2015 in American football
# 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
