2015 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

2015 ACC football standings
	Atlantic Division
	Coastal Division
	Championship: Clemson 45, North Carolina 37
	^ – College Football Playoff participant; $ – Conference champion; x – Division champion/co-champions; As of January 12, 2016; Rankings from AP Poll

North Carolina Tar Heels football
2015 North Carolina Tar Heels football
ACC Coastal Division champions
ACC Championship Game vs. Clemson, L, 37–45
Russell Athletic Bowl vs. Baylor, L, 38–49
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference; Coastal Division
Ranking
Coaches	#15
AP	#15
2015 record	11–3 (8–0 ACC)
Head coach	Larry Fedora (4th year)
Co-offensive coordinator	Gunter Brewer (2nd as coordinator, 9th overall year)
Co-offensive coordinator	Chris Kapolovic (2nd as coordinator, 4th overall year)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Gene Chizik (1st year)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Kenan Memorial Stadium; (Capacity: 63,000)
« 2014	2016 »

The 2015 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the 2015 college football season. The team was led by fourth-year head coach Larry Fedora and played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium. The Tar Heels competed as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference and were the Coastal Division champions. They finished the season 11–3, 8–0 in ACC play to win the ACC Coastal Division Championship. They represented the Coastal Division in the ACC Championship Game where they lost to Atlantic Division champion Clemson. They were invited to the Russell Athletic Bowl where they lost to Baylor.

Recruiting

National Signing Day was on February 4, 2015 and was the first chance for high school seniors to officially declare which university or college they will be attending for their college career. North Carolina had 19 high school seniors sign a National Letter of Intent to play football with them. Of the class, 10 athletes enrolled early to UNC.^[1]

2015 recruits
Name	Home town	High school / college	Height	Weight	40^‡	Commit date
Jake Bargas TE	Boca Raton, FL	St. Andrew's School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	4.7	Jan 19, 2015
Jake Bargas TE	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77
Corey Bell DB	Charlotte, NC	Hough HS	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	158 lb (72 kg)	-	Mar 18, 2014
Corey Bell DB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 75
J.K. Britt ATH	Newnan, GA	Newnan HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	187 lb (85 kg)	-	Jun 30, 2014
J.K. Britt ATH	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78
Aaron Crawford DT	Ashburn, VA	Stone Bridge HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	303 lb (137 kg)	-	May 20, 2014
Aaron Crawford DT	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78
Jalen Dalton DE	Clemmons, NC	West Forsyth HS	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	-	Nov 13, 2014
Jalen Dalton DE	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 84
Nathan Elliott QB	Celina, TX	Celina HS	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	-	Apr 18, 2014
Nathan Elliott QB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 76
Tommy Hatton OC	Montvale, NJ	St. Joseph's HS	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	280 lb (130 kg)	-	Jun 13, 2014
Tommy Hatton OC	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 82
Charlie Heck OT	Kansas City, MO	Rockhurst HS	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	250 lb (110 kg)	-	Dec 1, 2014
Charlie Heck OT	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 73
Mike Hughes CB	New Bern, NC	New Bern HS	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	-	Dec 22, 2014
Mike Hughes CB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80
Juval Mollette WR	Randleman, NC	Randleman HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	186 lb (84 kg)	-	Jun 21, 2014
Juval Mollette WR	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80
Nick Polino OG	Buford, GA	Buford HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	270 lb (120 kg)	-	Jun 22, 2014
Nick Polino OG	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78
Anthony Ratliff-Williams QB	Matthews, NC	Butler HS	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	-	Mar 10, 2014
Anthony Ratliff-Williams QB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 77
Andre Smith LB	Jacksonville, FL	Trinity Christian HS	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	-	Dec 12, 2014
Andre Smith LB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79
Jason Strowbridge DE	Deerfield Beach, FL	Deerfield Beach HS	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	4.9	Feb 2, 2015
Jason Strowbridge DE	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80
Johnathon Sutton LB	Swansea, SC	Swansea HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	214 lb (97 kg)	-	Jun 21, 2014
Johnathon Sutton LB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80
William Sweet OT	Jacksonville, FL	First Coast HS	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	280 lb (130 kg)	-	Apr 12, 2014
William Sweet OT	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80
Carl Tucker TE	Huntersville, NC	Hough HS	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	280 lb (130 kg)	-	Apr 12, 2014
Carl Tucker TE	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81
Mason Veal OG	Charlotte, NC	Ardrey Kell HS	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	295 lb (134 kg)	-	Mar 28, 2014
Mason Veal OG	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80
Ty'Son Williams RB	Sumter, SC	Crestwood HS	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	202 lb (92 kg)	4.6	Jul 29, 2014
Ty'Son Williams RB	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 82
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 24 Rivals: 28 247Sports: 28 ESPN: 24
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Coaching staff

