2015 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

Previous season and offseason

The 2014 Alabama Crimson Tide finished the regular season 11–1, 7–1 SEC, with their only loss to Ole Miss. The Crimson Tide won the Western Division of SEC and qualified to play in the 2014 SEC Championship Game against the Missouri Tigers. Alabama defeated the Tigers, 42–13 in Atlanta, Georgia, clinching the program's 24th SEC title. The team was ranked no. 1 in all polls including the new College Football Playoff Rankings entering bowl season. As the no. 1 seed in the inaugural College Football Playoff, the Crimson Tide were selected to play in the semifinal game at the 2015 Sugar Bowl against the no. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten. Alabama fell short against the Buckeyes in a 35–42 upset loss, finishing the 2014 season 12–2.

Departures

Notable departures from the 2014 squad included juniors Amari Cooper, T.J. Yeldon, and Landon Collins, who all forewent their final year of eligibility and declared for the 2015 NFL Draft.

2015 recruiting class

Prior to National Signing Day in February 2015, eight players enrolled for the spring semester in order to participate in spring practice and included six former high school seniors and two junior college transfers. On National Signing Day, Alabama signed 18 additional players out of high school that completed the 2015 recruiting class. The class was highlighted by 19 players from the "ESPN 300": . Alabama signed the No. 1 recruiting class according to ESPN.com and 247Sports.com, and No. 2 according to "Rivals.com" and "Scout.com" behind USC.

Returning starters

Alabama had seven returning players on offense, five on defense and five on special teams that started games in 2014.

Spring practice

Alabama started spring practice on March 16 and concluded 15 practices later on April 18 with the annual A-Day game.

Coaching staff

Alabama head coach Nick Saban entered his ninth year as the Crimson Tide's head coach for the 2015 season. During his previous eight years with Alabama, he led the Crimson Tide to an overall record of 86 wins and 17 losses (86–17, .835) and the 2009, 2011 and 2012 national championships.

Depth chart

As of September 5, 2015.

Schedule

The 2015 schedule was released on October 14, 2014. Alabama faced all six Western Division opponents: Arkansas, Auburn, LSU, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, and Texas A&M. They faced two Eastern Division opponents: official SEC rival Tennessee and Georgia. Alabama was not scheduled to play SEC opponents Florida, Kentucky, Missouri, South Carolina or Vanderbilt – although ultimately faced Florida in the SEC Championship Game. They were also scheduled to play four non-conference games: Wisconsin of the Big Ten Conference, Middle Tennessee of Conference USA, Louisiana–Monroe of the Sun Belt Conference and Charleston Southern of the FCS' Big South Conference.

vs. #3 Michigan State Spartans – (Cotton Bowl Classic – CFP Semifinal)

The Alabama Crimson Tide (13-1 overall), ranked No. 2 in the College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings, produced a dominant performance for a 38-0 victory over the No. 3 Michigan State Spartans (12-2) Thursday night in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic in front of a crowd of 82,812 at AT&T Stadium (capacity: 71,815). With the victory, Alabama advances to the CFP National Championship Game against the No. 1 Clemson Tigers set for Monday, January 11, 2016, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

The Alabama defense produced another excellent performance against a quality opponent, shutting down the Spartans' offense for much of the game, holding the Spartans to only 29 rushing yards and 239 total yards. Meanwhile, Tide cornerback Cyrus Jones produced game-changing plays with an interception to stop an MSU scoring threat and a punt return for a touchdown that sealed the verdict. The Tide defense registered four quarterback sacks, posted six tackles for loss, and intercepted two passes.

Linebacker Reggie Ragland led Alabama with seven tackles while linebacker Dillon Lee had six stops and intercepted a pass. Linebacker Ryan Anderson had four tackles, including a sack and two tackles for losses. Linebacker Reuben Foster and safety Geno Matias-Smith also had four tackles in the game. Alabama limited MSU's outstanding quarterback, Connor Cook, to 186 passing yards on 17 completions in 33 attempts with 2 interceptions and no touchdowns.

Alabama's offense produced 440 total yards (286 passing, 154 rushing) led by senior quarterback Jake Coker's career-best 286 passing yards and two touchdowns. Coker was deadly accurate, completing 25 of 30 pass attempts. Freshman wide receiver Calvin Ridley had 138 receiving yards on 8 catches for 2 touchdowns, setting a new Alabama freshman record for single-season receiving yards in the process (1,031 yards). Heisman Trophy winning running back Derrick Henry rushed for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns on 20 carries, becoming only the 25th running back in NCAA history (encompassing all divisions) to rush for 2,000 yards in a season. He enters the CFP title game with 2,061 rushing yards in 2015.

