2015 Atlantic Coast Conference football season

The 2015 Atlantic Coast Conference football season was the 63rd season of college football play for the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). It was played from September 2015 to January 2016.^[1] The Atlantic Coast Conference consisted of 14 members in two divisions. The Atlantic Division consisted of Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina State, Syracuse, and Wake Forest. The Coastal Division consisted of Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Virginia, and Virginia Tech. The division champions, Clemson and North Carolina, met on December 5 in the 2015 ACC Championship Game, in Charlotte, North Carolina at Bank of America Stadium.

2015 ACC football season
League	NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision)
Sport	Football
Duration	September 2015 to January 2016
Number of teams	14
2016 NFL Draft
Top draft pick	Jalen Ramsey (Florida State)
Picked by	Jacksonville Jaguars, 5th overall
Regular season
Atlantic champions	Clemson Tigers
Coastal champions	North Carolina Tar Heels
ACC Championship Game
Champions	Clemson Tigers
Finals MVP	Deshaun Watson

2015 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Atlantic Division
No. 2 Clemson x$^		8	–	0					14	–	1
No. 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
No. 15 North Carolina x		8	–	0					11	–	3
Pittsburgh		6	–	2					8	–	5
Miami (FL)		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 Rankings from AP Poll

Preseason

Preseason Poll

The 2015 ACC Preseason Poll was announced at the ACC Football Kickoff meetings in Pinehurst, North Carolina on July 19–21.^[2] Georgia Tech was voted to win Coastal division while Clemson was voted to win the Atlantic division and the conference. Deshaun Watson of Clemson was voted the Preseason ACC Player of the Year.^[3]

Atlantic Division poll

1. Clemson – 1,032 (101 first place votes)
2. Florida State – 992 (56)
3. Louisville – 746 (1)
4. North Carolina State - 673
5. Boston College – 473
6. Syracuse – 291
7. Wake Forest – 217

Coastal Division poll

1. Georgia Tech – 991 (96)
2. Virginia Tech – 841 (44)
3. Miami – 632 (7)
4. Duke – 615 (4)
5. North Carolina – 590 (4)
6. Pittsburgh - 535 (3)
7. Virginia – 220

Predicted ACC Championship Game Winner

1. Clemson – 84
2. Florida State – 41
3. Georgia Tech - 20
4. Virginia Tech - 7
5. North Carolina - 3
6. Miami - 2
7. NC State - 1

Preseason ACC Player of the Year

1. Deshaun Watson, CLEM - 69
2. James Conner, PITT - 16
3. Justin Thomas, GT - 13
4. Jalen Ramsey, FSU - 7
5. Brad Kaaya, MIA - 7
6. Marquise Williams, UNC - 6
7. Kendall Fuller, VT - 6
8. Tyler Boyd, PITT - 3
9. Jacoby Brissett, NCST - 1

Preseason All Conference Teams

^[4]

Offense

Position	Player	School
Wide receiver	Tyler Boyd	Pittsburgh
	Mike Williams	Clemson
	Artavis Scott	Clemson
Tight end	Bucky Hodges	Virginia Tech
Tackle	Roderick Johnson	Florida State
	Adam Bisnowaty	Pittsburgh
Guard	Landon Turner	North Carolina
	Eric Mac Lain	Clemson
Center	Matt Skura	Duke
Quarterback	Deshaun Watson	Clemson
Running back	James Conner	Pittsburgh
	Shadrach Thornton	NC State

Defense

Position	Player	School
Defensive end	Dadi Lhomme Nicolas	Virginia Tech
	Shaq Lawson	Clemson
	Sheldon Rankins	Louisville
Defensive tackle	Adam Gotsis	Georgia Tech
	Luther Maddy	Virginia Tech
Linebacker	Terrance Smith	Florida State
	Brandon Chubb	Wake Forest
	James Burgess	Louisville
Cornerback	Jalen Ramsey	Florida State
	Kendall Fuller	Virginia Tech
Safety	Jeremy Cash	Duke
	Quin Blanding	Virginia

Specialist

Position	Player	School
Placekicker	Roberto Aguayo	Florida State
Punter	Alex Kinal	Wake Forest
Specialist	Ryan Switzer	North Carolina

Coaches

Only one team changed head coaches for the 2015 season. Pat Narduzzi was selected as Pittsburgh's fifth head coach since 2010 following the resignation of former coach Paul Chryst. Chryst accepted the head coaching job at Wisconsin on December 17, 2014 leaving the vacancy for Pittsburgh to fill.^[5] This will be Narduzzi's first head coaching job at the collegiate level. He has, however, been regarded as one of the best assistant coaches in college football, winning the 2013 Broyles Award.^[6] He was most recently the defensive coordinator at Michigan State.

Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season

Team	Head coach	Years at school	Overall record	Record at school	ACC record
Boston College	Steve Addazio	3	27–23	14–12	8–8
Clemson	Dabo Swinney	8	61–26	61–26	39–14
Duke	David Cutcliffe	8	84–77	40–48	20–36
Florida State	Jimbo Fisher	5	58–11	58–11	34–6
Georgia Tech	Paul Johnson	8	166–74	58–35	37–19
Louisville	Bobby Petrino	6	92–34	50–13	5–3
Miami	Al Golden	5	55–56	28–22	16–16
North Carolina	Larry Fedora	4	55–36	21–17	13–11
NC State	Dave Doeren	3	34–18	11–14	3–13
Pittsburgh	Pat Narduzzi	1	0–0	0–0	0–0
Syracuse	Scott Shafer	3	10–15	10–15	5–11
Virginia	Mike London	6	47–43	23–38	11–29
Virginia Tech	Frank Beamer	28	273-138–4	231–115–2	65–23
Wake Forest	Dave Clawson	2	93–88	3–9	1–7

Al Golden Firing

On October 25, Miami athletic director Blake James fired head coach Al Golden, just over halfway through the season.^[7] The firing came after a 58-0 loss to Clemson, the worst loss in program history.^[8] Throughout the season, parts of the Miami fan base, and even former players, had been very vocal in calling for a head coaching change. In each home game, and even a game at Cincinnati, planes had been hired to fly banners over the stadium on gameday reading "Fire Al Golden".^[9] The tight ends coach, Larry Scott, took over interim head coaching duties for the remainder of the season.^[10]

Rankings

See also: 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Legend

		Improvement in ranking
		Drop in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
RV		Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll

		Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Final
Boston College	AP
	C				RV
	CFP	Not released
Clemson	AP	12	12	11	11	12	6	5 (1)	6 (1)	3 (6)	3 (6)	1 (31)	1 (34)	1 (55)	1 (53)	1 (51)	2
	C	12	12	9	10	11	6	6	6	6 (1)	5 (2)	2 (21)	1 (28)	1 (58)	1 (52)	1 (55)	2
	CFP	Not released									1	1	1	1	1	1
Duke	AP			RV		RV	RV	25	23	22	RV						RV
	C	RV	RV	RV		RV	RV	24	21	18	RV						RV
	CFP	Not released
Florida State	AP	10	11	9	10	11	12	11	9	17	17	19	16	14	10	9	14
	C	8	8	6	7	9	8	8	9	15	15	18	16	14	9	8	14
	CFP	Not released									16	16	14	13	9	9
Georgia Tech	AP	16	15	14	20
	C	17	16	16	20	RV
	CFP	Not released
Louisville	AP	RV	RV
	C	RV	RV										RV			RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
Miami	AP				RV	RV
	C	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
North Carolina	AP							RV	RV	RV	21	17	12	11	8	10	15
	C	RV					RV	RV	RV	RV	21	17	12	11	8	11	15
	CFP	Not released										23	17	14	10	10
NC State	AP	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
	C	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
Pittsburgh	AP								25	23	RV		RV	RV
	C		RV	RV					RV	24	RV	RV	RV	RV		RV
	CFP	Not released
Syracuse	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Virginia	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Virginia Tech	AP	RV		RV	RV
	C	RV			RV
	CFP	Not released
Wake Forest	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released

Bowl Games

See also: 2015–16 NCAA football bowl games

Bowl game	Date	Site	Television	Time (EST)	ACC team	Opponent	Score	Attendance
Hyundai Sun Bowl	December 26	Sun Bowl Stadium • El Paso, TX	CBS	2:00 p.m.	Miami	Washington State	WSU 14–20	41,180
New Era Pinstripe Bowl	December 26	Yankee Stadium • New York, NY	ABC	3:30 p.m.	Duke	Indiana	DUKE 44–41 (OT)	37,218
Camping World Independence Bowl	December 26	Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA	ESPN	5:30 p.m.	Virginia Tech	Tulsa	VT 55–52	31,289
Military Bowl Presented by Northrop Grumman	December 28	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD	ESPN	2:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh	#21 Navy	NAVY 28–44	36,352
Russell Athletic Bowl	December 29	Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium • Orlando, FL	ESPN	5:30 p.m.	#10 North Carolina	#17 Baylor	BU 38–49	40,418
Belk Bowl	December 30	Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NC	ESPN	3:30 p.m.	NC State	Mississippi State	MSU 28–51	46,423
Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl	December 30	Nissan Stadium • Nashville, TN	ESPN	7:00 p.m.	Louisville	Texas A&M	LOU 27–21	50,478
College Football Playoff bowl games
Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl	December 31	Georgia Dome • Atlanta, GA	ESPN	12:00 p.m.	#9 Florida State	#18 Houston	HOU 24–38	71,007
Capital One Orange Bowl (CFP Semifinal)	December 31	Sun Life Stadium • Miami Gardens, FL	ESPN	4:00 p.m.	#1 Clemson	#4 Oklahoma	CLEM 37–17	67,615
CFP National Championship	January 11	University of Phoenix Stadium • Glendale, AZ	ESPN	8:00 p.m.	#1 Clemson	#2 Alabama	ALA 40–45	75,765

