2015 Georgia Bulldogs football team

2015 Georgia Bulldogs football
TaxSlayer Bowl champion
TaxSlayer Bowl, W 24–17 vs. Penn State
Conference Southeastern Conference
Division Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches No. 24
2015 record 10–3 (5–3 SEC)
Head coach Mark Richt (regular season; 15th year)
Bryan McClendon (interim; bowl game)
Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer (1st year)
Offensive scheme Pro-style
Defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt (2nd year)
Base defense 3–4
Home stadium Sanford Stadium
(Capacity: 92,746)
2015 SEC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
East Division
#25 Florida x   7 1         10 4  
#22 Tennessee   5 3         9 4  
Georgia   5 3         10 3  
Vanderbilt   2 6         4 8  
Kentucky   2 6         5 7  
Missouri   1 7         5 7  
South Carolina   1 7         3 9  
West Division
#1 Alabama x$#^   7 1         14 1  
#10 Ole Miss   6 2         10 3  
Arkansas   5 3         8 5  
#16 LSU   5 3         9 3  
Texas A&M   4 4         8 5  
Mississippi State   4 4         9 4  
Auburn   2 6         7 6  
Championship: Alabama 29, Florida 15
  • # College Football Playoff champion
  • ^ College Football Playoff participant
  • $ Conference champion
  • x Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2015 Georgia Bulldogs football team represented the University of Georgia in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bulldogs played their home games at Sanford Stadium. They were members of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference.

Previous season

The 2014 Georgia Bulldogs football team finished the regular season 9–3, with losses to South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia Tech. Even defeating Missouri 34–0, Georgia did not receive a bid to the SEC Championship due to the two SEC losses (Florida and South Carolina). Instead, one loss Missouri went to the SEC championship game. The Bulldogs became bowl eligible after their win against Arkansas and were invited to play in the Belk Bowl against the Louisville Cardinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference, a game they won, 37-14 to complete a 10-3 season.[1]

Coaching changes

Offensive Coordinator Mike Bobo left his position to accept the head coaching job at Colorado State at the end of the 2014 season. Offensive line coach Will Friend left Georgia as well to become the offensive coordinator at Colorado State. Coach Bobo was replaced by Brian Schottenheimer who was the St. Louis Rams Offensive Coordinator the past 3 seasons. Schottenheimer was previously the Offensive Coordinator of the New York Jets from 2006-2011 and also coached Quarterbacks for the San Diego Chargers and Washington Redskins. Schottenheimer started playing college football at Kansas before transferring to Florida to play for Steve Spurrier from 1993-1996. Rob Sale was hired to coach the offensive line. Sale came from McNeese State where he coached the offensive line the past 3 seasons. After Wide Reivers coach Tony Ball took a position with LSU, Georgia graduate Thomas Brown (running back) was hired from Wisconsin and Bryan McClendon moved from Running Backs Coach to Wide Receivers.

Personnel

Coaching staff

Name Position Seasons at
Georgia
Alma Mater
Mark Richt Head coach 15 Miami (FL) (1982)
Brian Schottenheimer Offensive coordinator, Quarterbacks 1 Florida (1997)
Bryan McClendon Wide Receivers/Recruiting Coordinator/Passing Game Coordinator 7 Georgia (2005)
John Lilly Tight ends/Offensive Special Teams Coordinator 8 Guilford College (1990)
Thomas Brown Running Backs 1 Georgia (2008)
Rob Sale Offensive line/Running Game Coordinator 1 LSU (2003)
Jeremy Pruitt Defensive coordinator/Secondary 2 West Alabama (1999)
Tracy Rocker Defensive line/Will Linebackers 2 Auburn (1988)
Mike Ekeler Inside Linebackers/Defensive Special Teams Coordinator 2 Kansas State (1994)
Kevin Sherrer Sam Linebackers 2 Alabama (1996)
Buddy Collins Special Teams Coordinator/Quality Control 3 MidAmerica Nazarene (2010)
Dan Inman Offensive Graduate Assistant 3 UNC–Pembroke (2012)
Doug Saylor Offensive Graduate Assistant 3 Georgia (2011)
Mike MacDonald Defensive Graduate Assistant 6 Georgia (2010)
Kelin Johnson Defensive Graduate Assistant 2 Georgia (2007)
Reference:[2]

