Behind one of the top offenses in the program's history, and a veteran, run-stopping defense, the Case Western Reserve University football team experienced a resurgence during the 2015 season, finishing the year with a 7-3 record, and coming just a game away from a berth to the field for the NCAA Division III Championships.

The Spartans were ranked as high as 18^th in the D3football.com National Poll during the year, and finished the campaign tied for third in the Presidents' Athletic Conference with a 6-2 conference ledger.  The season marked a four-game improvement on the team's overall record from the 2014 season, and a three-game bump in its PAC record from the previous year, as CWRU finished with its highest win total since winning nine games in 2011.  Case Western Reserve made its initial appearance in the D3football.com rankings on October 26^th, marking the team's first time the program had been ranked in the organization's poll since the 2009 season.

After an opening-week loss at the University of Chicago, the Spartans responded by reeling off seven-straight wins, putting at least 30 points on the board in six of the seven victories.  Case Western Reserve started the streak with a 49-14 win over St. Vincent College in its home opener, and followed with wins of 41-6 at Thiel College and 59-20 at Bethany College.  The Spartans returned to DiSanto Field on October 10^th with a 45-14 victory over Waynesburg University on Homecoming Saturday, matching a program-record by scoring at least 40 points for the fourth-straight game.

The Spartans continued their winning streak the following week with a 20-7 win at Geneva College, setting up a key meeting at home against Washington and Jefferson College, ranked 15^th in Division III at the time of the game.  Case Western Reserve stepped up to the occasion, defeating the Presidents 35-28, behind a five-touchdown performance from sophomore quarterback Rob Cuda, including a game-winning 39-yard scoring pass to senior receiver Bryan Erb that definitively broke a tie with 5:03 to play in the game.

A home Halloween victory, 34-16, over University Athletic Association rival Washington University (Mo.) gave the Spartans a seven-game winning streak (their longest since a 10-game stretch between the 2011 and 2012 seasons), and led into a de facto PAC Championship game between Case Western Reserve and then 12^th-ranked Thomas More College at DiSanto Field on November 7^th, with the winning team earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.  The Spartans took a 12-point lead, 26-14, on a field goal by Ben Carniol (his fourth successful kick of the game) with 1:54 left in the third quarter, but two quick touchdowns put Thomas More on top by a point, 27-26, early in the fourth.  The Spartans regained the lead with 10:13 left in the game on Cuda touchdown run, but a fumble on the two-point attempt was returned for a score, keeping the Saints within a field goal, 32-29.  Thomas More would notch the game-winning and conference-championship clinching score with on a rushing touchdown with 5:17 remaining in the game, en route to the 36-32 win.  The Spartans would also drop their season finale, losing 52-42 at Carnegie Mellon University on November 14^th.

After the season, 20 CWRU players were named to the All-PAC Team, including First Team selections in senior tight end Ethan Albers, sophomore center Gage Blair, Cuda and senior linebacker Gavin Sandidge.  It was a significant rise in the Spartans' all-conference honorees from 2014, when just five players earned spots on the all-conference team (first, second or honorable mention) during their first season as a football affiliate member of the PAC.  23 players were selected to the All-UAA Team, include 12 First Team honorees.

Behind the emergence of Cuda at quarterback, who was named to the D3football.com All-South Region Third Team, the Spartans' offense ranked among the best in Division III last season.  The Spartans were 29^th in scoring offense (38.7 points per game), 34^th in passing offense (278.1 yards per game) and 32^nd in total offense (468.4 yards per game).  CWRU's 387 points scored during the year were the most put up by the team in a year since 2009, and the fourth-most in a season in the program's history.  In addition, the Spartans ranked 27^th among DIII teams in time of possession (32:55), aided by just 15 turnovers during the year, 53^rd among DIII teams.

Cuda finished the year with 28 passing touchdowns and just five interceptions, throwing for 2,631 yards.  He was also the team's leading rusher with a net of 709 yards and eight touchdowns.  The sophomore was ninth in Division III in total offense, 11^th in points responsible for per game, 16^th in passing touchdowns and 30^th in passing yards per game.  Erb set a program-record with 13 touchdown receptions during the season (20^th among Division III players in 2015), catching 65 total passes for 856 yards.  Cuda and Erb hooked up for at least one touchdown in nine of the team's 10 games, including each of the last seven contests of the year.  Albers, an All-South Region Second Team selection, caught 29 passes for 576 yards and five touchdowns during the year, averaging 19.9 yards per catch, the 28^th-best mark in Division III.

Meanwhile the defense was among the best in halting its opponents' rushing attack during the year, finishing the season ranked 15^th among all NCAA Division III teams with 100.2 rushing yards allowed per game.  In addition, the Spartans' defense was 23^rd in Division III with three sacks per game, 25^th with 17 interceptions and 24^th in red zone defense.

Individually, the Case Western Reserve defense was led by a large group of veteran players, including Sandidge, who led all players with 60 tackles during the year.  Junior cornerback Nick Kwon paced the squad with four interceptions, 42 solo tackles, and 14 pass breakups.  Senior captain Aaron Weisberg and sophomore cornerback Adrian Cannon each had three interceptions during the year, with Cannon registering all three during the team's win over Washington (Mo.), to match the program's single-game record.  Senior defensive lineman Nate Nachazel led the team with three forced fumbles, seven sacks and 11 tackles for a loss, with senior lineman Dayton Snyder adding 4.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for a loss, and senior lineman Justin Williams notching five sacks and six tackles for a loss.

On special teams, Carniol ranked among the most accurate kickers in Division III during the year, converting nine-of-11 field goals for a 0.818 percentage, sixth among all players in the country, while also successfully kicking 43-of-46 extra point attempts.  Sophomore Jacob Burke averaged 40.4 yards per punt, with four inside the opponent's 20-yard line and seven of 50-or-more yards, including a career-long 71-yard punt against Washington and Jefferson.  Sophomore Cody Calhoun was 24^th among DIII players with 26.3 yards per kick return.

In addition to the team's success on the field, a number of Spartans were recognized for their academic success as well.  Both Snyder and senior safety/ linebacker Scott Suren were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-America First Team, becoming the 25^th and 26^th players in program history to earn Academic All-America status, and the 15^th and 16^th to receive a First Team berth.  Another 25 Spartans were named to the PAC Honor Roll, and 24 received UAA All-Academic Honors.

The Spartans earned the following honors during the 2015 season:

The following were the Spartans leaders during the 2015 season: