title: 2015 in American football
text: # 2015 in American football
  
  ## NCAA Bowl games
  
  * December 20, 2014 – January 12, 2015: 2014–15 NCAA football bowl games
  
  ### Regular bowl games
  
  * December 20, 2014 – January 4, 2015: 2014–15 NCAA non-CFP bowl games
     * December 20, 2014: 2014 R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
        * The Louisiana–Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns defeated the Nevada Wolf Pack 16–3.
     * December 20, 2014: 2014 Gildan New Mexico Bowl in Albuquerque
        * The Utah State Aggies defeated the UTEP Miners 21–6.
     * December 20, 2014: 2014 Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl
        * The Utah Utes defeated the Colorado State Rams 45–10.
     * December 20, 2014: 2014 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in Boise
        * The Air Force Falcons defeated the Western Michigan Broncos 38–24.
     * December 20, 2014: 2014 Camellia Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama (returning as an NCAA Division I bowl game again)
        * The Bowling Green Falcons defeated the South Alabama Jaguars 33–28.
     * December 22, 2014: 2014 Miami Beach Bowl (debut event)
        * The Memphis Tigers defeated the BYU Cougars 55–48.
     * December 23, 2014: 2014 Boca Raton Bowl in Florida
        * The Marshall Thundering Herd defeated the Northern Illinois Huskies 52–23.
     * December 23, 2014: 2014 San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl
        * The Navy Midshipmen defeated the San Diego State Aztecs 17–16.
     * December 24, 2014: 2014 Bahamas Bowl in Nassau (debut event)
        * The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers defeated the Central Michigan Chippewas 49–48.
     * December 24, 2014: 2014 Hawaii Bowl in Honolulu
        * The Rice Owls defeated the Fresno State Bulldogs 30–6.
     * December 26, 2014: 2014 Zaxby's Heart of Dallas Bowl
        * The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs defeated the Illinois Fighting Illini 35–18.
     * December 26, 2014: 2014 Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit (debut event)
        * The Rutgers Scarlet Knights defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 40–21.
     * December 26, 2014: 2014 St. Petersburg Bowl in St. Petersburg, Florida
        * The NC State Wolfpack defeated the UCF Knights 34–27.
     * December 27, 2014: 2014 Military Bowl in Annapolis, Maryland
        * The Virginia Tech Hokies defeated the Cincinnati Bearcats 33–17.
     * December 27, 2014: 2014 Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas
        * The Arizona State Sun Devils defeated the Duke Blue Devils 36–31.
     * December 27, 2014: 2014 Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana
        * The South Carolina Gamecocks defeated the Miami Hurricanes 24–21.
     * December 27, 2014: 2014 Pinstripe Bowl in the Bronx (New York City)
        * The Penn State Nittany Lions defeated the Boston College Eagles 31–30.
     * December 27, 2014: 2014 Holiday Bowl in San Diego
        * The USC Trojans defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers 45–42.
     * December 29, 2014: 2014 Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee
        * The Texas A&M Aggies defeated the West Virginia Mountaineers 45–37.
     * December 29, 2014: 2014 Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando, Florida
        * The Clemson Tigers defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 40–6.
     * December 29, 2014: 2014 Texas Bowl in Houston
        * The Arkansas Razorbacks defeated the Texas Longhorns 31–7.
     * December 30, 2014: 2014 Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tennessee
        * The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated the LSU Tigers 31–28.
     * December 30, 2014: 2014 Belk Bowl in Charlotte, North Carolina
        * The Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Louisville Cardinals 37–14.
     * December 30, 2014: 2014 Foster Farms Bowl in Santa Clara, California
        * The Stanford Cardinal defeated the Maryland Terrapins 45–21.
     * January 1, 2015: 2015 Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida
        * The Missouri Tigers defeated the Minnesota Golden Gophers 33–17.
     * January 1, 2015: 2015 Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida
        * The Wisconsin Badgers defeated the Auburn Tigers, 34–31, after overtime.
     * January 2, 2015: 2015 Armed Forces Bowl in Fort Worth, Texas
        * The Houston Cougars defeated the Pittsburgh Panthers 35–34.
     * January 2, 2015: 2015 TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida
        * The Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 45–28.
     * January 2, 2015: 2015 Alamo Bowl in San Antonio
        * The UCLA Bruins defeated the Kansas State Wildcats 40–35.
     * January 2, 2015: 2015 Cactus Bowl in Tempe, Arizona
        * The Oklahoma State Cowboys defeated the Washington Huskies 30–22.
     * January 3, 2015: 2015 Birmingham Bowl in Birmingham, Alabama
        * The Florida Gators defeated the East Carolina Pirates 28–20.
     * January 4, 2015: 2015 GoDaddy Bowl in Mobile, Alabama
        * The Toledo Rockets defeated the Arkansas State Red Wolves 63–44.
  
  ### College Football Playoff (CFP) bowl games
  
  * December 31, 2014 and January 1, 2015: 2014–15 CFP bowl games
     * December 31: 2014 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta
        * The TCU Horned Frogs defeated the Ole Miss Rebels 42–3.
     * December 31: 2014 Vizio Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona
        * The Boise State Broncos defeated the Arizona Wildcats 38–30.
     * December 31: 2014 Capital One Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Florida
        * The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs 42–20.
     * January 1: 2015 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic in Arlington, Texas
        * The Michigan State Spartans defeated the Baylor Bears 42–41.
     * January 1: 2015 Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual in Pasadena, California
        * The Oregon Ducks defeated the Florida State Seminoles 59–20.
     * January 1: 2015 Allstate Sugar Bowl in New Orleans
        * The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide 42–35.
  * Oregon and Ohio State advanced to the 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship.
  
  ### College Football Playoff National Championship
  
  * January 12: 2015 College Football Playoff National Championship in Arlington, Texas (debut event)
     * The Ohio State Buckeyes defeat the Oregon Ducks 42–20. It is the Buckeyes' eighth national title and first since 2002.
  
  ## Other American football events
  
  * January 25: 2015 Pro Bowl in Glendale, Arizona (University of Phoenix Stadium)
     * Team Michael Irvin defeated Team Cris Carter 32–28.
     * Offensive MVP: Matthew Stafford (Detroit Lions)
     * Defensive MVP: J. J. Watt (Houston Texans)
  * February 1: Super Bowl XLIX in the same location as the 2015 Pro Bowl venue.
     * The New England Patriots defeated the Seattle Seahawks, 28–24, to win their fourth Super Bowl title.
     * Super Bowl MVP: Tom Brady (New England Patriots)
  * April 30 – May 2: 2015 NFL draft in Chicago, at the Auditorium Theatre
     * #1 pick: Jameis Winston (Florida State Seminoles) to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  * July 8 – 19: 2015 IFAF World Championship in Canton, Ohio
     * The United States defeated Japan, 59–12, to win their third consecutive IFAF World Championship title. Mexico won the bronze medal.
  * September 10, 2015 – January 3, 2016: 2015 NFL season
  
  ## Pro Football Hall of Fame
  
  * Class of 2015:
     * Jerome Bettis, player
     * Tim Brown, player
     * Charles Haley, player
     * Bill Polian, general manager
     * Junior Seau, player
     * Will Shields, player
     * Mick Tingelhoff, player
     * Ron Wolf, general manager
  