Schedule

Georgia announced their 2015 football schedule on October 14, 2014. The 2015 schedule consisted of 7 home games, 4 away games and 1 neutral game in the regular season. The Bulldogs would host SEC foes Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, and South Carolina, and would travel to Auburn, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt. Georgia would meet for the 93rd time with Florida in their annual neutral site rivalry game in Jacksonville, Florida.[3]

The Bulldogs would host three non–conference foes: Louisiana–Monroe, Southern, and in–state rival Georgia Southern. Finally, at the last game of the regular season the Bulldogs would travel to Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 5 Noon Louisiana–Monroe* No. 9 Sanford StadiumAthens, GA SECN W 51–14   92,746
September 12 3:30 p.m. at Vanderbilt No. 10 Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN (Rivalry) CBS W 31–14   37,185
September 19 6:00 p.m. South Carolina No. 7 Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA (Rivalry) ESPN W 52–20   92,746
September 26 Noon Southern* No. 7 Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA SECN W 48–6   92,746
October 3 3:30 p.m. No. 13 Alabama No. 8 Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA CBS L 10–38   92,746
October 10 3:30 p.m. at Tennessee No. 19 Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN (Rivalry) CBS L 31–38   102,455
October 17 7:30 p.m. Missouridagger Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA SECN W 9–6   92,746
October 31 3:30 p.m. vs. No. 11 Florida EverBank FieldJacksonville, FL (Rivalry) CBS L 3–27   84,628
November 7 Noon Kentucky Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA SECN W 27–3   92,746
November 14 Noon at Auburn Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, AL (Deep South's Oldest Rivalry) CBS W 20–13   87,451
November 21 7:15 p.m. Georgia Southern* Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA ESPNU W 23–17 OT  92,746
November 28 Noon at Georgia Tech* Bobby Dodd StadiumAtlanta, GA (Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate) ESPN2 W 13–7   55,000
January 2 Noon vs. Penn State* EverBank Field • Jacksonville, FL (TaxSlayer Bowl) ESPN W 24–17   58,212
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Schedule Source:[4]

Game summaries

Louisiana–Monroe

Overall record Last meeting Result
3–0 2005 UGA, 44–7
Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks vs Georgia Bulldogs – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Warhawks 0 7 7014
Bulldogs 14 21 9751

at Sanford StadiumAthens, GA

Vanderbilt

Overall record Last meeting Result
54–19–2 2014 UGA, 44–17
Georgia Bulldogs vs Vanderbilt Commodores – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Bulldogs 7 7 10731
Commodores 0 6 0814

at Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN

South Carolina

Overall record Last meeting Result
47–18–2 2014 SCAR, 38–35
South Carolina Gamecocks at Georgia Bulldogs – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Gamecocks 3 10 0720
Bulldogs 3 21 21752

at Sanford StadiumAthens, GA

Southern

Overall record Last meeting Result
First Meeting
Southern Jaguars at Georgia Bulldogs – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Jaguars 0 6 006
Bulldogs 17 3 28048

at Sanford StadiumAthens, GA

Alabama

Overall record Last meeting Result
25–37–4 2012 ALA, 32–28
Alabama Crimson Tide at Georgia Bulldogs – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Crimson Tide 3 21 14038
Bulldogs 0 3 7010

at Sanford StadiumAthens, GA

Tennessee

Overall record Last meeting Result
21–21–2 2014 UGA, 35–32
Georgia Bulldogs at Tennessee Volunteers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Bulldogs 7 17 0731
Volunteers 3 14 14738

at Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN

Missouri

Overall record Last meeting Result
3–1 2014 UGA, 34–0
Missouri Tigers at Georgia Bulldogs – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Tigers 3 3 006
Bulldogs 0 3 339

at Sanford StadiumAthens, GA

Florida

Overall record Last meeting Result
49–41–2 2014 FLA, 38–20
Georgia Bulldogs vs Florida Gators – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Bulldogs 0 0 303
Gators 6 14 0727

at EverBank FieldJacksonville, FL

Kentucky

Overall record Last meeting Result
54–12–2 2014 UGA, 63–31
Kentucky Wildcats at Georgia Bulldogs – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Wildcats 0 3 003
Bulldogs 10 0 14327

at Sanford StadiumAthens, GA

  • Date: November 7, 2015
  • Game attendance: 92,746
  • TV announcers (SEC Network): Dave Neal; Matt Stinchcomb