After a scoreless first quarter, the teams continued in a standoff well into the second quarter until the Tide moved 80 yards in six plays to a touchdown to break on top, 7-0, on a 1-yard run by Henry with 5:36 left in the first half. Clutch plays in the passing game keyed the drive that was highlighted by a 50-yard pass from Coker to Ridley that reached the MSU 1-yard line. Henry's touchdown run was his 24th, breaking the Southeastern Conference record for rushing TDs in a season (previously held by Auburn's Tre Mason in 2013 and Florida's Tim Tebow in 2006). Placekicker Adam Griffith connected on a 47-yard field goal to give the Tide a 10-0 lead with 1:25 left in the half. Tide cornerback Cyrus Jones made a huge play at the end of the first half. The Spartans had marched to the Tide 12 in the final minute of the half before Jones leaped high to intercept a Connor Cook pass at the Tide 2-yard line in the waning seconds of the half, ending a scoring threat and protecting the Tide's 10-0 lead heading into halftime.

Alabama extended the lead to 17-0 on the opening drive of the second half, moving 75 yards in nine plays to pay dirt on a six-yard pass to Ridley along the sideline in the end zone. Later in the third period, Jones returned an MSU punt 57 yards for a touchdown to give the Tide a 24-0 lead with 3:24 left in the third period. Just 1:04 later, Coker and Ridley connected on a 50-yard touchdown bomb to move the Tide to a 31-0 lead with 2:20 left in the third period. Henry closed the scoring with an 11-yard run with 7:52 left in the game.

Alabama: 13-1, 8-1 SEC

vs. #1 Clemson Tigers

Alabama came off a stellar defensive performance in the semifinal game, and was looking to contain Clemson's QB Deshaun Watson, but Alabama defense was quickly forced into conceding most of the field and stopping Clemson in the redzone. Alabama's offense was stressed at the line of scrimmage by Clemson's defensive line led by Shaq Lawson. Despite being statistically outplayed by Clemson (550 Clemson offensive yards to 473 Alabama) offensively and statistically tied in other areas, Alabama was able to capitalize on three key plays: an interception of Deshaun Watson's pass early in the second quarter, a surprise Alabama onside kick early in the fourth quarter, and an Alabama kickoff return for a touchdown in the middle of the fourth quarter. These plays accounted for 21 points, and Alabama won the game 45 to 40.

Having won the coin toss to start the game, Clemson elected to defer to the second half. Characteristic of Alabama, the offensive opening drive was slow and cautious but notable for utilizing Derrick Henry four times, a schematic change of pace from that of the Semifinal game against Michigan State. Alabama and Clemson would trade punting drives before, on the next Alabama possession, Derrick Henry was utilized three times. On the third run, Derrick would find an opening for a 50-yard touchdown run (7-0). However, on the next two Clemson possessions Deshaun Watson used his characteristic speed, agility, and elusiveness to sustain drives with a mixture of QB runs and fade routes against Alabama's top-ranked defense. These two drives both culminated in TD throws to Hunter Renfrow (7-14) the later of which ended the first quarter.

On Alabama's next possession to start the second quarter, despite a promising start in a 29-yard pass to Richard Mullaney, Alabama's offensive line conceded a sack by Kevin Dodd and a tackle for loss on Derrick Henry. Characteristic of Alabama, facing third and long offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin enacted for extra field position on a punt with a short throw to Ridley rather than attempting a first down pass. Despite the seemingly dire situation, on the ensuing Clemson drive Deshaun Watson was intercepted by Eddie Jackson at the Clemson 42 yard line. The resulting Alabama possession culminated in a 1-yard TD run by Derrick Henry (14-14). After this flurry, both Clemson and Alabama played more cautiously as each of the three following possessions by both teams went no further than 40 yards. Clemson's last possession of the half resulted in a blocked field goal.

Going into the third quarter, Clemson opted to receive the ball but was forced into a quick three and out. On Alabama's next possession, TE OJ Howard found himself open in space for a 53-yard touchdown (21-14). Clemson responded with a mixture of QB runs, pass plays by Deshaun Watson, and key run plays by RB Wayne Gallman on its next two drives to get a 37-yard field goal by Greg Hugel (21-17) and a 1-yard touchdown run by Wayne Gallman (21-24). Both teams were then stalled for three and outs or near three and outs on their next two possessions to close the Third quarter.

