2015 American Athletic Conference football season | |
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League: | NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) |
Sport: | Football |
Duration: | September 3, 2015 through January 2016 |
No Of Teams: | 12 |
Tv: | ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and CBS Sports Network |
Draft: | 2016 NFL Draft |
Draft Link: | 2016 NFL Draft |
Top Pick: | William Jackson III (Houston) |
Picked By: | Cincinnati Bengals, 24th overall |
Season: | Regular season |
Mvp Link: | American Offensive Player of the Year |
Conf1: | East |
Conf1 Champ: | Temple Owls |
Conf1 Runner-Up: | South Florida Bulls |
Conf2: | West |
Conf2 Champ: | Houston Cougars |
Conf2 Runner-Up: | Navy Midshipmen |
Finals: | The American Championship |
Finals Link: | 2015 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game |
Finals Champ: | Houston Cougars |
Finals Runner-Up: | Temple Owls |
Finals Mvp Link: | American Football Championship MVP |
Seasonslistnames: | Football |
Prevseason Year: | 2014 |
Nextseason Year: | 2016 |
The 2015 American Athletic Conference football season is the 25th NCAA Division I FBS football season of the American Athletic Conference (The American). The season is the third since the breakup of the former Big East Conference, and the second season with the new College Football Playoff in place. Under the playoff system, The American is no longer an Automatic Qualifying conference (AQ), and is considered a member of the "Group of Five" (G5) with Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, and the Sun Belt Conference. Whereas under the previous system the champion of the conference was guaranteed an automatic berth to a BCS bowl game, now the highest-ranked member of the G5 will receive a bid to one of the six major bowls.[1]
The American consists of 12 members: Cincinnati, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, SMU, South Florida, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF, UConn, and new member Navy. In June 2015, the Collegiate Commissioner's Association announced that it will postpone final rankings until after the annual Army–Navy Game if Navy or Army are in contention for a spot in the semifinals or a New Years Six bowl. If Navy is the highest-ranked Group of 5 champion and loses to Army, it would be replaced by next highest-ranked Group of 5 champion in the New Years Six Bowl.[2]
Memphis, Cincinnati, and UCF were declared co-champions for the 2014 season, with each team having a conference record of 7–1. Memphis finished the season ranked 25th after defeating BYU 55–48 in 2OT in the Miami Beach Bowl. UCF was defeated by NC State in the St. Petersburg Bowl, and Virginia Tech defeated Cincinnati in the Military Bowl. With less than 11 minutes left on the game clock in the Armed Forces Bowl, Houston trailed Pittsburgh by 25 points, but the Cougars went on to win by a score of 35–34. It was the biggest fourth quarter comeback in bowl history. Florida defeated East Carolina 28–20 in the Birmingham Bowl.
The 2015 American Athletic Conference Media Day was held at the Hyatt Regency Newport in Newport, Rhode Island on August 3, 2015.[3] [4]
East Division
West Division
See main article: 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings.
Improvement in ranking | ||
Drop in ranking | ||
Not ranked previous week | ||
No change in ranking from previous week | ||
RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll | |
т | Tied with team above or below also with this symbol | |
Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Final | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cincinnati | AP | RV | RV | ||||||||||||||
C | RV | ||||||||||||||||
CFP | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
Connecticut | AP | ||||||||||||||||
C | |||||||||||||||||
CFP | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
East Carolina | AP | ||||||||||||||||
C | |||||||||||||||||
CFP | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
Houston | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 21 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 13 | 21 | 17 | 14 | 8 | ||
C | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 22 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 21 | 18 | 16 | 8 | |||
CFP | Not released | 25 | 24 | 19 | 19 | 18 | |||||||||||
Memphis | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | 18 | 16 | 15 | 25 | RV | RV | RV | |||||
C | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 22 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 25 | RV | RV | RV | RV | |||
CFP | Not released | 13 | 21 | 21 | |||||||||||||
Navy | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | 22 | 19 | 16 | 22 | 21 | 18 | ||||||
C | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | 19 | 15 | 22 | 22 | 18 | |||||
CFP | Not released | 20 | 16 | 15 | 23 | 21 | |||||||||||
SMU | AP | ||||||||||||||||
C | |||||||||||||||||
CFP | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
South Florida | AP | RV | RV | RV | |||||||||||||
C | |||||||||||||||||
CFP | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
Temple | AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 22 | 21 | 23 | 21 | RV | 25 | 20 | 24 | RV | |
C | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 22 | 23 | 21 | RV | 24 | 21 | 24 | RV | ||
CFP | Not released | 22 | 22 | 25 | 22 | 24 | |||||||||||
Tulane | AP | ||||||||||||||||
C | |||||||||||||||||
CFP | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
Tulsa | AP | ||||||||||||||||
C | |||||||||||||||||
CFP | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
UCF | AP | RV | |||||||||||||||
C | RV | ||||||||||||||||
CFP | Not released | ||||||||||||||||
Index to colors and formatting | |
---|---|
The American member won | |
The American member lost | |
The American teams in bold |
Rankings are from AP Poll. All times Eastern Time Zone.
Legend | ||
---|---|---|
The American win | ||
The American loss |
See also: 2015–16 NCAA football bowl games.
Bowl game | Date | Site | Television | Time | American team | Opponent | Score | Attendance | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Miami Beach Bowl | December 21 | Marlins Park • Miami, FL | ESPN | 2:30 PM | South Florida | WKU | 35–45 | 21,712 | |
Boca Raton Bowl | December 22 | FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, FL | ESPN | 7:00 PM |
| 17–32 | 25,908 | ||
Hawaiʻi Bowl | December 24 | Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI | ESPN | 8:00 PM | Cincinnati | San Diego State | 7–42 | 22,793 | |
St. Petersburg Bowl | December 26 | Tropicana Field • St. Petersburg, FL | ESPN | 11:00 AM | UConn | Marshall | 10–16 | 14,652 | |
Independence Bowl | December 26 | Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA | ESPN | 5:45 PM | Tulsa | Virginia Tech | 52–55 | 31,289 | |
Military Bowl | December 28 | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD | ESPN | 2:30 PM |
| Pittsburgh | 44–28 | 36,352 | |
Birmingham Bowl | December 30 | Legion Field • Birmingham, AL | ESPN | 12:00 PM | Memphis | Auburn | 10–31 | 59,430 | |
New Years Six bowl games | |||||||||
Peach Bowl | December 31 | Georgia Dome • Atlanta, GA | ESPN | 12:00 PM |
| 38–24 | 71,007 |
Cincinnati, Connecticut, Houston, Memphis, Navy, South Florida, Temple, Tulsa
East Carolina, SMU, Tulane, UCF
2015 records against FBS conferences:
Conference | Record | |
---|---|---|
ACC | 6–4 | |
Big Ten | 1–1 | |
Big 12 | 1–3 | |
C-USA | 3–3 | |
Independents | 3–5 | |
MAC | 3–1 | |
Mountain West | 2–1 | |
Pac-12 | 0–1 | |
SEC | 2–4 | |
Sun Belt | 2–0 | |
Total | 22–23 |
Legend | ||
---|---|---|
The American win | ||
The American loss |
Date | Visitor | Home | Winning Team | Opponent Conference | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
September 3 | Duke | Tulane | Duke | ACC | |
September 4 | Baylor | SMU | Baylor | Big 12 | |
September 5 | Penn State | Temple | Temple | Big Ten | |
September 12 | USF | Florida State | Florida State | ACC | |
September 12 | Houston | Louisville | Houston | ACC | |
September 12 | Tulane | Georgia Tech | Georgia Tech | ACC | |
September 12 | Memphis | Kansas | Memphis | Big 12 | |
September 12 | UCF | Stanford | Stanford | Pac 12 | |
September 12 | East Carolina | Florida | Florida | SEC | |
September 19 | Tulsa | Oklahoma | Oklahoma | Big 12 | |
September 19 | SMU | TCU | TCU | Big 12 | |
September 19 | UConn | Missouri | Missouri | SEC | |
September 19 | USF | Maryland | Maryland | Big Ten | |
September 26 | East Carolina | Virginia Tech | East Carolina | ACC | |
September 26 | UCF | South Carolina | South Carolina | SEC | |
October 1 | Miami (FL) | Cincinnati | Cincinnati | ACC | |
October 10 | Navy | Notre Dame | Notre Dame | IND | |
October 10 | Syracuse | USF | USF | ACC | |
October 17 | Ole Miss | Memphis | Memphis | SEC | |
October 31 | Vanderbilt | Houston | Houston | SEC | |
October 31 | Notre Dame | Temple | Notre Dame | IND | |
December 26‡ | Virginia Tech | Tulsa | Virginia Tech | ACC | |
December 28‡ | Pittsburgh | Navy | Navy | ACC | |
December 30‡ | Auburn | Memphis | Auburn | SEC | |
December 31‡ | Florida State | Houston | Houston | ACC |
Week | Offensive | Defensive | Special teams | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Player | Position | Team | Player | Position | Team | Player | Position | Team | ||
