2015 Memphis Tigers football team
The 2015 Memphis Tigers football team represented the University of Memphis in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers were led by fourth-year head coach Justin Fuente and played their home games at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The Tigers competed as a member of the West Division of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 9–4, 5–3 in American Athletic play to finish in third place in the West Division. They were invited to the Birmingham Bowl where they lost to Auburn.
| 2015 Memphis Tigers football | |
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Birmingham Bowl, L 10–31 vs. Auburn | |
| Conference | American Athletic Conference |
| West Division | |
| Record | 9–4 (5–3 The American) |
| Head coach |
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| Co-offensive coordinator | Darrell Dickey |
| Co-offensive coordinator | Brad Cornelsen |
| Defensive coordinator | Galen Scott |
| Home stadium | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (Capacity: 59,308) |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Temple x | 7 | – | 1 | 10 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Florida | 6 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cincinnati | 4 | – | 4 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UConn | 4 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Carolina | 3 | – | 5 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UCF | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | – | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 8 Houston xy$ | 7 | – | 1 | 13 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 18 Navy x | 7 | – | 1 | 11 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Memphis | 5 | – | 3 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tulsa | 3 | – | 5 | 6 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tulane | 1 | – | 7 | 3 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SMU | 1 | – | 7 | 2 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship: Houston 24, Temple 13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On October 17, the Tigers defeated Ole Miss which led them to a #18 ranking in polls after the Tigers began the season with an 8–0 record. Before they were defeated by Navy three weeks later, the Tigers were ranked as high as #13 in the polls, which was the highest ever ranking for the program in school history.
On November 29, head coach Justin Fuente resigned to become the head coach at Virginia Tech.[1] He finished at Memphis with a four-year record of 26–23. The Tigers were led by interim head coach Darrell Dickey in the Birmingham Bowl.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 5 | 6:00 p.m. | Missouri State* | ESPN3 | W 63–7 | 41,730 | ||
| September 12 | 6:00 p.m. | at Kansas* | JTV/ESPN3 | W 55–23 | 37,798 | ||
| September 19 | 2:00 p.m. | at Bowling Green* | ASN | W 44–41 | 21,178 | ||
| September 24 | 6:30 p.m. | Cincinnati |
| ESPN | W 53–46 | 45,172 | |
| October 2 | 6:00 p.m. | at South Florida | ESPN2 | W 24–17 | 22,546 | ||
| October 17 | 11:00 a.m. | No. 13 Ole Miss* |
| ABC/ESPN2 | W 37–24 | 60,241 | |
| October 23 | 7:00 p.m. | at Tulsa | No. 18 | ESPN | W 66–42 | 20,216 | |
| October 31 | 6:00 p.m. | Tulane | No. 16 |
| CBSSN | W 41–13 | 30,381 |
| November 7 | 6:00 p.m. | Navy | No. 13 |
| ESPN2 | L 20–45 | 55,212 |
| November 14 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 24 Houston | No. 21 | ESPN2 | L 34–35 | 42,159 | |
| November 21 | 11:00 a.m. | at Temple | No. 21 | ESPNU | L 12–31 | 31,708 | |
| November 28 | 11:00 a.m. | SMU |
| ESPNews | W 63–0 | 30,075 | |
| December 30 | 11:00 a.m. | vs. Auburn* | ESPN | L 10–31 | 59,430 | ||
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Rankings
| Week | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | 18 | 16 | 15 | 25 | RV | — | RV | RV | — |
| Coaches | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 22 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 25 | RV | — | RV | RV | RV |
| CFP | Not released | 13 | 21 | 21 | — | — | — | Not released | ||||||||
Game summaries
Missouri State
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bears | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Tigers | 28 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 63 |
At Kansas
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tigers | 10 | 14 | 24 | 7 | 55 |
| Jayhawks | 10 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 23 |
Bowling Green
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tigers | 10 | 7 | 17 | 10 | 44 |
| Falcons | 14 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 41 |
Cincinnati
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bearcats | 10 | 20 | 3 | 13 | 46 |
| Tigers | 14 | 14 | 3 | 22 | 53 |
At South Florida
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tigers | 0 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 24 |
| Bulls | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
Ole Miss
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #13 Rebels | 14 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 24 |
| Tigers | 7 | 17 | 7 | 6 | 37 |
At Tulsa
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #18 Tigers | 14 | 21 | 17 | 14 | 66 |
| Golden Hurricane | 7 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
Tulane
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Wave | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| #16 Tigers | 0 | 15 | 12 | 14 | 41 |
Navy
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midshipmen | 7 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 45 |
| #15 Tigers | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
At Houston
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #25 Tigers | 3 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 34 |
| #16 Cougars | 0 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 35 |
At Temple
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tigers | 3 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 12 |
| Owls | 0 | 14 | 0 | 17 | 31 |
SMU
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mustangs | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tigers | 28 | 28 | 7 | 0 | 63 |
Vs. Auburn–Birmingham Bowl
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auburn Tigers | 10 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 31 |
| Memphis Tigers | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
References
- "Justin Fuente hired as Virginia Tech's next football coach".
- "2015 Memphis Tigers Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved February 25, 2015.