| 2015 UCF Knights football | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conference | American Athletic Conference |
| East Division | |
| Record | 0–12 (0–8 The American) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Brent Key (1st as OC, 11th overall season) |
| Offensive scheme | Pro Style, Option |
| Defensive coordinator | Chuck Bresnahan (1st season) |
| Base defense | 4–3 |
| Home stadium | Bright House Networks Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Temple x | 7 | – | 1 | 10 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Florida | 6 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cincinnati | 4 | – | 4 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UConn | 4 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Carolina | 3 | – | 5 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UCF | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | – | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 8 Houston xy$ | 7 | – | 1 | 13 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 18 Navy x | 7 | – | 1 | 11 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Memphis | 5 | – | 3 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tulsa | 3 | – | 5 | 6 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tulane | 1 | – | 7 | 3 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SMU | 1 | – | 7 | 2 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship: Houston 24, Temple 13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2015 UCF Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Knights were members of the East Division of the American Athletic Conference (The American), defending conference co-champions, and played their home games at Bright House Networks Stadium on UCF's main campus in Orlando, Florida. The Knights were led by head coach George O'Leary, who was in his 12th and final season with the team. After starting the season 0–6, O'Leary resigned as UCF's interim athletic director, a position he had held since June when Todd Stansbury left for the same position at Oregon State.[1] Following UCF's 59–10 defeat by Houston on homecoming, dropping the Knights to an 0–8 record, O'Leary resigned as head football coach. Quarterbacks coach Danny Barrett served as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.[2][3]
The 2015 season was UCF's third in the American Athletic Conference, and the first year the conference split into two divisions. This was the Knights' first season since 2011 in which they would fail to be eligible for postseason play. This campaign marks UCF's third winless season in program history (along with the 1982 and 2004 seasons).
Coming just two years after the banner BCS-bowl-winning 2013 season that saw them finish in the top 10 nationally, and a year after winning the conference for the second straight year, the 2015 season was not just a failure, but a shocking one. In the aftermath, UCF finally moved on from the O'Leary era and hired renowned offensive coordinator Scott Frost from the Oregon Ducks to be their head coach. After a 6–7 2016 bounce-back campaign, the Knights would go undefeated in 2017 and win the Peach Bowl, completing a turnaround from 0–12 to 13–0 in just two years.
- ^ Whitley, David (October 12, 2015). "UCF's George O'Leary Resigns AD Job, but Is Still Football Coach". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved October 17, 2015.
- ^ Green, Shannon; Bianchi, Mike (October 25, 2015). "UCF Coach George O'Leary Retires, Knights Move Forward During Winless Season". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved October 26, 2015.
- ^ McMurphy, Brett (October 25, 2015). "George O'Leary Steps Down as UCF Knights Head Coach". ESPN. Retrieved October 25, 2015.