2015 Atlantic Coast Conference football season

2015 ACC football season
League NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision)
Sport Football
Duration September 2015 to January 2016
Number of teams 14
Regular season
Atlantic champions Clemson Tigers
Coastal champions North Carolina Tar Heels
ACC Championship Game
Champions Clemson Tigers
Finals MVP Deshaun Watson
2015 ACC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
Atlantic Division
#2 Clemson x$^   8 – 0         14 – 1  
#14 Florida State   6 – 2         10 – 3  
Louisville   5 – 3         8 – 5  
NC State   3 – 5         7 – 6  
Syracuse   2 – 6         4 – 8  
Wake Forest   1 – 7         3 – 9  
Boston College   0 – 8         3 – 9  
Coastal Division
#15 North Carolina x   8 – 0         11 – 3  
Pittsburgh   6 – 2         8 – 5  
Miami   5 – 3         8 – 5  
Duke   4 – 4         8 – 5  
Virginia Tech   4 – 4         7 – 6  
Virginia   3 – 5         4 – 8  
Georgia Tech   1 – 7         3 – 9  
Championship: Clemson 45, North Carolina 37
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
As of January 12, 2016; Rankings from AP Poll

The 2015 Atlantic Coast Conference football season was the 63rd season of college football play for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). It was played from September 2015 to January 2016.[1] The Atlantic Coast Conference consisted of 14 members in two divisions. The Atlantic Division consisted of Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina State, Syracuse, and Wake Forest. The Coastal Division consisted of Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Virginia, and Virginia Tech. The division champions, Clemson and North Carolina, met on December 5th in the 2015 ACC Championship Game, in Charlotte, North Carolina at Bank of America Stadium.

Preseason

Preseason Poll

The 2015 ACC Preseason Poll was announced at the ACC Football Kickoff meetings in Pinehurst, North Carolina on July 19–21.[2] Georgia Tech was voted to win Coastal division while Clemson was voted to win the Atlantic division and the conference. Deshaun Watson of Clemson was voted the Preseason ACC Player of the Year.[3]

Atlantic Division poll

  1. Clemson – 1,032 (101 first place votes)
  2. Florida State – 992 (56)
  3. Louisville – 746 (1)
  4. North Carolina State - 673
  5. Boston College – 473
  6. Syracuse – 291
  7. Wake Forest – 217

Coastal Division poll

  1. Georgia Tech – 991 (96)
  2. Virginia Tech – 841 (44)
  3. Miami – 632 (7)
  4. Duke – 615 (4)
  5. North Carolina – 590 (4)
  6. Pittsburgh - 535 (3)
  7. Virginia – 220

Predicted ACC Championship Game Winner

  1. Clemson – 84
  2. Florida State – 41
  3. Georgia Tech - 20
  4. Virginia Tech - 7
  5. North Carolina - 3
  6. Miami - 2
  7. NC State - 1

Preseason ACC Player of the Year

  1. Deshaun Watson, CLEM - 69
  2. James Conner, PITT - 16
  3. Justin Thomas, GT - 13
  4. Jalen Ramsey, FSU - 7
  5. Brad Kaaya, MIA - 7
  6. Marquise Williams, UNC - 6
  7. Kendall Fuller, VT - 6
  8. Tyler Boyd, PITT - 3
  9. Jacoby Brissett, NCST - 1

Preseason All Conference Teams[4]

Offense

Position Player School
Wide Receiver Tyler Boyd Pittsburgh
Mike Williams Clemson
Artavis Scott Clemson
Tight End Bucky Hodges Virginia Tech
Tackle Roderick Johnson Florida State
Adam Bisnowaty Pittsburgh
Guard Landon Turner North Carolina
Eric Mac Lain Clemson
Center Matt Skura Duke
Quarterback Deshaun Watson Clemson
Running Back James Conner Pittsburgh
Shadrach Thornton NC State

