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2021 Alabama

13–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Nick Saban, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 2021, game by game: won vs. No. 14 Miami 44–13; won vs. Mercer 48–14; won at No. 11 Florida 31–29; won vs. Southern Miss 63–14; won vs. No. 12 Ole Miss 42–21; lost at Texas A&M 38–41; won at Mississippi State 49–9; won vs. Tennessee 52–24; won vs. LSU 20–14; won vs. New Mexico State 59–3; won vs. No. 21 Arkansas 42–35; won at Auburn 24–22; won vs. No. 1 Georgia 41–24; won vs. No. 4 Cincinnati 27–6; lost vs. No. 3 Georgia 18–33+56−15Won 44–13 vs. No. 14 Miami+31No. 14 MiamiWon 48–14 vs. Mercer+34MercerWon 31–29 at No. 11 Florida+2No. 11 FloridaWon 63–14 vs. Southern Miss+49Southern MissWon 42–21 vs. No. 12 Ole Miss+21No. 12 Ole MissLost 38–41 at Texas A&M-3Texas A&MWon 49–9 at Mississippi State+40Mississippi Sta…Won 52–24 vs. Tennessee+28TennesseeWon 20–14 vs. LSU+6LSUWon 59–3 vs. New Mexico State+56New Mexico StateWon 42–35 vs. No. 21 Arkansas+7No. 21 ArkansasWon 24–22 at Auburn+2AuburnWon 41–24 vs. No. 1 Georgia+17No. 1 GeorgiaWon 27–6 vs. No. 4 Cincinnati+21No. 4 CincinnatiLost 18–33 vs. No. 3 Georgia-15No. 3 Georgia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vs14MiamiW 44–⁠1378%
Sep 11vsMercerW 48–⁠1496%
Sep 18at11FloridaW 31–⁠2962%
Sep 25vsSouthern MissW 63–⁠1493%
Oct 2vs12Ole MissW 42–⁠2183%
Oct 9atTexas A&ML 38–⁠4168%
Oct 16atMississippi StateW 49–⁠977%
Oct 23vsTennesseeW 52–⁠2488%
Nov 6vsLSUW 20–⁠1485%
Nov 13vsNew Mexico StateW 59–⁠397%
Nov 20vs21ArkansasW 42–⁠3586%
Nov 27atAuburnW 24–⁠2277%
Dec 4vs1GeorgiaSEC Championship GameW 41–⁠2451%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs4CincinnatiCotton Bowl, CFP SemifinalW 27–⁠657%
Jan 10Bowls & playoffvs3GeorgiaCFP National ChampionshipL 18–⁠3359%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Georgia 33–⁠18 in the CFP National Championship; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 9th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 1
  2. Wk 2: 1
  3. Wk 3: 1
  4. Wk 4: 1
  5. Wk 5: 1
  6. Wk 6: 1
  7. Wk 7: 5
  8. Wk 8: 4
  9. Wk 9: 3
  10. Wk 10: 3
  11. Wk 11: 3
  12. Wk 12: 2
  13. Wk 13: 3
  14. Wk 14: 4
  15. Wk 15: 1
  16. Final: 2

Southeastern Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference, won the SEC Championship Game

Heisman voteWill Anderson Jr., fifth

Heisman TrophyBryce Young, QB; also the Maxwell, Davey O’Brien and Manning

Bronko Nagurski TrophyWill Anderson Jr., LB

3 consensus All-AmericansBryce Young, QB; Evan Neal, OL; Will Anderson Jr., LB

Record
13–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 2nd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 1
Points
598–⁠302
Coach
Nick Saban
Elo
1859 +77 this season
SP+ rating
26.0 No. 3 of 130; offense No. 4, defense No. 9
SRS
18.7 No. 4 of 130 in FBS
Returning
19% of last season’s EPA, No. 126 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 1 roster talent No. 1 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Bill O’Brien
Defensive coordinators
Pete Golding and Charles Kelly
Offense
Pro spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense7th of 130
  • Defense9th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted2nd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted5th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2648%1.327th of 130
Defense-0.0138%1.259th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.30 off
-0.02 def		50% off
36% def		—2nd off
5th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.5own 2915% allowed
Defense3.9own 2720% caused

CORE rating 30.6, 3rd of 130 (offense 12.8, defense -17.8).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsBryce Young QB4,872 yds
Passing touchdownsBryce Young QB47 TD
Rushing yardsBrian Robinson Jr. RB1,343 yds
Rushing touchdownsBrian Robinson Jr. RB14 TD
Receiving yardsJameson Williams WR1,572 yds
Receiving touchdownsJameson Williams WR15 TD
TacklesHenry To’o To’o LB111 tkl
SacksWill Anderson Jr. LB17.5 sacks
InterceptionsDeMarcco Hellams DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

J.C. Latham OT★★★★★No. 3
Tommy Brockermeyer OT★★★★★No. 6
Dallas Turner DE★★★★★No. 9
Kool-Aid McKinstry CB★★★★★No. 18
Damon Payne DL★★★★★No. 24
Ja’Corey Brooks WR★★★★★No. 27
Camar Wheaton RB★★★★★No. 34
Agiye Hall WR★★★★No. 45

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.963
Running backs15.00.983
Receivers54.00.956
Offensive line54.40.960
Defensive line64.20.949
Linebackers34.00.938
Defensive backs44.30.951
Athletes and specialists14.00.939
Whole class264.20.953

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2022

The 2022 draft
Rd 1Evan Neal OTNew York Giants
Rd 1Jameson Williams WRDetroit Lions
Rd 2John Metchie III WRHouston Texans
Rd 2Phidarian Mathis DTWashington Commanders
Rd 3Christian Harris ILBHouston Texans
Rd 3Brian Robinson Jr. RBWashington Commanders
Rd 4Jalyn Armour-Davis CBBaltimore Ravens

Roster 123

The 2021 roster

123 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 58 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 4

The 2021 portal
Henry To’o To’o LB★★★★from Tennessee
Jameson Williams WR★★★from Ohio State
Brylan Lanier CB★★★from Georgia State
Jack Martin P★★from Troy

Transfers out 11

Keilan Robinson RB★★★to Texas
Ishmael Sopsher DT★★★to USC
King Mwikuta LB★★★returned to Alabama
Brandon Turnage CB★★★to Tennessee
Eddie Smith S★★★to Illinois
Kevin Harris II OLB★★★to Georgia Tech
Ale Kaho ILB★★★to UCLA
Ben Davis LB★★★to Texas
Ronald Williams Jr. CB★★★★to Michigan State
Joseph Bulovas K★★★to Vanderbilt
Kyle Edwards RB★★★returned to Alabama

All-SEC

6 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2021 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2021 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia8–⁠014–⁠11
Alabama7–⁠113–⁠22
Ole Miss6–⁠210–⁠311
Kentucky5–⁠310–⁠318
Arkansas4–⁠49–⁠421
Texas A&M4–⁠48–⁠4
Tennessee4–⁠47–⁠6
Mississippi State4–⁠47–⁠6
South Carolina3–⁠57–⁠6
LSU3–⁠56–⁠7
Auburn3–⁠56–⁠7
Missouri3–⁠56–⁠7
Florida2–⁠66–⁠7
Vanderbilt0–⁠82–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.