2021 Boise State
7–5 (5–3 Mountain West Conference), coached by Andy Avalos. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest upsetBeat No. 10 BYU 26–17Oct 9
BYU was ranked No. 10 and favored to win.
- Most excitingLost to Nevada 31–41Oct 2
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | at UCF | L 31–36 | 41% |
| Sep 10 | vs UTEP | W 54–13 | 78% |
| Sep 18 | vs Oklahoma State | L 20–21 | 58% |
| Sep 25 | at Utah State | W 27–3 | 55% |
| Oct 2 | vs Nevada | L 31–41 | 68% |
| Oct 9 | at 10BYU | W 26–17 | 26% |
| Oct 16 | vs Air Force | L 17–24 | 57% |
| Oct 30 | at Colorado State | W 28–19 | 58% |
| Nov 6 | at 25Fresno State | W 40–14 | 44% |
| Nov 12 | vs Wyoming | W 23–13 | 79% |
| Nov 20 | vs New Mexico | W 37–0 | 90% |
| Nov 26 | at 22San Diego State | L 16–27 | 46% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to San Diego State 27–16; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Mountain West Conference.
In program history: The 19th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 56 on file).
- Record
- 7–5
- Conference
- 5–3 tied for 5th in Mountain West Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 350–228
- Coach
- Andy Avalos
- Elo
- 1644 +48 this season
- SP+ rating
- 9.4 No. 41 of 130; offense No. 69, defense No. 23
- SRS
- 9.8 No. 21 of 130 in FBS
- Returning
- 96% of last season’s EPA, No. 13 of 128
- Recruiting class
- No. 70 roster talent No. 70 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Tim Plough
- Defensive coordinators
- Spencer Danielson and Kane Ioane
- Offense
- Up-tempo spread
- Defense
- 4–2–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.14 | 43% | 1.18 | 68th of 130 |
| Defense | 0.05 | 38% | 1.24 | 19th of 130 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.17 off 0.06 def | 45% off 39% def | — | 47th off 20th 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 | 4.0 | own 30 | 15% allowed |
| Defense | 3.3 | own 27 | 17% caused |
CORE rating 8.4, 37th of 130 (offense 1.6, defense -6.8).
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 yards | Hank Bachmeier QB | 3,079 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Hank Bachmeier QB | 20 TD |
| Rushing yards | George Holani RB | 569 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Andrew Van Buren RB | 9 TD |
| Receiving yards | Khalil Shakir WR | 1,117 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Khalil Shakir WR | 7 TD |
| Tackles | J.L. Skinner S | 92 tkl |
| Sacks | Scott Matlock DT | 7 sacks |
| Interceptions | Tyric LeBeauf CB | 3 INT |
Top recruits in the 2021 class
| Jai Jones LB | ★★★ | No. 660 |
| Mason Randolph OL | ★★★ | No. 837 |
| Rejhan Tatum LB | ★★★ | No. 881 |
| Eric McAlister WR | ★★★ | No. 917 |
| James Wilborn Jr. LB | ★★★ | No. 937 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2021 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 2 | 3.0 | 0.830 |
| Receivers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.843 |
| Offensive line | 3 | 3.0 | 0.846 |
| Defensive line | 1 | 3.0 | 0.848 |
| Linebackers | 5 | 3.0 | 0.859 |
| Defensive backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.847 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 3.0 | 0.829 |
| Whole class | 18 | 3.0 | 0.846 |
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 5 | Khalil Shakir WR | Buffalo Bills |
Roster 92
The 2021 roster92 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 58 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 5
The 2021 portal Cyrus Habibi-Likio RB | ★★★ | from  Oregon |
 Kurt Rafdal TE | ★★★ | from  Nebraska |
 Will Farrar OT | ★★★ | from  Texas Tech |
 Caleb Biggers CB | ★★ | from  Bowling Green |
| Jared Reed S | ★★ | from  Utah State |
Transfers out 6
 Khyheem Waleed WR | ★★★ | to  Arkansas State |
| Marques Evans CB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Robert Cooper DL | ★★★ | to  Eastern Washington |
| Cade Fennegan QB | ★★ | no new school on file |
| Dylan Hall DE | no new school on file | |
| Mason Sikes TE | to  Western Illinois |
2021 Mountain West Conference standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Diego State | 7–1 | 12–2 | 25 |
| Utah State | 6–2 | 11–3 | 24 |
| Fresno State | 6–2 | 10–3 | |
| Air Force | 6–2 | 10–3 | |
| Nevada | 5–3 | 8–5 | |
| Boise State | 5–3 | 7–5 | |
 Hawai’i | 3–5 | 6–7 | |
 San José State | 3–5 | 5–7 | |
| Wyoming | 2–6 | 7–6 | |
| Colorado State | 2–6 | 3–9 | |
 UNLV | 2–6 | 2–10 | |
| New Mexico | 1–7 | 3–9 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.