North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora entered his fourth year as the North Carolina's head coach for the 2015 season. After ranking as one of the worst defenses in the country in 2014, Fedora completely revamped the Tar Heel defensive coaching staff. Fedora hired Gene Chizik as the new defensive coordinator.^[2] Chizik was most recently the head coach at Auburn, where he led the Tigers to a national championship in 2011. With the coaching change, UNC also switched from a 4-2-5 base defense to a 4–3 defense. Other defensive coaching hires include John Papuchis, former defensive coordinator at Nebraska, as linebackers coach, Tray Scott as defensive line coach, and Charlton Warren as defensive backs coach.^[3]

Coaches for the 2015 season^[3]
Name	Position	Seasons at North Carolina
Larry Fedora	Head Coach	4th
Gene Chizik	Defensive Coordinator	1st
Gunter Brewer	Co-Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers	4th (9th overall)
Chris Kapilovic	Co-Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line	2nd (4th overall)
Seth Littrell	Assistant Head Coach for Offense/Tight Ends	2nd
Keith Heckendorf	Quarterbacks	2nd
John Papuchis	Linebackers Coach	1st
Tray Scott	Defensive Line Coach	1st
Charlton Warren	Defensive Backs Coach	1st
Lou Hernandez	Strength and Conditioning Coordinator	4th

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 3	6:00 p.m.	vs. South Carolina*		Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NC (Belk Kickoff Game/Battle of the Carolinas)	ESPN	L 13–17	51,664
September 12	6:00 p.m.	North Carolina A&T*		Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC	ESPN3	W 53–14	44,000
September 19	Noon	Illinois*		Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC (Monogram Day)	ESPN2	W 48–14	41,000
September 26	12:30 p.m.	Delaware*		Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC	ACCRSN	W 41–14	39,000
October 3	3:30 p.m.	at Georgia Tech		Bobby Dodd Stadium • Atlanta, GA	ESPNU	W 38–31	50,585
October 17	7:00 p.m.	Wake Forest		Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC (Rivalry)	ACCRSN	W 50–14	50,500
October 24	3:30 p.m.	Virginia		Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC (South's Oldest Rivalry)	ACCRSN	W 26–13	52,000
October 29	7:00 p.m.	at #23 Pittsburgh		Heinz Field • Pittsburgh, PA	ESPN	W 26–19	43,049
November 7	Noon	Duke	#21	Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC (Victory Bell)	ESPN2	W 66–31	60,500
November 14	3:30 p.m.	Miami (FL)	#17	Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC	ESPNU	W 59–21	61,000
November 21	Noon	at Virginia Tech	#12	Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA	ESPN	W 30–27 ^OT	65,632
November 28	3:30 p.m.	at NC State	#11	Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, NC (Rivalry)	ABC/ESPN2	W 45–34	57,600
December 5	8:00 p.m.	vs. #1 Clemson	#8	Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NC (ACC Championship Game)	ABC	L 37–45	74,514
December 29	5:30 p.m.	vs. #17 Baylor*	#10	Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium • Orlando, FL (Russell Athletic Bowl)	ESPN	L 38–49	40,418
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Schedule Source:^[4]

In a piece of scheduling trivia, North Carolina is the only FBS team that will play all of its 2015 regular-season games, both home and away, on grass fields.^[5]

Game summaries

vs. South Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
Gamecocks	0	10	0	7	17
Tar Heels	7	6	0	0	13

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
34–19–4	2015	SC, 17–13

North Carolina A&T

	1	2	3	4	Total
Aggies	0	0	7	7	14
Tar Heels	22	14	17	0	53

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1-0	2015	UNC, 53–14

Illinois

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fighting Illini	0	7	0	7	14
Tar Heels	10	10	7	21	48

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
3–0	2015	UNC, 4814

Delaware

	1	2	3	4	Total
Fightin' Blue Hens	7	0	7	0	14
Tar Heels	7	6	14	14	41

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
1-0	2015	UNC, 41–14

at Georgia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tar Heels	0	14	10	14	38
Yellow Jackets	7	14	7	3	31

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
19–28–3	2015	UNC, 38–31

Wake Forest

	1	2	3	4	Total
Demon Deacons	7	7	0	0	14
Tar Heels	0	29	7	14	50

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
69–35–2	2015	UNC, 50–14

Virginia

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cavaliers	10	3	0	0	13
Tar Heels	7	6	3	10	26

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
62–54–4	2015	UNC, 26–13

at Pittsburgh

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tar Heels	3	17	3	3	26
#23 Panthers	3	0	10	6	19

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
7–3	2015	UNC, 26–19

Duke

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Devils	3	7	14	7	31
#21 Tar Heels	21	17	21	7	66

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
58–37–5	2015	UNC, 66–31

Miami (FL)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Hurricanes	0	0	7	14	21
#17 Tar Heels	7	24	21	7	59