Defense

Position Player School
Defensive end Dadi Lhomme Nicolas Virginia Tech
Shaq Lawson Clemson
Sheldon Rankins Louisville
Defensive tackle Adam Gotsis Georgia Tech
Luther Maddy Virginia Tech
Linebacker Terrance Smith Florida State
Brandon Chubb Wake Forest
James Burgess Louisville
Cornerback Jalen Ramsey Florida State
Kendall Fuller Virginia Tech
Safety Jeremy Cash Duke
Quin Blanding Virginia

Specialist

Position Player School
Placekicker Roberto Aguayo Florida State
Punter Alex Kinal Wake Forest
Specialist Ryan Switzer North Carolina

Coaches

Only one team changed head coaches for the 2015 season. Pat Narduzzi was selected as Pittsburgh's fifth head coach since 2010 following the resignation of former coach Paul Chryst. Chryst accepted the head coaching job at Wisconsin on December 17, 2014 leaving the vacancy for Pittsburgh to fill.[5] This will be Narduzzi's first head coaching job at the collegiate level. He has, however, been regarded as one of the best assistant coaches in college football, winning the 2013 Broyles Award.[6] He was most recently the defensive coordinator at Michigan State.

Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season

Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school ACC record
Boston College Steve Addazio 3 27–23 14–12 8–8
Clemson Dabo Swinney 8 61–26 61–26 39–14
Duke David Cutcliffe 8 84–77 40–48 20–36
Florida State Jimbo Fisher 5 58–11 58–11 34–6
Georgia Tech Paul Johnson 8 166–74 58–35 37–19
Louisville Bobby Petrino 6 92–34 50–13 5–3
Miami Al Golden 5 55–56 28–22 16–16
North Carolina Larry Fedora 4 55–36 21–17 13–11
NC State Dave Doeren 3 34–18 11–14 3–13
Pittsburgh Pat Narduzzi 1 0–0 0–0 0–0
Syracuse Scott Shafer 3 10–15 10–15 5–11
Virginia Mike London 6 47–43 23–38 11–29
Virginia Tech Frank Beamer 28 273-138–4 231–115–2 65–23
Wake Forest Dave Clawson 2 93–88 3–9 1–7

Al Golden Firing

On October 25th, Miami athletic director Blake James fired head coach Al Golden, just over halfway through the season. [7] The firing came after a 58-0 loss to Clemson, the worst loss in program history. [8] Throughout the season, parts of the Miami fan base, and even former players, had been very vocal in calling for a head coaching change. In each home game, and even a game at Cincinnati, planes had been hired to fly banners over the stadium on gameday reading "Fire Al Golden". [9] The tight ends coach, Larry Scott, took over interim head coaching duties for the remainder of the season. [10]

Rankings

Legend
    Improvement in ranking
  Drop in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
  Pre Wk
1 		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 		Final
Boston College AP
C RV
CFP Not released  
Clemson AP 12 12 11 11 12 6 5 (1) 6 (1) 3 (6) 3 (6) 1 (31) 1 (34) 1 (55) 1 (53) 1 (51) 2
C 12 12 9 10 11 6 6 6 6 (1) 5 (2) 2 (21) 1 (28) 1 (58) 1 (52) 1 (55) 2
CFP Not released 1 1 1 1 1 1
Duke AP RV RV RV 25 23 22 RV RV
C RV RV RV RV RV 24 21 18 RV RV
CFP Not released  
Florida State AP 10 11 9 10 11 12 11 9 17 17 19 16 14 10 9 14
C 8 8 6 7 9 8 8 9 15 15 18 16 14 9 8 14
CFP Not released 16 16 14 13 9 9
Georgia Tech AP 16 15 14 20
C 17 16 16 20 RV
CFP Not released  
Louisville AP RV RV
C RV RV RV RV RV
CFP Not released  
Miami AP RV RV
C RV RV RV RV RV
CFP Not released  
North Carolina AP RV RV RV 21 17 12 11 8 10 15
C RV RV RV RV RV 21 17 12 11 8 11 15
CFP Not released   23 17 14 10 10
NC State AP RV RV RV RV RV
C RV RV RV RV RV
CFP Not released  
Pittsburgh AP 25 23 RV RV RV
C RV RV RV 24 RV RV RV RV RV
CFP Not released  
Syracuse AP
C
CFP Not released  
Virginia AP
C
CFP Not released  
Virginia Tech AP RV RV RV
C RV RV
CFP Not released  
Wake Forest AP
C
CFP Not released  