Auburn

Overall record Last meeting Result
55–55–8 2014 UGA, 34–7
Georgia Bulldogs at Auburn Tigers – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Bulldogs 0 3 71020
Tigers 7 3 0313

at Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, AL

  • Date: November 14, 2015
  • Game attendance: 87,451
  • TV announcers (CBS): Gary;Verne

Georgia Southern

Overall record Last meeting Result
5–0 2012 UGA, 45–14
Georgia Southern Eagles at Georgia Bulldogs – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Eagles 0 7 7317
Bulldogs 7 0 7317

at Sanford StadiumAthens, GA

  • Date: November 21, 2015
  • Game attendance: 92,746
  • TV announcers (ESPNU): Clay Matvick; John Congemi

Georgia Tech

Overall record Last meeting Result
64–40–5 2014 GT, 30–24
Georgia Bulldogs at Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets – Game summary
1 2 34Total
Bulldogs 7 0 3313
Yellow Jackets 0 0 077

at Bobby Dodd StadiumAtlanta, GA

  • Date: November 28, 2015
  • Game attendance: 55,000
  • TV announcers (ESPN2): Beth mowins; Anthony Becht

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final 
AP 9 10 7 7 8 19 RV RV RV NR NR RV RV RV RV RV 
Coaches 9 9 8 6 6 16 RV 25 23 NR RV RV RV RV 25 24 
CFP Not released NR NR NR NR NR NR Not released

References

  1. Fornelli, Tom (December 30, 2014). "Bowl Bits: Georgia 37, Louisville 14 (Belk Bowl)". CBS Sports. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 7, 2015.
  2. "Football – Coaching Staff". University of Georgia Department of Athletics. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
  3. "Alabama, South Carolina and Missouri Headline 2015 Home Football Schedule" (Press release). University of Georgia Department of Athletics. October 14, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  4. "2015 Georgia Bulldogs Football Schedule". FB Schedules. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
  5. "Georgia Hosts ULM Saturday". University of Georgia Department of Athletics. September 1, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  6. "Louisiana at Monroe vs Georgia (Sep 05, 2015)". University of Georgia Department of Athletics. September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  7. Towers, Chip (September 5, 2015). "Bulldogs Provide Thunder in Lightning-Marred Win Over ULM". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  8. "Football Takes on Vanderbilt in Nashville". University of Georgia Department of Athletics. September 7, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  9. "Georgia vs Vanderbilt (Sep 12, 2015)". University of Georgia Department of Athletics. September 12, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  10. Towers, Chip (September 12, 2015). "Georgia Wins 31-14 in Another Maddening Visit to Vandy". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  11. "Bulldogs Battle Gamecocks". University of Georgia Department of Athletics. September 14, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  12. "S. Carolina vs Georgia (Sep 19, 2015)". University of Georgia Department of Athletics. September 19, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  13. Tucker, Tim (September 19, 2015). "Georgia Routs South Carolina 52-20". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  14. "Georgia Bulldogs vs. Southern Jaguars". University of Georgia Department of Athletics. September 21, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  15. "Southern vs Georgia (Sep 26, 2015)". University of Georgia Department of Athletics. September 26, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  16. Johnston, Andy (September 26, 2015). "Georgia Defeats Southern 48-6". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  17. "Georgia and Alabama Square off Saturday". University of Georgia Department of Athletics. September 28, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  18. "Alabama vs Georgia (Oct 03, 2015)". University of Georgia Department of Athletics. October 3, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  19. Towers, Chip (October 3, 2015). "Deja Vu: Dogs Humbled at Home Again by Alabama, 38-10". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  20. "UGA Heads To Rocky Top To Face Vols". University of Georgia Department of Athletics. October 5, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  21. "Georgia vs Tennessee (Oct 10, 2015)". University of Georgia Department of Athletics. October 10, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  22. Tucker, Tim (October 10, 2015). "Tennessee Upsets Georgia 38-31". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  23. "Missouri vs. Georgia". University of Georgia Department of Athletics. October 12, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  24. "Missouri vs Georgia (Oct 17, 2015)". University of Georgia Department of Athletics. October 17, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  25. Towers, Chip (October 17, 2015). "Bulldogs Win 9-6 in 'Gut-Check' Game Against Missouri". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
  26. "UGA and UF Square Off in Jacksonville". University of Georgia Department of Athletics. October 26, 2015. Retrieved October 27, 2015.
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