, LSU will play a schedule of 11 regular season games for 2015. The Tigers officially opened their season on the road against conference and division rival Mississippi State on September 12. The other non-conference games on LSU's schedule are against Eastern Michigan, Syracuse, and WKU. This season will consist of the first meeting against the Syracuse Orange since the 1989 Hall of Fame Bowl where the Orange defeated the Tigers 23–10. Because of massive flooding to the Columbia, South Carolina area, both schools agreed to play the October 10th matchup at Tiger Stadium, while still treating it as a home game for South Carolina.

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 128:15 p.m.at No. 25 Mississippi StateNo. 14
ESPNW 21–1962,531
September 192:30 p.m.No. 18 AuburnNo. 13
CBSW 45–21102,321
September 2611:00 a.m.at Syracuse*No. 8
ESPNW 34–2443,101
October 36:00 p.m.Eastern Michigan*No. 9
  • Tiger Stadium
  • Baton Rouge, LA
ESPNUW 44–22102,321
October 102:30 p.m.at South CarolinaNo. 7
  • Tiger Stadium
  • Baton Rouge, LA[b]
ESPNW 45–2442,058
October 176:00 p.m.No. 8 FloridaNo. 6
  • Tiger Stadium
  • Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)
ESPNW 35–28102,321
October 246:00 p.m.WKU*No. 5
  • Tiger Stadium
  • Baton Rouge, LA
ESPNUW 48–20101,561
November 77:00 p.m.at No. 4 AlabamaNo. 2
CBSL 16–30101,821
November 146:15 p.m.ArkansasNo. 9
ESPNL 14–31101,699
November 212:30 p.m.at No. 22 Ole MissNo. 15
CBSL 17–3860,705
November 286:30 p.m.Texas A&M
  • Tiger Stadium
  • Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)
SECNW 19–7101,803
December 298:00 p.m.vs. Texas Tech*No. 22
ESPNW 56–2771,054
^[a] The game between LSU and McNeese State was canceled due to inclement weather. The game was delayed due to lightning after 5 minutes of play during which each team held the ball for one drive and no one scored. Both schools' athletic directors decided not to reschedule the game, thus declaring it a "no contest". LSU did agree to pay McNeese State its promised fee of $500,000.
^[b] The game between LSU and South Carolina was originally scheduled to take place in Columbia, South Carolina. However, in light of massive flooding in Columbia earlier in the week, the game was moved to Baton Rouge.[11]
Schedule Source:[12]

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 14 14 13 8 (1) 9 7 6 5 (1) 4 (5) 4 (5) 9 17 RV 23 22 16 
Coaches 13 15 14 9 8 5 (1) 5 (1) 5 (1) 4 (1) 4 (1) 9 17 RV 23 21 17 
CFP Not released 2 9 15 NR 21 20 Not released

Season summary

at Mississippi State
See also: 2015 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team
No. 14 LSU Tigers at No. 25 Mississippi State Bulldogs – Game Summary
1 2 34Total
No. 15 Tigers 14 0 7021
No. 25 Bulldogs 0 3 31319

at Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Mississippi

  • Date: September 12, 2015
  • Game time: 9:15 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 62,531

Auburn
See also: 2015 Auburn Tigers football team and Tiger Bowl
No. 18 Auburn Tigers at No. 13 LSU Tigers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
No. 18 Auburn Tigers 0 0 14721
No. 13 LSU Tigers 14 10 14745

at Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, Louisiana

  • Date: September 19, 2015
  • Game time: 2:39 p.m.
  • Game attendance: 102,321
Game information

at Syracuse
See also: 2015 Syracuse Orange football team
No. 8 LSU Tigers at Syracuse Orange – Game summary
1 2 34Total
No. 8 Tigers 7 0 171034
Orange 0 3 71424

at Carrier Dome • Syracuse, New York

  • Date: September 26, 2015
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m.
  • Game attendance: 43,101
Game information

Eastern Michigan
See also: 2015 Eastern Michigan Eagles football team
Eastern Michigan Eagles at No. 9 LSU Tigers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Eagles 0 14 8022
No. 9 Tigers 14 6 101444

at Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, Louisiana

  • Date: October 3, 2015
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m.
  • Game attendance: 102,321
Game information

South Carolina
See also: 2015 South Carolina Gamecocks football team
South Carolina Gamecocks at No. 7 LSU Tigers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Gamecocks 3 7 14024
No. 7 Tigers 7 10 21745

at Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, Louisiana

  • Date: October 10, 2015
  • Game time: 12:30 p.m.
  • Game attendance: 43,101
Game information

Florida
See also: 2015 Florida Gators football team and Florida–LSU football rivalry
No. 8 Florida Gators at No. 6 LSU Tigers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
No. 8 Gators 7 7 14028
No. 6 Tigers 0 28 0735

at Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, Louisiana

  • Date: October 17, 2015
  • Game time: 12:30 p.m.
  • Game attendance: 102,321
Game information

Western Kentucky
See also: 2015 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team
Western Kentucky Hilltoppers at No. 5 LSU Tigers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Hilltoppers 0 7 6720
No. 5 Tigers 7 7 201448

at Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, Louisiana

  • Date: October 24, 2015
  • Game time: 12:30 p.m.
  • Game attendance: 43,101
Game information

References
  1. Scarborough, Alex (January 13, 2015). "LSU Hires Kevin Steele as DC". ESPN. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  2. Scarborough, Alex (January 13, 2015). "Ex-USC Trojans Interim Coach Ed Orgeron Hired as LSU Defensive Line Coach". ESPN. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
  3. Michelet, Kirk (February 13, 2015). "Brick Haley leaves LSU to join the Texas Longhorns". WAFB. Retrieved September 21, 2019.
  4. Ching, David (January 22, 2015). "Smaller Draft Hit Should Help LSU in 2015". ESPN. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  5. Ivy, Joshua (January 17, 2015). "Six Starters Returning in 2015". Fansided. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  6. "LSU recruiting class". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. 2015. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  7. "Football – 2015 NFL Draft". National Football League. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
  8. "Football – 2015 Coaches". Louisiana State University Department of Athletics. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  9. "LSU's Depth Chart: Week 1". 247 Sports. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
  10. "LSU Announces 2015 Football Schedule" (Press release). Louisiana State University Department of Athletics. October 14, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
  11. "Football Game Moved to Baton Rouge". University of South Carolina Department of Athletics. October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  12. "2015 LSU Tigers Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved October 31, 2014.
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