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American college football season
The 2015 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University (WKU) in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season as members of the East Division of Conference USA. Led by second year head coach Jeff Brohm, they played their home games at Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Kentucky. They finished the season 12–2, 8–0 in C-USA play to be champions of the East Division. They represented the East Division in the Conference USA Football Championship Game where they defeated Southern Miss to win their first ever C-USA championship. They were invited to the Miami Beach Bowl where they defeated South Florida. They led the NCAA in Passing Efficiency, tied the school record for victories and were also ranked in the FBS AP Top 25 for the first time in program history.[1]
Western Kentucky announced their 2015 football schedule on February 2, 2015. The 2015 schedule consist of five home and seven away games in the regular season. The Hilltoppers will host CUSA foes Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, and Middle Tennessee, and will travel to Florida International (FIU), North Texas, Old Dominion, and Rice.[2]
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
---|
| 7:00 p.m. | at Vanderbilt* | | | SECN | W 14–12 | 30,307 |
| 7:00 p.m. | Louisiana Tech | | | FS1 | W 41–38 | 17,515 |
September 19 | 3:00 p.m. | at Indiana* | | | ESPNews | L 35–38 | 44,823 |
September 26 | 2:30 p.m. | Miami (OH)* | | - Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium
- Bowling Green, KY
| CBSSN | W 56–14 | 20,320 |
October 3 | 2:30 p.m. | at Rice | | | FSN | W 49–10 | 20,124 |
October 10 | 11:00 a.m. | Middle Tennessee | | | FSN | W 58–28 | 16,993 |
| 6:30 p.m. | at North Texas | | | CBSSN | W 55–28 | 10,155 |
October 24 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 5 LSU* | | | ESPNU | L 20–48 | 101,561 |
October 31 | 11:00 a.m. | at Old Dominion | | | FSN | W 55–30 | 20,118 |
November 7 | 11:00 a.m. | Florida Atlantic![dagger](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Dagger-14-plain.png) | | - Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium
- Bowling Green, KY
| FSN | W 35–19 | 18,421 |
November 21 | 1:30 p.m. | at FIU | | | FCS | W 63–7 | 14,380 |
| 11:00 a.m. | Marshall | | - Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium
- Bowling Green, KY
| FS1 | W 49–28 | 17,687 |
December 5 | 11:00 a.m. | Southern Miss | | | ESPN2 | W 45–28 | 16,823 |
December 21 | 1:30 p.m. | vs. South Florida* | No. 25 | | ESPN | W 45–35 | 21,712 |
- *Non-conference game
Homecoming- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
- All times are in Central time
|
[3]
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 | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | RV | RV | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 24 |
---|
Coaches | — | — | RV | — | — | — | — | RV | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV |
---|
CFP | Not released | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |
---|
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Hilltoppers
|
0
|
0
|
7
|
7 |
14 |
Commodores
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
9 |
12 |
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Bulldogs
|
0
|
17
|
7
|
14 |
38 |
Hilltoppers
|
14
|
13
|
11
|
3 |
41 |
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Hilltoppers
|
7
|
21
|
0
|
7 |
35 |
Hoosiers
|
7
|
10
|
21
|
0 |
38 |
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
RedHawks
|
0
|
7
|
0
|
7 |
14 |
Hilltoppers
|
21
|
28
|
0
|
7 |
56 |
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Hilltoppers
|
21
|
14
|
0
|
14 |
49 |
Owls
|
3
|
7
|
0
|
0 |
10 |
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Blue Raiders
|
7
|
7
|
7
|
7 |
28 |
Hilltoppers
|
28
|
24
|
3
|
3 |
58 |
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Hilltoppers
|
14
|
20
|
14
|
7 |
55 |
Mean Green
|
0
|
14
|
0
|
14 |
28 |
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Hilltoppers
|
0
|
7
|
6
|
7 |
20 |
#5 Tigers
|
7
|
7
|
20
|
14 |
48 |
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Hilltoppers
|
10
|
21
|
10
|
14 |
55 |
Monarchs
|
3
|
7
|
7
|
13 |
30 |
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Owls
|
7
|
6
|
6
|
0 |
19 |
Hilltoppers
|
0
|
14
|
14
|
7 |
35 |
At Florida International
[edit]
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Hilltoppers
|
21
|
14
|
21
|
7 |
63 |
Panthers
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
7 |
7 |
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Thundering Herd
|
0
|
14
|
7
|
7 |
28 |
Hilltoppers
|
7
|
28
|
6
|
8 |
49 |
Southern Miss (C–USA Championship Game)
[edit]
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Golden Eagles
|
7
|
14
|
7
|
0 |
28 |
Hilltoppers
|
7
|
14
|
10
|
14 |
45 |
South Florida (Miami Beach Bowl)
[edit]
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
#25 Hilltoppers
|
0
|
10
|
28
|
7 |
45 |
Bulls
|
7
|
7
|
7
|
14 |
35 |
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Venues | |
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Bowls & rivalries | |
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Culture & lore | |
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People | |
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Seasons | |
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National championship seasons in bold |