2015 Michigan Wolverines football team

2015 Michigan Wolverines football
Citrus Bowl champion
Citrus Bowl, W 41–7 vs. Florida
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
DivisionEast Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 11
APNo. 12
Record10–3 (6–2 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorTim Drevno (1st season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorD. J. Durkin (1st year),
Greg Mattison (bowl game)
Base defense4–3
MVPJehu Chesson
Captains
Home stadiumMichigan Stadium
Seasons
← 2014
2016 →
2015 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 6 Michigan State xy$^   7 – 1     12 – 2  
No. 4 Ohio State x   7 – 1     12 – 1  
No. 12 Michigan   6 – 2     10 – 3  
Penn State   4 – 4     7 – 6  
Indiana   2 – 6     6 – 7  
Rutgers   1 – 7     4 – 8  
Maryland   1 – 7     3 – 9  
West Division
No. 9 Iowa xy   8 – 0     12 – 2  
No. 23 Northwestern   6 – 2     10 – 3  
No. 21 Wisconsin   6 – 2     10 – 3  
Nebraska   3 – 5     6 – 7  
Minnesota   2 – 6     6 – 7  
Illinois   2 – 6     5 – 7  
Purdue   1 – 7     2 – 10  
Championship: Michigan State 16, Iowa 13
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2015 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the sport of college football during the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Wolverines competed in the East Division of the Big Ten Conference, and played their home games at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan was led by head coach Jim Harbaugh, who was in his first season.

Michigan's first game under Harbaugh was a road game against Utah, which the Wolverines lost 17–24. The team won their three remaining non-conference games in dominant fashion, including a 31–0 victory over then-No. 22 BYU, which was just Michigan's second victory over a ranked opponent in their previous 11 tries. This was the first season since 2002 in which Michigan didn't play Notre Dame either home or away.[1] That game was the first in a series of three straight shutout victories, including a 38–0 victory over then-No. 13 Northwestern, the first three-game shutout streak for Michigan since 1980.[2] Michigan rose to 12th in the polls, but fell to in-state rival Michigan State 23–27 after the Spartans returned a muffed punt for a touchdown on the last play of the game. The Wolverines won their remaining Big Ten games before a blow-out loss to rival Ohio State to end the regular season 6–2 in Big Ten play, to finish in third place in the East Division. Michigan was invited to the Citrus Bowl, where they defeated Florida, 41–7, to finish the year with a record of 10–3, and were ranked 12th in the final AP Poll. It was Michigan's first 10-win season since 2011. The team was the first Michigan team to go undefeated on the road in conference play since the national champion 1997 Michigan Wolverines football team.[3]

Offensively, Michigan was led by quarterback Jake Rudock, a transfer from Iowa, who led the Big Ten in pass completion percentage (64%), and was the first Michigan quarterback to eclipse 3,000 yards passing since John Navarre in 2003.[4] Tight end Jake Butt received the Kwalick-Clark Award as the Big Ten's tight end of the year. On defense, linebacker Jabrill Peppers was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was joined on the All-Big Ten first team by cornerback Jourdan Lewis.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference BYU ESPN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference northwestern was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Kornacki: U-M Matches '97 Squad with B1G Road Perfection". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. November 21, 2015. Archived from the original on November 24, 2015. Retrieved November 24, 2015.
  4. ^ "2018 Michigan Football Record Book" (PDF). Michigan Wolverines Athletics. p. 107.