2015 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

The 2015 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Panthers were led by first year head coach Pat Narduzzi and played their home games at Heinz Field. They were a member of the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). This was Pitt's third season as a member of the ACC. They finished the season 8–5, 6–2 in ACC play to finish in second place in the Coastal Division. They were invited to the Military Bowl where they lost to Navy.

2015 Pittsburgh Panthers football
Military Bowl, L 28–44 vs. Navy
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Division	Coastal Division
Record	8–5 (6–2 ACC)
Head coach	Pat Narduzzi (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Jim Chaney (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Josh Conklin (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Heinz Field
Seasons ← 2014 2016 →

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

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	1:00 p.m.	No. 14 (FCS) Youngstown State*		Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA	ESPN3	W 45–37	49,969
September 12	6:00 p.m.	at Akron*		InfoCision Stadium–Summa Field Akron, OH	ESPN3	W 24–7	23,425
September 19	8:00 p.m.	at Iowa*		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	BTN	L 24–27	63,636
October 3	12:00 p.m.	at Virginia Tech		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ACCRSN	W 17–13	49,120
October 10	12:30 p.m.	Virginia		Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA	ACCN	W 26–19	45,237
October 17	12:30 p.m.	at Georgia Tech		Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta, GA	ACCN	W 31–28	46,208
October 24	12:00 p.m.	at Syracuse	No. 25	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	ESPNU	W 23–20	29,832
October 29	7:00 p.m.	North Carolina	No. 23	Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA	ESPN	L 19–26	43,049
November 7	12:00 p.m.	No. 8 Notre Dame*		Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	ABC	L 30–42	68,400
November 14	12:00 p.m.	at Duke		Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	ESPNews	W 31–13	30,241
November 21	3:45 p.m.	Louisville		Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA	ESPNews	W 45–34	42,119
November 27	12:00 p.m.	Miami (FL)		Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA	ESPN2	L 24–29	40,126
December 28	2:30 p.m.	at No. 21 Navy*		Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD (Military Bowl)	ESPN	L 28–44	36,352[1]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

Further information: 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	25	23	RV	—	RV	RV	—	—	—
Coaches	—	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	RV	24	RV	RV	RV	RV	—	RV	—
CFP	Not released									—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released

Coaching staff

2015 Pittsburgh Panthers football staff
Coaching staff Pat Narduzzi – Head coach Jim Chaney – Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks Josh Conklin – Defensive coordinator Andre Powell – Running backs/special teams Tom Sims – Defensive line John Peterson – Offensive line Renaldo Hill – Cornerbacks Tim Salem – Tight ends Kevin Sherman – Wide receivers Rob Harley – Linebackers			Support staff Chris LaSala – Assistant Athletic Director/football operations Bob Junko – Director of player development and High School Relations Ben Mathers – Director of football operations Mark Diethorn – Director of Recruiting Ryan Turnley – Offensive graduate assistant Mike Shanahan – Offensive graduate assistant Scott McKillop – Defensive graduate assistant Phil DeCapito – Defensive graduate assistant			Strength and conditioning staff Dave Andrews – Head Strength and Conditioning Coach Freddie Walker – Assistant strength and conditioning coach Austin Addington-Strapp – Assistant strength and conditioning coach

^[2]

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Tyler Boyd	Wide receiver	2	55	Cincinnati Bengals

References

1. @MilitaryBowl (December 28, 2015). "Attendance today: 36,352. That's the..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
2. "2015 Pittsburgh Football Spring Prospectus" (PDF). University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 21, 2015. Retrieved April 18, 2015.