No. 5 - 2015 Football Season
2015 Season By The Numbers:
Final Record: 10-3
Preseason/Final Ranking: No. 8 / No. 14 (Coaches Poll)
Bowl Game: Lost to Houston, 38-24 (Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl)
ACC Finish: 6-2 (No. 2 in Atlantic Division)
Versus Rivals: 2-1
Win streak: Six (Opener – 10/17)
Key players: RB Dalvin Cook, OL Roderick Johnson, CB Jalen Ramsey, QB Everett Golson, K Roberto Aguayo
Season Wrap
It was a close call between the 2015 and 2016 seasons, but this one came out a little higher because not much was expected from the 2015 squad after losing nearly every key starter from the prior year. Those losses included No. 1 overall draft pick Jameis Winston, as well as fellow draftees Eddie Goldman, Mario Edwards, Ronald Darby, P.J. Williams, Cameron Erving, Nick O’Leary, Rashad Greene and four of the five starters on the offensive line.
Thanks in large part to a soft schedule, the Seminoles got off to a 6-0 start, but reality came crashing down in Atlanta with a stunning 22-16 setback to Georgia Tech. The sting of that upset, and the 10-point loss at Clemson two weeks later, were somewhat mollified by FSU continuing its dominance over in-state rivals Miami and Florida. Following a convincing 27-2 victory in Gainesville to close out the regular season, the ‘Noles earned a berth in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, which had been elevated to a “New Year’s Six Bowl” that year.
Unfortunately for Jimbo Fisher’s squad, the Seminoles drew the short straw and were matched up with a hungry, upstart Houston team. Following a second-quarter injury to quarterback Sean Maguire, who took over for a struggling Everett Golson late in the season, the game spiraled out of control. Maguire, playing on a broken ankle, gamely tried to lead FSU to a second-half rally, but it was too little, too late as Houston prevailed 38-24. With the victory, the Cougars joined a long list of lower-tier FBS teams to upset a Power 5 program in a major bowl.
