Division Western Division Head coach Gus Malzahn (3rd year) | 2015 record 7–6 (2–6 SEC) | |
Conference Southeastern Conference Offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee (3rd year) Co-offensive coordinator Dameyune Craig (3rd year) | ||
The 2015 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers played their home games at Jordan–Hare Stadium in Auburn, Alabama and competed in the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by third-year head coach Gus Malzahn. They finished the season 7–6, 2–6 in SEC play to finish in last place in the Western Division. They were invited to the Birmingham Bowl where they defeated Memphis.
Contents
Previous Season
With high expectations going into Gus Malzahn's second year on the plains after an SEC Championship and a National Championship berth in his first season, Auburn would race out to a 5-0 (2-0) record reaching a #2 ranking in the nation in the polls. However the Tigers would suffer a defensive collapse in the latter half of the season in which the Tigers would surrender over 30 points in 7 of their last 8 games. The Tigers high scoring offense struggled to overcome these defensive woes which would end up causing them to drop 5 of those last 8 games on their way to a disappointing 8-5 (4-4) season.
This defensive collapse suffered by the Tigers would lead to the firing of Defensive Coordinator Ellis Johnson followed by the hiring of recently fired Florida head coach Will Muschamp. Muschamp would subsequently let go of assistant coaches Charlie Harbison and Melvin Smith and bring on former Auburn player and alum Travaris Robinson, who worked for him at Florida, and Lance Thompson from Alabama.
Departures
The Tigers would lose 18 seniors to graduation as well as 2 juniors who would choose to forego their senior season in pursuit of an earlier NFL career. The Tigers would lose 12 more players from the 2014 team due to various reasons.
Returning starters
Returning players that started all or a significant amount of games in the 2014 season.
Offense
† Indicates player was a starter in 2013 but missed all of 2014 due to injury.
Recruiting class
The Tigers would go on to land another top 10 recruiting class in 2015 (#3 by Scout, #7 by Rivals, #7 by ESPN, and #9 by 247). The signing class was highlighted by Byron Cowart (DE)--widely considered the #1 recruit in the nation in the 2015 recruiting cycle. All of the players would qualify academically and enroll over the summer.
The Tigers would also add three transfer players: graduate student Blake Countess (CB) from Michigan who is able to play immediately, as well as Darius James (OL) from Texas and Jamel Dean (CB) from Ohio State, both of whom must sit out one year to satisfy the NCAA's transfer rule.
Spring game
The Tigers spring game 'A-Day' was held on Saturday April 18. Team Auburn defeated team Tigers 24-14 with wide receiver Myron Burton and safety Tray Matthews earning offensive and defensive MVP honors respectively. 62,143 fans attended the game making it the highest attended spring game of the year in which the fans had to pay to attend ($5), and the 4th most attended Auburn spring game after 2013, 2014, and 2010.
Depth chart
Official Depth Chart as of 9/1/2015
Schedule
Auburn announced their 2015 football schedule on October 14, 2014. The 2015 schedule consist of 7 home games and 4 away games in the regular season. One game is at a neutral site in Atlanta, Georgia against the Louisville Cardinals in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game on September 5. The Tigers will host SEC foes Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi State, and Ole Miss, and will travel to Arkansas, Kentucky, LSU, and Texas A&M, also the tigers made it to the Birmingham Bowl which is played at Legion Field.
Schedule Source: "2015 Auburn Tigers Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved October 15, 2014.