2015 Bloxlina Cougars season

The 2015 season was the Bloxlina Cougars' 21st in the Robloxia Football League (RFL) and their fifth under head coach and owner Patrick Cash. This season marked the first time in team history they played on Thanksgiving. The Cougars had their best single-season turnaround in team history, going from 7–8–1 to 15–1.

Despite waiving longtime running back and franchise rushing leader Devin Boyce and losing top wide receiver Craig Neil to a torn ACL in the preseason, the Cougars had their best regular season in franchise history and one of the best regular seasons in RFL history. They finished the regular season 15–1, becoming the seventh team to win at least 15 regular season games since the league expanded to a 16-game schedule in 1978. The Cougars joined the 1984 San Juan Comets, 1985 Bloxhicago, 1998 Bloxifornia Sabretooths, 2004 Pittsblox Punishers, 2007 New England Musketeers (who were a perfect 16–0 in the regular season) and the 2011 Greenville Coyotes as the only teams to accomplish this feat.

Bloxlina started the season 14–0, not only setting franchise records for the best start and the longest single-season winning streak, but also posting the best start to a season by an RFC team since the RFL–BFL merger, breaking the 13–0 record previously shared with the 2009 New Bloxorleans Sharks and the aforementioned 2011 Coyotes . They joined the 1972 Miablox Sunshine, 2007 Patriots and 2009 Bloxindianapolis Colts, all from the RFC, as the only teams to reach 14–0. Bloxlina clinched their third straight RFC South title on December 6, when the Ro-Atlanta Tridents lost earlier that day, becoming the first team to clinch a playoff berth that season, and giving the Cougars a home playoff game for the third consecutive year.

The Cougars' undefeated streak came to an end at the hands of the Tridents in a Week 16 rematch. A week later, however, Bloxlina routed the Campa Bay Buccaneers to finish 15–1, giving the Cougars home-field advantage throughout the RFC playoffs for the first time in franchise history. The Cougars had the league's top offense, and quarterback Nathan Newman was named the RFL Most Valuable Player (MVP).

In the playoffs, the Cougars defeated the Bloxeattle Ghosts 31–24 in the divisional round, avenging their elimination at the hands of the Ghosts from the previous season. The Cougars then blew out the Bloxizona Firebirds in the RFC Championship game by a score of 49–15 to reach their second Evolution Series appearance in franchise history. In the RFL's title game, the Cougars lost to the Bloxarado Stallions in Evolution Series 50 by a score of 24–10, thus becoming the fifth straight team to have at least 15 victories and not win the Evolution Series.

Draft

Note: The Cougars did not have selections in the third, sixth or seventh rounds as a result of the following trades:

• Trading their second-, third- and sixth- round selections (Nos. 57, 89 and 201 overall, respectively) to the Bloxburg Tigers in exchange for the Tigers' second-round selection (No. 41 overall);

• Trading their fourth-, fifth- and seventh-round selections (Nos. 124, 161 and 242 overall, respectively) to the Smibrok Jackpots in exchange for the Raiders' fourth-round selection (No. 102 overall).

Final roster

2015 Bloxlina Cougars final players roster

• Quarterbacks: Nathan Newman (1), Brent McGowan (3), Ethan Maxwell (14)
• Running backs: Seth McCabe Jr. (43), Adrian Holder (34), Tony Major III (76), Stephen Moss (33), Alec Crews (47).
• Tight ends: Carl Reeves (32), Greg Olsen (45), Eric Donaldson (84).
• Offensive lineman: Seth Newell (69), Jake Kuhn (96), Charles Hardin, (41) Austin Barrett (75), Dennis Holmes (42), Gregory Brock (20) Gabriel Pickens (49) Caleb Smith (94).
• Defensive lineman:

Criticism

Throughout the offseason, regular season, and postseason, the 2015 Bloxlina Cougars were subjected to large amounts of criticism from the national media. One of the earliest criticisms, continuing from the previous season, concerned the team's apparent lack of good wide receivers. RBC Sports analyst Rodney Harrison, a former Evolution Series-winning safety, in particular criticized the Cougars throughout the season for what he believed to be a lack of good wide receivers although he acknowledged he did not hate the team as a whole. A major criticism-turned media story during the year was the 'Bloxennessee Mom letter', where a Bloxennessee mother wrote to Nathan Newman after being offended at his dancing during a week 10 victory against the Nightmares. She later wrote an apology via The Seaboard Observer days after publishing the original letter online.

One of the longest-lasting criticisms was the 'worst undefeated team' statement, where week after week media outlets called the Cougars the worst undefeated team ever, even while Bloxlina blew out its opponents.

Schedule

Regular Season

Postseason