CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2021 Arizona

1–⁠11 (1–⁠8 Pac-12), coached by Jedd Fisch.

Schedule and results

Arizona in 2021, game by game: lost vs. BYU 16–24; lost vs. San Diego State 14–38; lost vs. Northern Arizona 19–21; lost at No. 3 Oregon 19–41; lost vs. UCLA 16–34; lost at Colorado 0–34; lost vs. Washington 16–21; lost at USC 34–41; won vs. California 10–3; lost vs. Utah 29–38; lost at Washington State 18–44; lost at Arizona State 15–38+7−34Lost 16–24 vs. BYU-8BYULost 14–38 vs. San Diego State-24San Diego StateLost 19–21 vs. Northern Arizona-2Northern ArizonaLost 19–41 at No. 3 Oregon-22No. 3 OregonLost 16–34 vs. UCLA-18UCLALost 0–34 at Colorado-34ColoradoLost 16–21 vs. Washington-5WashingtonLost 34–41 at USC-7USCWon 10–3 vs. California+7CaliforniaLost 29–38 vs. Utah-9UtahLost 18–44 at Washington State-26Washington StateLost 15–38 at Arizona State-23Arizona State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsBYUL 16–⁠2418%
Sep 11vsSan Diego StateL 14–⁠3836%
Sep 18vsNorthern ArizonaL 19–⁠2175%
Sep 25at3OregonL 19–⁠4112%
Oct 9vsUCLAL 16–⁠3432%
Oct 16atColoradoL 0–⁠3431%
Oct 22vsWashingtonL 16–⁠2128%
Oct 30atUSCL 34–⁠4116%
Nov 6vsCaliforniaW 10–⁠331%
Nov 13vsUtahL 29–⁠3816%
Nov 19atWashington StateL 18–⁠4417%
Nov 27atArizona StateL 15–⁠3814%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Arizona State 38–⁠15; unranked in the final AP poll; 12th in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 101st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 102 on file).

Record
1–⁠11
Conference
1–⁠8 12th in Pac-12
AP final
Unranked
Points
206–⁠377
Coach
Jedd Fisch
Elo
1299 −101 this season
SP+ rating
-12.6 No. 112 of 130; offense No. 119, defense No. 102
SRS
−13.1 No. 112 of 130 in FBS
Returning
48% of last season’s EPA, No. 106 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 75 roster talent No. 68 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Brennan Carroll
Defensive coordinator
Don Brown
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense122nd of 130
  • Defense102nd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted121st of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted98th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0038%1.22122nd of 130
Defense0.2243%1.33102nd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.18 def		39% off
41% def		—121st off
98th 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
Offense2.6own 2517% allowed
Defense4.6own 2717% caused

CORE rating -10.9, 101st of 130 (offense -8.8, defense 2.1).

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 yardsWill Plummer QB1,610 yds
Passing touchdownsWill Plummer QB6 TD
Rushing yardsDrake Anderson RB385 yds
Rushing touchdownsMichael Wiley RB2 TD
Receiving yardsStanley Berryhill III WR744 yds
Receiving touchdownsMichael Wiley RB4 TD
TacklesAnthony Pandy LB82 tkl
SacksKyon Barrs DL5 sacks
InterceptionsAnthony Pandy LB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

James Bohls RB★★★No. 917
Javione Carr S★★★No. 1031
Kevon Garcia DE★★★No. 1123
D.J. Fryar LB★★★No. 1157
Kolbe Cage LB★★★No. 1250

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs23.00.853
Receivers23.00.837
Offensive line33.00.818
Defensive line23.00.834
Linebackers53.00.841
Defensive backs43.00.836
Athletes and specialists23.00.828
Whole class203.00.835

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.

Roster 109

The 2021 roster

109 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 63 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 13

The 2021 portal
Treshaun Hayward LB★★★from Western Michigan
Gunner Maldonado S★★★from Northwestern
Drake Anderson RB★★★from Northwestern
Isaiah Rutherford CB★★★from Notre Dame
Jason Harris WDE★★★from Colorado
Jordan McCloud QB★★★from South Florida
Rashie Hodge Jr. LB★★★from New Mexico State
Davis DiVall OL★★★from Baylor
Leevel Tatum III DT★★★from Fresno State
Malik Reed LB★★★from Wisconsin
Jerry Roberts LB★★from Bowling Green
Kenny Hebert LB★★from Vanderbilt

And 1 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 15

Grant Gunnell PRO★★★to Memphis
Robert Congel OG★★★to Oklahoma
Brenden Schooler WR★★★to Texas
Colin Schooler LB★★★to Texas Tech
Derrion Clark LB★★★no new school on file
Drew Dixon WR★★★no new school on file
Edric Whitley CB★★★no new school on file
Jamari Williams OL★★★to Middle Tennessee
Jarrius Wallace S★★★returned to Arizona
Kevin Doyle QB★★★no new school on file
Khary Crump CB★★★to Michigan State
Kylan Wilborn DE★★★to UNLV

And 3 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2021 Pac-12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Utah8–⁠110–⁠412
Oregon7–⁠210–⁠422
UCLA6–⁠38–⁠4
Arizona State6–⁠38–⁠5
Washington State6–⁠37–⁠6
Oregon State5–⁠47–⁠6
California4–⁠55–⁠7
USC3–⁠64–⁠8
Washington3–⁠64–⁠8
Colorado3–⁠64–⁠8
Stanford2–⁠73–⁠9
Arizona1–⁠81–⁠11

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