Bowl Games

Bowl game Date Site Television Time (EST) ACC team Opponent Score Attendance
Hyundai Sun Bowl December 26 Sun Bowl Stadium • El Paso, TX CBS 2:00 PM Miami Washington State WSU 14–20 41,180
New Era Pinstripe Bowl December 26 Yankee Stadium • New York, NY ABC 3:30 PM Duke Indiana DUKE 44–41 (OT) 37,218
Camping World Independence Bowl December 26 Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA ESPN 5:30 PM Virginia Tech Tulsa VT 55–52 31,289
Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman December 28 Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD ESPN 2:30 PM Pittsburgh #21 Navy NAVY 28–44 36,352
Russell Athletic Bowl December 29 Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium • Orlando, FL ESPN 5:30 PM #10 North Carolina #17 Baylor BU 38–49 40,418
Belk Bowl December 30 Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NC ESPN 3:30 PM NC State Mississippi State MSU 28–51 46,423
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl December 30 Nissan Stadium • Nashville, TN ESPN 7:00 PM Louisville Texas A&M LOU 27–21 50,478
College Football Playoff bowl games
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl December 31 Georgia Dome • Atlanta, GA ESPN 12:00 PM #9 Florida State #18 Houston HOU 24–38 71,007
Capital One Orange Bowl (CFP Semifinal) December 31 Sun Life Stadium • Miami Gardens, FL ESPN 4:00 PM #1 Clemson #4 Oklahoma CLEM 37–17 67,615
CFP National Championship January 11 University of Phoenix Stadium • Glendale, AZ ESPN 8:00 PM #1 Clemson #2 Alabama ALA 40–45 75,765

* Rankings based on CFP rankings

Postseason

All Conference Teams[11]

First Team

Position Player Class Team
First Team Offense
QB Deshaun Watson So Clemson
RB Dalvin Cook So Florida State
Elijah Hood So North Carolina
WR Tyler Boyd Jr Pittsburgh
Artavis Scott So Clemson
Isaiah Ford So Virginia Tech
TE Jaylen Samuels So NC State
T Roderick Johnson So Florida State
Joe Thuney Sr NC State
G Landon Turner Sr North Carolina
Eric MacClain Sr Clemson
C Matt Skura Sr Duke
First Team Defense
DE Ejuan Price Sr Pittsburgh
Shaq Lawson Jr Clemson
DT Carlos Watkins Jr Clemson
Luther Maddy^ Sr Virginia Tech
Connor Wujciak^ Sr Boston College
LB Micah Kaiser So Virginia
Brandon Chubb Sr Wake Forest
Keith Kelsey Jr Louisville
CB Jalen Ramsey Jr Florida State
Mackensie Alexander So Clemson
S Jeremy Cash Sr Duke
Quin Blanding So Virginia
First Team Special Teams
PK Roberto Aguayo Jr Florida State
P Riley Dixon Sr Syracuse
SP DeVon Edwards Jr Duke

Second Team

Position Player Class Team
Second Team Offense
QB Marquise Williams Sr North Carolina
RB Wayne Gallman So Clemson
Qadree Ollison Fr Pittsburgh
WR Travis Rudolph So Florida State
Canaan Severin Sr Virginia
Mack Hollins^ Jr North Carolina
Kermit Whitfield^ Jr Florida State
TE Jordan Leggett Jr Clemson
T Jon Heck Jr North Carolina
Adam Bisnowaty Jr Pittsburgh
G Dorian Johnson Jr Pittsburgh
Caleb Peterson Jr North Carolina
C Jay Guillermo Jr Clemson
Second Team Defense
DE Mike Rose Sr NC State
DeMarcus Walker Jr Florida State
DT Nile Lawrence-Stample Jr Florida State
DeAngelo Brown Jr Louisville
LB Steven Daniels Sr Boston College
Ben Bouleware^ Jr Clemson
B.J Goodson^ Sr Clemson
Reggie Northrup^ Sr Florida State
CB M.J. Stewart So North Carolina
Artie Burns Jr Miami
S Jayron Kearse Jr Clemson
Justin Simmons Sr Boston College
Second Team Special Teams
PK Greg Huegel Fr Clemson
P Alex Kinal Sr Wake Forest
SP Ryan Switzer Jr North Carolina

