2021 Arizona State
8–5 (6–3 Pac-12), coached by Herm Edwards. Officially 0–5: the NCAA vacated eight regular-season wins. Share
From the season’s Wikipedia article: “On April 19, 2024, Arizona State vacated all 8 of their wins from the 2021 season due to NCAA violations stemming from Arizona State offering recruiting inducements, impermissible tryouts and tampering.”
Schedule and results
- Biggest upsetBeat No. 20 UCLA 42–23Oct 2
UCLA was ranked No. 20 and favored to win.
- Most excitingLost to Utah 21–35Oct 16
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | vs Southern Utah | W 41–14vacated | 90% |
| Sep 11 | vs UNLV | W 37–10vacated | 80% |
| Sep 18 | at 23BYU | L 17–27 | 27% |
| Sep 25 | vs Colorado | W 35–13vacated | 70% |
| Oct 2 | at 20UCLA | W 42–23vacated | 42% |
| Oct 8 | vs Stanford | W 28–10vacated | 66% |
| Oct 16 | at Utah | L 21–35 | 43% |
| Oct 30 | vs Washington State | L 21–34 | 70% |
| Nov 6 | vs USC | W 31–16vacated | 61% |
| Nov 13 | at Washington | W 35–30vacated | 48% |
| Nov 20 | at Oregon State | L 10–24 | 54% |
| Nov 27 | vs Arizona | W 38–15vacated | 86% |
| Dec 30Bowls & playoff | vs WisconsinLas Vegas Bowl | L 13–20 | 39% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Wisconsin 20–13 in the Las Vegas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Pac-12.
In program history: The 42nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 93 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 1: 25
- Wk 2: 23
- Wk 3: 19
- Wk 6: 22
- Wk 7: 18
- Record
- 8–5
- Conference
- 6–3 tied for 3rd in Pac-12
- AP final
- Unranked peak No. 18
- Points
- 369–271
- Coach
- Herm Edwards
- Elo
- 1562 +18 this season
- SP+ rating
- 11.8 No. 26 of 130; offense No. 36, defense No. 24
- SRS
- 5.6 No. 37 of 130 in FBS
- Returning
- 98% of last season’s EPA, No. 10 of 128
- Recruiting class
- No. 48 roster talent No. 26 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Zak Hill
- Defensive coordinator
- Antonio Pierce
- Offense
- Spread
- Defense
- 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.22 | 48% | 1.22 | 28th of 130 |
| Defense | 0.07 | 41% | 1.19 | 26th of 130 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.20 off 0.08 def | 48% off 40% def | — | 31st off 25th 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 4.2 | own 29 | 14% allowed |
| Defense | 3.4 | own 28 | 17% caused |
CORE rating 15.3, 12th of 130 (offense 8.3, defense -7.1).
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 yards | Jayden Daniels QB | 2,380 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Jayden Daniels QB | 10 TD |
| Rushing yards | Rachaad White RB | 1,006 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Rachaad White RB | 15 TD |
| Receiving yards | Ricky Pearsall WR | 580 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Ricky Pearsall WR | 4 TD |
| Tackles | Kyle Soelle LB | 88 tkl |
| Sacks | B.J. Green II DE | 5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Darien Butler LB | 3 INT |
Top recruits in the 2021 class
| Isaiah Johnson CB | ★★★★ | No. 140 |
| Tommi Hill ATH | ★★★★ | No. 235 |
| Ezra Dotson-Oyetade OL | ★★★★ | No. 255 |
| Lonyatta Alexander WR | ★★★★ | No. 299 |
| Jaydon Williams LB | ★★★★ | No. 393 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2021 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.867 |
| Receivers | 1 | 4.0 | 0.901 |
| Offensive line | 4 | 3.3 | 0.872 |
| Defensive line | 2 | 3.0 | 0.863 |
| Linebackers | 2 | 3.5 | 0.854 |
| Defensive backs | 2 | 3.5 | 0.908 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 3.5 | 0.860 |
| Whole class | 14 | 3.4 | 0.873 |
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 3 | Rachaad White RB | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Rd 4 | Jack Jones CB | New England Patriots |
| Rd 5 | D.J. Davidson DT | New York Giants |
| Rd 7 | Chase Lucas CB | Detroit Lions |
Roster 110
The 2021 roster110 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 63 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 7
The 2021 portal| Bryan Thompson WR | ★★★ | from  Utah |
 Jalin Conyers TE | ★★★ | from  Oklahoma |
 Travez Moore WDE | ★★★ | from  LSU |
 Triston Miller OT | ★★★ | from  North Carolina |
 Chandler Fincher CB | ★★★ | from  TCU |
 Matthew Pola-Mao DL | ★★★ | from  Kansas State |
 Xavier Steele OLB | ★★ | from  Massachusetts |
Transfers out 18
 Stephon Wright DL | ★★★★ | to  SMU |
| Brandon Pierce WR | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Cody Shear OL | ★★★ | to  Syracuse |
| Demetrious Flowers RB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Elijah Juarez LB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Jack Smith QB | ★★★ | to Central Washington |
| Jacob Nunez OL | ★★★ | to  Nevada |
| Jordan Kerley WR | ★★★ | to SMU |
| K.J. Jarrell S | ★★★ | to  Idaho |
| Nolan Matthews TE | ★★★ | to SMU |
| Ryan Kelley QB | ★★★ | to  Eastern Washington |
| Damon Matthews CB | no new school on file |
And 6 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2021 Pac-12 standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utah | 8–1 | 10–4 | 12 |
 Oregon | 7–2 | 10–4 | 22 |
| UCLA | 6–3 | 8–4 | |
| Arizona State | 6–3 | 8–5 | |
| Washington State | 6–3 | 7–6 | |
| Oregon State | 5–4 | 7–6 | |
 California | 4–5 | 5–7 | |
| USC | 3–6 | 4–8 | |
| Washington | 3–6 | 4–8 | |
| Colorado | 3–6 | 4–8 | |
| Stanford | 2–7 | 3–9 | |
| Arizona | 1–8 | 1–11 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.