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2021 Boston College

6–⁠6 (2–⁠6 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Jeff Hafley.

Schedule and results

Boston College in 2021, game by game: won vs. Colgate 51–0; won at Massachusetts 45–28; won at Temple 28–3; won vs. Missouri 41–34; lost at No. 25 Clemson 13–19; lost vs. No. 22 NC State 7–33; lost at Louisville 14–28; lost at Syracuse 6–21; won vs. Virginia Tech 17–3; won at Georgia Tech 41–30; lost vs. Florida State 23–26; lost vs. No. 21 Wake Forest 10–41+51−31Won 51–0 vs. Colgate+51ColgateWon 45–28 at Massachusetts+17MassachusettsWon 28–3 at Temple+25TempleWon 41–34 vs. Missouri+7MissouriLost 13–19 at No. 25 Clemson-6No. 25 ClemsonLost 7–33 vs. No. 22 NC State-26No. 22 NC StateLost 14–28 at Louisville-14LouisvilleLost 6–21 at Syracuse-15SyracuseWon 17–3 vs. Virginia Tech+14Virginia TechWon 41–30 at Georgia Tech+11Georgia TechLost 23–26 vs. Florida State-3Florida StateLost 10–41 vs. No. 21 Wake Forest-31No. 21 Wake Forest
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsColgateW 51–⁠087%
Sep 11atMassachusettsW 45–⁠2869%
Sep 18atTempleW 28–⁠359%
Sep 25vsMissouriW 41–⁠3465%
Oct 2at25ClemsonL 13–⁠1930%
Oct 16vs22NC StateL 7–⁠3358%
Oct 23atLouisvilleL 14–⁠2845%
Oct 30atSyracuseL 6–⁠2150%
Nov 5vsVirginia TechW 17–⁠352%
Nov 13atGeorgia TechW 41–⁠3052%
Nov 20vsFlorida StateL 23–⁠2668%
Nov 27vs21Wake ForestL 10–⁠4143%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Wake Forest 41–⁠10; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 11th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 72nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 116 on file).

Record
6–⁠6
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 11th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
296–⁠266
Coach
Jeff Hafley
Elo
1481 −36 this season
SP+ rating
0.9 No. 75 of 130; offense No. 83, defense No. 63
SRS
−0.5 No. 74 of 130 in FBS
Returning
88% of last season’s EPA, No. 34 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 36 roster talent No. 50 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Frank Cignetti Jr.
Defensive coordinator
Tem Lukabu
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense90th of 130
  • Defense63rd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted100th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted71st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0840%1.2790th of 130
Defense0.1342%1.2163rd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.08 off
0.14 def		40% off
43% def		—100th off
71st 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
Offense3.6own 2718% allowed
Defense3.2own 2815% caused

CORE rating -7.0, 94th of 130 (offense -6.4, defense 0.6).

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 yardsDennis Grosel QB1,216 yds
Passing touchdownsPhil Jurkovec QB7 TD
Rushing yardsPat Garwo III RB1,045 yds
Rushing touchdownsPat Garwo III RB7 TD
Receiving yardsZay Flowers WR746 yds
Receiving touchdownsZay Flowers WR5 TD
TacklesKameron Arnold LB61 tkl
SacksMarcus Valdez DE5 sacks
InterceptionsBrandon Sebastian DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Drew Kendall OL★★★★No. 136
Clinton Burton Jr. CB★★★★No. 180
Bryce Steele LB★★★★No. 377
Jalen Cheek CB★★★No. 543
Owen McGowan LB★★★No. 732

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks32.70.820
Running backs23.00.855
Receivers23.00.836
Offensive line33.30.876
Defensive line53.00.851
Linebackers43.30.864
Defensive backs53.20.866
Athletes and specialists43.00.841
Whole class283.10.853

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 1Zion Johnson OGLos Angeles Chargers

Roster 117

The 2021 roster

117 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 64 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 6

The 2021 portal
Jaiden Lars-Woodbey S★★★from Florida State
Trae Barry TE★★★from Jacksonville State
Isaiah Graham-Mobley ILB★★★from Temple
Jake Byczko DE★★★from Massachusetts
Alec Sinkfield RB★★★from West Virginia
Khris Banks DT★★★from Temple

Transfers out 15

David Bailey RB★★★to Colorado State
Aidan Livingston LS★★returned to Boston College
Bryce Morais DL★★★no new school on file
Bryce Sebastian CB★★★no new school on file
Denzel Blackwell CB★★★no new school on file
Justin Bellido WR★★★to Notre Dame College
Korey Smith LB★★★no new school on file
Kyiev Bennermon DL★★★to North Carolina A&T
Luc Bequette DL★★★no new school on file
Matt Valecce QB★★★no new school on file
Mike Ciaffoni DL★★★to Colorado State
Paul Theobald Jr. LB★★★to UAlbany

And 3 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2021 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Pittsburgh7–⁠111–⁠313
Wake Forest7–⁠211–⁠315
Clemson6–⁠210–⁠314
NC State6–⁠29–⁠320
Miami5–⁠37–⁠5
Virginia4–⁠46–⁠6
Virginia Tech4–⁠46–⁠7
Louisville4–⁠46–⁠7
Florida State4–⁠45–⁠7
North Carolina4–⁠56–⁠7
Boston College2–⁠66–⁠6
Syracuse2–⁠65–⁠7
Georgia Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
Duke0–⁠83–⁠9

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