2015 College Football Season Rankings: No. 61-70
How good were the seasons? Based on schedules, wins, and how hard the victories were – and how bad the losses were – the 2015 College Football Season Rankings
How good were the seasons? Based on schedules, wins, and how hard the victories were – and how bad the losses were – the 2015 College Football Season Rankings
2015 College Football Season Rankings: No. 61-70
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– Explanation of the College Football Season Rankings and the components
70. Texas Tech Red Raiders, Big 12
The program got bowling again in a good next-step season under Kliff Kingsbury. Beating Arkansas was terrific, but that was about it when it came to beating the better teams. It was the only Quality Win with victories over Kansas State and Texas not turning out to be that big a deal. Forget about the defense against the good teams allowing 55 points or more to TCU, Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and LSU – all losses.
2015 Season Ranking Score 8.48
2015 Record 7-6
2015 Preseason Prediction 5-7
2015 Preseason Ranking 56
2014 Final Season Ranking 101
69. Colorado State Rams, Mountain West
The Rams could’ve been so much stronger. They didn’t have too many strong wins with five Bad Wins among the seven, but they came really, really close to doing big things just missing in gut-wrenching losses to Minnesota, Colorado and Nevada. How did the Season Score get this high without doing much at a high level? Wins over Air Force and New Mexico helped.
2015 Season Ranking Score 8.60
2015 Record 7-6
2015 Preseason Prediction 7-5
2015 Preseason Ranking 52
2014 Final Season Ranking 25
68. Penn State Nittany Lions, Big Ten
Starting out the year with a loss to Temple to break an epic winning streak in the series was no way to kick things off. The Nittany Lions beat the teams they were supposed to, but didn’t do anything special with the only Quality Win coming against Mountain West champ San Diego State at home. There were chances against Northwestern, Michigan and Georgia, but the offense couldn’t come through.
2015 Season Ranking Score 8.71
2015 Record 7-6
2015 Preseason Prediction 7-5
2015 Preseason Ranking 32
2014 Final Season Ranking 46
67. New Mexico Lobos, Mountain West
The Lobos were way overdue for a terrific season under head coach Bob Davie. With wins over Utah State, Boise State and Air Force, they kicked it in over the second half of the season with some big wins. Even the New Mexico Bowl loss to Arizona turned out to be impressive, battling well in the fight. Finally, the defense started to play well in the Davie era, but each week seemed to be a battle.
2015 Season Ranking Score 8.74
2015 Record 7-6
2015 Preseason Prediction 4-8
2015 Preseason Ranking 97
2014 Final Season Ranking 99
66. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, Conference USA
Five of the seven victories might have been Bad Wins, but the season was made with a solid performance against Marshall and thanks to an offense that helped come up with some massive wins. The Blue Raiders won by 34 points or more in four games and fought hard in close call losses to Vanderbilt and Illinois. The difference between a good season and a great one turned out to be the blowout losses to WKU and Louisiana Tech.
2015 Season Ranking Score 8.75
2015 Record 7-6
2015 Preseason Prediction 6-6
2015 Preseason Ranking 93
2014 Final Season Ranking 75
65. Duke Blue Devils, ACC
2015 Season Ranking Score 8.92
2015 Record 8-5
2015 Preseason Prediction 5-7
2015 Preseason Ranking 45
2014 Final Season Ranking 44
64. Utah State Aggies, Mountain West
It wasn’t quite the season the Aggies were hoping for considering how strong the defense was supposed to be, but it was still a solid year with Quality Wins over Colorado State, Nevada, and biggest of all, Boise State what seemed like a gamechanger midway through the year. Instead, they struggled late losing four of their last five games dropping games to New Mexico, Air Force and Akron by a total of ten points.
2015 Season Ranking Score 9.01
2015 Record 6-7
2015 Preseason Prediction 7-5
2015 Preseason Ranking 69
2014 Final Season Ranking 26
63. Minnesota Golden Gophers, Big Ten
Considering the drama losing head coach Jerry Kill midway through the season, the Golden Gophers did okay. On the one hand, they got out by the skin of their teeth against Colorado State, Kent State and Ohio – winning all three by three points each – but losing heartbreakers to TCU, Michigan and Iowa. Getting a break with a bowl appearance despite a 5-7 regular season helped the Season Score after a Quick Lane Bowl win over Central Michigan.
2015 Season Ranking Score 9.36
2015 Record 6-7
2015 Preseason Prediction 8-4
2015 Preseason Ranking 37
2014 Final Season Ranking 47
62. Arizona State Sun Devils, Pac-12
It wasn’t the explosive season Sun Devil fans have been used to, mainly because the team couldn’t do much against the top teams on the slate. ASU lost a heartbreaker 61-55 shootout to Oregon, but ended up getting bowling after good home wins over Washington and Arizona. Just when it seemed like things were turning around late, the Sun Devils lost to Cal to end the regular season and to West Virginia in an epic Cactus Bowl by a total of three points.
2015 Season Ranking Score 9.36
2015 Record 6-7
2015 Preseason Prediction 7-5
2015 Preseason Ranking 29
2014 Final Season Ranking 16
61. Virginia Tech Hokies, ACC
Frank Beamer’s final season turned out to be wild and crazy at the end with the last four games – winning three of them – decided by a grand total of 11 points. On the year, seven of the Hokies’ last ten games were decided by a touchdown or less. Beating NC State and Tulsa helped the overall score, but it took a battle to beat Georgia Tech and Boston College on the road.
2015 Season Ranking Score 9.37
2015 Record 7-6
2015 Preseason Prediction 6-6
2015 Preseason Ranking 24
2014 Final Season Ranking 45
– Explanation of the College Football Season Rankings and the components