Week 1 | Keevan Lucas | WR | TUL | Tyler Matakevich | LB | TEM | Roderick Proctor | WR | MEM | |
Week 2 | Greg Ward Jr. | QB | HOU | Tyler Matakevich | LB | TEM | Brandon Wilson Jahad Thomas | CB RB | HOU TEM | |
Week 3 | Keenan Reynolds | QB | NAVY | Eric Wilson | LB | CIN | Jake Elliott | K | MEM | |
Week 4 | Keenan Reynolds | QB | NAVY | William Jackson III | CB | HOU | Spencer Smith | P | MEM | |
Week 5 | Greg Ward Jr. | QB | HOU | Montese Overton | LB | E CAR | Nick Jacobs | P | MEM | |
Week 6 | Greg Ward Jr. | QB | HOU | Steven Taylor | LB | HOU | Arkeel Newsome | RB | CONN | |
Week 7 | QB | MEM | CB | E CAR | Demarcus Ayers | WR | HOU | |||
Week 8 | Gunner Kiel | QB | CIN | Steven Taylor | LB | HOU | Jake Elliott | K | MEM | |
Week 9 | Chris Swain | FB | NAVY | CB | CONN | Alex Barta | P | NAVY | ||
Week 10 | Marlon Mack | RB | USF | Elandon Roberts | LB | HOU | Andrew DiRocco | K | TUL | |
Week 11 | Noel Thomas | WR | CONN | Deatrick Nichols | CB | USF | Davis Plowman | K | ECU | |
Week 12 | Paxton Lynch | QB | MEM | Tyler Matakevich | LB | TEMP | Andrew Gantz | K | CIN |
The following individuals received postseason honors as voted by the American Athletic Conference football coaches at the end of the season[8]
2015 American Athletic Conference Individual Awards | ||||||
Award | Recipient(s) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Offensive Player of the Year | Keenan Reynolds, QB, Navy | |||||
Defensive Player of the Year | Tyler Matakevich, LB, Temple | |||||
Special Teams Player of the Year | Jake Elliott, K, Memphis | |||||
Rookie of the Year | Tre'Quan Smith, WR, UCF | |||||
Coach of the Year | Tom Herman, Houston Ken Niumatalolo, Navy | |||||
2015 All-American Athletic Conference Football Teams | ||||
First Team | Second Team | |||
Offense | Defense | Offense | Defense | |
---|---|---|---|---|
WR – Demarcus Ayers, HOU WR – Keyarris Garrett, TUL OT – Parker Ehinger, CIN OT – Taylor Fallin, MEM OG – E.K. Binns, NAVY OG – Eric Lofton, TEMP C – Kyle Friend, TEMP TE – Bryce Williams, ECU QB – Paxton Lynch, MEM QB – Keenan Reynolds, NAVY RB – Marlon Mack, USF RB – Jahad Thomas, TEMP K – Jake Elliott, MEM RS – Demarcus Ayers, HOU | DL – Will Anthony, NAVY DL – Matt Ioannidis, TEMP DL – Nate D. Smith, TEMP DL – Tanzel Smart, TULN LB – Zeek Bigger, ECU LB – Elandon Roberts, HOU LB – Tyler Matakevich^, TEMP LB – Nico Marley, TULN CB – Jamar Summers, CONN CB – Deatrick Nichols, USF S – Trevon Stewart, HOU S – Alex Wells, TEMP P – Spencer Smith, MEM | WR – Shaq Washington, CIN WR – Isaiah Jones, ECU OT – Alex Cooper, HOU OT – Dion Dawkins, TEMP OG – Ryan Leahy, CIN OG – Thor Jozwiak, USF C – Deyshawn Bond, CIN TE – Sean Price, USF QB – Greg Ward Jr., HOU RB – Kenneth Farrow, HOU RB – Chris Swain, NAVY K – Andrew Gantz, CIN RS – Rodney Adams, USF | DL – Silverberry Mouhon, CIN DL – Julian Campenni, CONN DL – B.J. Singleton, HOU DL – Eric Lee, USF DL – Eric Wilson, CIN LB – Montese Overton, ECU LB – Steven Taylor, HOU LB – Auggie Sanchez, USF CB – William Jackson III, HOU CB – Sean Chandler, TEMP S – Andrew Adams, CONN S – Adrian McDonald, HOU P – Caleb Houston, UCF P – Mattias Ciabatti, USF | |
^ - denotes unanimous selection Additional players added to the All-American teams due to ties in the voting |
The following list includes all AAC players who were drafted in the 2016 NFL draft.