On Alabama's first possession of the fourth quarter, Jake Coker found ArDarius Stewart in single man coverage for 38 yards. This gain, however, did not translate into a touchdown as the offense was stalled by good secondary play from Clemson. Alabama settled for a field goal from 33 yards to tie the game (24-24). On the ensuing kickoff Alabama gambled on a surprise onside kick, executed to perfection by Adam Griffith and caught by Marlon Humphrey. Alabama capitalized almost immediately with another 50+ touchdown pass to a wide open OJ Howard (31-24). Clemson pulled within 4 once again. However, Alabama's defense held in the red zone and forced a field goal from Clemson (31-27). On the ensuing kickoff, Alabama RB Kenyan Drake stunned Clemson by taking the ball 95 yards for an Alabama touchdown (38-27). Deshaun Watson quickly answered with an 8 play 75 yard touchdown drive which culminated in a 15-yard touchdown pass to WR Artavius Scott. In attempt to pull within three points of Alabama (and thus within a field goal of tying the game), Clemson attempted a two-point conversion with what morphed into a naked bootleg QB run by Deshaun Watson which was stopped short (38-33). On Alabama's next possession QB Jake Coker passed the ball in a checkdown screen to OJ Howard who, getting good blocking, ran for 63 yards. With less than 3 minutes left in the game, ran the ball up the middle to convert downs. After a key third down scramble for a first down by Jake Coker, Derrick Henry, on third down, broke the touchdown plane with the nose of the ball over the top of the goal line pile of players for a 1-yard TD run (45-33). A stellar performance by Deshaun Watson on a 55-second drive culminated in a 24-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Leggett with 12 seconds left on the clock (45-40). Clemson attempted an onside kick but the ball was recovered by Alabama sealing Alabama victory. This was the fourth Alabama national championship win in seven years, first of the CFB era, and Head Coach Nick Saban's fifth overall.

Alabama: 14-1, 8-1 SEC

Defense

Key: POS: Position, SOLO: Solo Tackles, AST: Assisted Tackles, TOT: Total Tackles, TFL: Tackles-for-loss, SACK: Quarterback Sacks, INT: Interceptions, BU: Passes Broken Up, PD: Passes Defended, QBH: Quarterback Hits, FF: Forced Fumbles, FR: Fumbles Recovered, BLK: Kicks or Punts Blocked, SAF: Safeties

Semifinalists

Players

Coaches

Finalists

Players

Coaches

Honors

Preseason All-SEC team

Preseason All-Americans

All-Americans

Each year several publications release lists of their ideal "team". The athletes on these lists are referred to as All-Americans. The NCAA recognizes five All-American lists. They are the Associated Press (AP), American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), Sporting News (SN), and the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF). If a player is selected to the first team of three publications he is considered a consensus All-American, if a player is selected to the first team of all five publications he is considered a unanimous All-American.

Key:
First team
Consensus All-American
Unanimous All-American

SEC All-Conference Team

The Crimson Tide had TBA players honored as members of the 2015 SEC All-Conference team, with five each on the first and second teams, respectively. TBA other Crimson Tide earned honorable mention honors.

SEC Conference All-Academic Players

The Crimson Tide had two players selected to the Southeastern Conference All-Academic Second Team, six players granted honorable mention and no players selected to the First Team. In order to be eligible for the academic team a player must maintain a minimum 3.0 overall grade-point average and play in at least 50 percent of their team's games.

Records broken

1. Alabama played the most difficult schedule of any national championship team in NCAA history. Of the 15 teams Alabama played, 14 had a winning record, 13 played in bowl games and Alabama defeated 12 of them, 8 won bowl their games, 6 won 10 or more games, 3 won 9 games, 2 won 8 games, and 2 won 7 games. Two conference champions (Big 10 and ACC) were defeated in the Playoffs by Alabama. 7 of Alabama’s opponents were ranked in the final AP Poll (#2 Clemson, #6 Michigan State, #10 Ole Miss, #16 LSU, #21 Wisconsin, #22 Tennessee, #25 Florida). In the final Coaches Poll, 8 of Alabama’s opponents were ranked (the same teams as in the AP plus #24 Georgia).

2. Alabama’s opponents had a 134-49 combined record for a 73% combined winning percentage (not counting head to head games against Alabama): the highest opponent combined winning percentage of any national championship team in NCAA history.

3. Derrick Henry set an SEC rushing record in 2015: 395 rushes for 2219 yards, eclipsing Herschel Walker’s 1981 SEC rushing record of 1891 yards on 381 carries.

4. Derrick Henry set an SEC rushing TD record with 28 rushing TDs, eclipsing the previous record of 23 previously held by Tim Tebow (2007) and Tre Mason (2013).

5. Derrick Henry set an SEC single season rushing carries record with 395 carries, eclipsing the previous 1981 record of 381 carries set by Georgia's Herschel Walker.

6. O.J. Howard set a BCS/Playoff national championship game receiving yards record with 5 receptions totaling 208 yards.

Postseason games

Senior Bowl

All Star Game

NFL Draft

The following members of 2015 Alabama Crimson Tide football team were selected in the 2016 NFL Draft.

NFL Draft Combine

Seven members of the 2015 team were invited to participate in drills at the 2016 NFL scouting Combine.

† Top performer