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
8–9	2015	UNC, 59–21

at Virginia Tech

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
#12 Tar Heels	7	0	3	14	6	30
Hokies	0	3	7	14	3	27

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
11–20–6	2015	UNC, 30–27 (OT)

at NC State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#11 Tar Heels	35	0	0	10	45
Wolfpack	7	7	9	11	34

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
66–33–6	2015	UNC, 45–34

vs Clemson

#1 Clemson Tigers vs #8 North Carolina Tar Heels – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
#1 Tigers	7	14	14	10	45
#8 Tar Heels	9	7	7	14	37

at Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NC

Date: December 5, 2015
Game time: 8:00 p.m.
TV announcers (ABC): Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (color), Heather Cox (sideline)
Sources:

vs Baylor

#17 Baylor Bears vs #10 North Carolina Tar Heels – Game summary

	1	2	3	4	Total
#10 North Carolina	7	10	14	7	38
#17 Baylor	14	14	14	7	49

at Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium • Orlando, FL

Date: December 29, 2015
Game time: 5:30 p.m.
Game attendance: 40,418
TV: ESPN
Sources:

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	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	RV	RV	RV	21	17	12	11	8	10	15
Coaches'	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	RV	RV	RV	RV	21	17	12	11	8	11	15
CFP	Not released									NR	23	17	14	10	10	Not released

Postseason

All-Conference Selections^[6]

First Team

• Elijah Hood - Running Back

• Landon Turner - Guard

Second Team

• Marquise Williams - Quarterback

• Mack Hollins - Wide Receiver

• Jon Heck - Offensive Tackle

• Caleb Peterson - Guard

• M.J. Stewart - Cornerback

• Ryan Switzer - Specialist

Third Team

• Ryan Switzer - Wide Receiver

• Quinshad Davis - Wide Receiver

• Lucas Crowley - Center

• Nazair Jones - Defensive Tackle

• Shakeel Rashad - Linebacker

• Des Lawrence - Cornerback

All-American Selections

Landon Turner, Offensive Line (AP, Athlon)
Ryan Switzer, All-purpose / return specialist (AFCA)

NFL Draft

For the second year in a row, North Carolina did not have any players selected in the NFL Draft.^[7]

The following players signed as undrafted free agents:^[8]

Name	Position	Team
Quinshad Davis	Wide Receiver	Detroit Lions
Romar Morris	Running Back	New York Jets
Shakeel Rashad	Linebacker	Houston Texans
Jeff Schoettmer	Linebacker	New Orleans Saints
Landon Turner	Guard	New Orleans Saints
Marquise Williams	Quarterback	Minnesota Vikings

References

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v t e North Carolina Tar Heels football
Venues	Emerson Field (1916–1926) Kenan Memorial Stadium (1927–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Duke: (Victory Bell) NC State South Carolina Virginia: South's Oldest Rivalry Wake Forest
Culture & lore	First forward pass Rameses The Marching Tar Heels
People	Head coaches All-Americans NFL draftees
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2015 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

Contents

Recruiting

Coaching staff

Schedule

Game summaries

vs. South Carolina

North Carolina A&T

Illinois

Delaware

at Georgia Tech

Wake Forest

Virginia

at Pittsburgh

Duke

Miami (FL)

at Virginia Tech

at NC State

vs Clemson

vs Baylor

Rankings

Postseason

All-Conference Selections^[6]

All-American Selections

NFL Draft

References

Navigation menu

Personal tools

Namespaces

Variants

Views

More

Search

Navigation

Tools

2015 ACC football standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
Atlantic Division
#2 Clemson x$^		8	–	0		14	–	1
#14 Florida State		6	–	2		10	–	3
Louisville		5	–	3		8	–	5
NC State		3	–	5		7	–	6
Syracuse		2	–	6		4	–	8
Wake Forest		1	–	7		3	–	9
Boston College		0	–	8		3	–	9
Coastal Division
#15 North Carolina x		8	–	0		11	–	3
Pittsburgh		6	–	2		8	–	5
Miami		5	–	3		8	–	5
Duke		4	–	4		8	–	5
Virginia Tech		4	–	4		7	–	6
Virginia		3	–	5		4	–	8
Georgia Tech		1	–	7		3	–	9
Championship: Clemson 45, North Carolina 37
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions As of January 12, 2016; Rankings from AP Poll

2015 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

Contents

Recruiting

Coaching staff

Schedule

Game summaries

vs. South Carolina

North Carolina A&T

Illinois

Delaware

at Georgia Tech

Wake Forest

Virginia

at Pittsburgh

Duke

Miami (FL)

at Virginia Tech

at NC State

vs Clemson

vs Baylor

Rankings

Postseason

All-Conference Selections[6]

All-American Selections

NFL Draft

References

Navigation menu

Search

All-Conference Selections^[6]