Player | Position | School | Draft Round | Round Pick | Overall Pick | Team | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
William Jackson III | CB | Houston | 1 | 24 | 24 | Cincinnati Bengals | |
Paxton Lynch | QB | Memphis | 1 | 26 | 26 | Denver Broncos | |
Tavon Young | CB | Temple | 4 | 6 | 104 | Baltimore Ravens | |
Parker Ehinger | OG | Cincinnati | 4 | 7 | 105 | Kansas City Chiefs | |
Chris Moore | WR | Cincinnati | 4 | 9 | 107 | Baltimore Ravens | |
Matt Ioannidis | DT | Temple | 5 | 13 | 152 | Washington Redskins | |
Keenan Reynolds | RB | Navy | 6 | 7 | 182 | Baltimore Ravens | |
Elandon Roberts | ILB | Houston | 6 | 39 | 214 | New England Patriots | |
DeMarcus Ayers | WR | Houston | 7 | 8 | 229 | Pittsburgh Steelers | |
Tyler Matakevich | OLB | Temple | 7 | 25 | 246 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
Team | Stadium | Capacity | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 | Total | Average | % of Capacity | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cincinnati | Nippert Stadium | 40,000 | 39,095 | 38,112 | 40,101 | 40,124 | 30,131 | 35,015 | 222,578 | 37,096 | 92.74% | ||
Connecticut | Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field | 40,642 | 26,113 | 28,260 | 33,204 | 31,719 | 23,168 | 26,879 | 169,343 | 28,224 | 69.44% | ||
East Carolina | Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium | 50,000 | 40,712 | 50,514 | 43,065 | 39,417 | 45,194 | 40,743 | 218,902 | 43,780 | 87.56% | ||
Houston | TDECU Stadium | 40,000 | 30,749 | 35,257 | 25,204 | 29,565 | 32,889 | 42,159 | 40,562 | 195,553 | 32,592 | 81.48% | |
Memphis | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium | 59,308 | 41,740 | 45,172 | 60,241 | 30,381 | 55,212 | 30,075 | 232,736 | 46,547 | 78.48% | ||
Navy | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium | 34,000 | 28,015 | 34,717 | 32,705 | 32,033 | 26,766 | 35,778 | 190,014 | 31,669 | 93.14% | ||
SMU | Gerald J. Ford Stadium | 32,000 | 32,047 | 25,401 | 22,314 | 17,136 | 18,217 | 17,232 | 14,954 | 147,301 | 21,043 | 65.76% | |
South Florida | Raymond James Stadium | 65,890 | 30,034 | 22,546 | 27,235 | 39,417 | 28,393 | 26,522 | 159,468 | 26,578 | 40.34% | ||
Temple | Lincoln Financial Field | 69,176 | 69,176 | 35,179 | 31,372 | 69,280 | 31,708 | 28,236 | 236,715 | 47,343 | 68.44% | ||
Tulane | Yulman Stadium | 30,000 | 25,470 | 21,114 | 20,024 | 21,522 | 26,775 | 22,672 | 137,577 | 22,930 | 76.43% | ||
Tulsa | Skelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium | 30,000 | 24,001 | 17,146 | 17,490 | 20,216 | 16,128 | 22,749 | 117,730 | 19,622 | 65.41% | ||
UCF | Bright House Networks Stadium | 44,206 | 39,184 | 36,484 | 26,669 | 28,350 | 23,734 | 25,967 | 180,388 | 30,065 | 68.01% |