* Rankings based on CFP rankings

Postseason

All-conference teams

The following player were selected to the All-ACC teams for 2015.^[11]

First Team Position Player Class Team First Team Offense QB Deshaun Watson So Clemson RB Dalvin Cook So Florida State Elijah Hood So North Carolina WR Tyler Boyd Jr Pittsburgh Artavis Scott So Clemson Isaiah Ford So Virginia Tech TE Jaylen Samuels So NC State T Roderick Johnson So Florida State Joe Thuney Sr NC State G Landon Turner Sr North Carolina Eric Mac Lain Sr Clemson C Matt Skura Sr Duke First Team Defense DE Ejuan Price Sr Pittsburgh Shaq Lawson Jr Clemson DT Carlos Watkins Jr Clemson Luther Maddy^ Sr Virginia Tech Connor Wujciak^ Sr Boston College LB Micah Kiser So Virginia Brandon Chubb Sr Wake Forest Keith Kelsey Jr Louisville CB Jalen Ramsey Jr Florida State Mackensie Alexander So Clemson S Jeremy Cash Sr Duke Quin Blanding So Virginia First Team Special Teams PK Roberto Aguayo Jr Florida State P Riley Dixon Sr Syracuse SP DeVon Edwards Jr Duke

Second Team Position Player Class Team Second Team Offense QB Marquise Williams Sr North Carolina RB Wayne Gallman So Clemson Qadree Ollison Fr Pittsburgh WR Travis Rudolph So Florida State Canaan Severin Sr Virginia Mack Hollins^ Jr North Carolina Kermit Whitfield^ Jr Florida State TE Jordan Leggett Jr Clemson T Jon Heck Jr North Carolina Adam Bisnowaty Jr Pittsburgh G Dorian Johnson Jr Pittsburgh Caleb Peterson Jr North Carolina C Jay Guillermo Jr Clemson Second Team Defense DE Mike Rose Sr NC State DeMarcus Walker Jr Florida State DT Nile Lawrence-Stample Jr Florida State DeAngelo Brown Jr Louisville LB Steven Daniels Sr Boston College Ben Boulware^ Jr Clemson B. J. Goodson^ Sr Clemson Reggie Northrup^ Sr Florida State CB M. J. Stewart So North Carolina Artie Burns Jr Miami S Jayron Kearse Jr Clemson Justin Simmons Sr Boston College Second Team Special Teams PK Greg Huegel Fr Clemson P Alex Kinal Sr Wake Forest SP Ryan Switzer Jr North Carolina

Third Team Position Player Class Team Third Team Offense QB Brad Kaaya So Miami RB Taquan Mizzell Jr Virginia Travon McMillian Fr Virginia Tech WR Stacy Coley Jr Miami Ryan Switzer Jr North Carolina Quinshad Davis Sr North Carolina TE Bucky Hodges So Virginia Tech T Mitch Hyatt Fr Clemson Joe Gore Sr Clemson G Tyrone Crowder So Clemson Kareem Are Jr Florida State C Lucas Crowley Jr North Carolina Third Team Defense DE Sheldon Rankins Sr Louisville Ron Thompson Jr Syracuse DT Nazair Jones Jr North Carolina Derrick Nnadi^ So Florida State Darryl Render^ Sr Pittsburgh LB Shakeel Rashad Sr North Carolina James Burgess Sr Louisville Dwayne Norman Sr Duke CB Cordrea Tankersley Jr Clemson Des Lawrence Jr North Carolina S Jordan Whitehead Fr Pittsburgh Derwin James Fr Florida State Third Team Special Teams PK Ross Martin Sr Duke P Will Monday Sr Duke SP Brisly Estime Jr Syracuse

^ indicates that there was a tie in the voting

ACC Individual Awards

ACC Player of the Year QB Deshaun Watson - Clemson Rookie of the Year S Jordan Whitehead - Pittsburgh Coach of the Year Dabo Swinney - Clemson

Offensive Player of the Year QB Deshaun Watson - Clemson Offensive Rookie of the Year QB Qadree Ollison - Miami Jacobs Blocking Trophy[12] T Roderick Johnson - Florida State

Defensive Player of the Year S Jeremy Cash - Duke Defensive Rookie of the Year S Jordan Whitehead - Pittsburgh

National Awards

^[13]

Davey O'Brien Award QB Deshaun Watson - Clemson

Home Depot Coach of the Year Award Walter Camp Coach of the Year Award Associated Press College Football Coach of the Year Award Dabo Swinney - Clemson

Pop Warner College Football Award[14] LB Brandon Chubb - Wake Forest