Third Team

Position Player Class Team
Third Team Offense
QB Brad Kaaya So Miami
RB Taquan Mizzell Jr Virginia
Travon McMillian Fr Virginia Tech
WR Stacy Coley Jr Miami
Ryan Switzer Jr North Carolina
Quinshad Davis Sr North Carolina
TE Bucky Hodges So Virginia Tech
T Mitch Hyatt Fr Clemson
Joe Gore Sr Clemson
G Tyrone Crowder So Clemson
Kareem Are Jr Florida State
C Lucas Crowley Jr North Carolina
Third Team Defense
DE Sheldon Rankins Sr Louisville
Ron Thompson Jr Syracuse
DT Nazair Jones Jr North Carolina
Derrick Nnadi^ So Florida State
Darryl Render^ Sr Pittsburgh
LB Shakeel Rashad Sr North Carolina
James Burgess Sr Louisville
Dwayne Norman Sr Duke
CB Cordrea Tankersley Jr Clemson
Des Lawrence Jr North Carolina
S Jordan Whitehead Fr Pittsburgh
Derwin James Fr Florida State
Third Team Special Teams
PK Ross Martin Sr Duke
P Will Monday Sr Duke
SP Brisly Estime Jr Syracuse

^ indicates that there was a tie in the voting

ACC Individual Awards

ACC Player of the Year

QB Deshaun Watson - Clemson

Rookie of the Year

S Jordan Whitehead - Pittsburgh

Coach of the Year

Dabo Swinney - Clemson

Offensive Player of the Year

QB Deshaun Watson - Clemson

Offensive Rookie of the Year

QB Qadree Ollison - Miami

Jacobs Blocking Trophy[12]

T Roderick Johnson - Florida State

Defensive Player of the Year

S Jeremy Cash - Duke

Defensive Rookie of the Year

S Jordan Whitehead - Pittsburgh

National Awards[13]

References

  1. ↑ "2015 ACC football schedule". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  2. ↑ Bender, Bill. "ACC Kickoff: Dates, schedule, five things to watch". Sporting News. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  3. ↑ "Gators lead ACC FOOTBALL KICKOFF PRESEASON POLL". Atlantic Coast Conference. 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  4. ↑ "2015 ALL-ACC Preseason Football Team Announced". Atlantic Coast Conference. 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
  5. ↑ Fornelli, Tom. "Wisconsin makes it official, hiring Paul Chryst as head coach". CBS Sports. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  6. ↑ Thamel, Pete. "Michigan State DC Pat Narduzzi to be new Pittsburgh head coach". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  7. ↑ Fortuna, Matt. "Miami Hurricanes fire Al Golden as head coach day after 58-0 pounding". ESPN. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  8. ↑ "Miami overrun by No. 6 Clemson in blowout". ESPN. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "The 'Fire Al Golden' banner follows Miami to Cincinnati". Fox Sports. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  10. ↑ Miller–Degnan, Susan (October 25, 2015). "University of Miami Fires Head Coach Al Golden". The Miami Herald. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  11. ↑ "ACSMA Announces 2015 All-ACC Teams". theacc.com. 2015. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  12. ↑ Tom D'Angelo (2015). "Florida State OT Rod Johnson wins Jacobs Blocking Trophy". palmbeachpost.com. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  13. ↑ "College Football Awards - 2015". ESPN. 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  14. ↑ "Brandon Chubb Earns Pop Warner College Football Award". TheACC.com. 2015. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
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