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2021 BYU

10–⁠3, coached by Kalani Sitake, finished No. 19 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

BYU in 2021, game by game: won vs. Arizona 24–16; won vs. No. 21 Utah 26–17; won vs. No. 19 Arizona State 27–17; won vs. South Florida 35–27; won at Utah State 34–20; lost vs. Boise State 17–26; lost at Baylor 24–38; won at Washington State 21–19; won vs. Virginia 66–49; won vs. Idaho State 59–14; won at Georgia Southern 34–17; won at USC 35–31; lost vs. UAB 28–31+45−14Won 24–16 vs. Arizona+8ArizonaWon 26–17 vs. No. 21 Utah+9No. 21 UtahWon 27–17 vs. No. 19 Arizona State+10No. 19 Arizona StateWon 35–27 vs. South Florida+8South FloridaWon 34–20 at Utah State+14Utah StateLost 17–26 vs. Boise State-9Boise StateLost 24–38 at Baylor-14BaylorWon 21–19 at Washington State+2Washington StateWon 66–49 vs. Virginia+17VirginiaWon 59–14 vs. Idaho State+45Idaho StateWon 34–17 at Georgia Southern+17Georgia SouthernWon 35–31 at USC+4USCLost 28–31 vs. UAB-3UAB
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsArizonaW 24–⁠1682%
Sep 11vs21UtahW 26–⁠1768%
Sep 18vs19Arizona StateW 27–⁠1773%
Sep 25vsSouth FloridaW 35–⁠2789%
Oct 1atUtah StateW 34–⁠2073%
Oct 9vsBoise StateL 17–⁠2674%
Oct 16atBaylorL 24–⁠3859%
Oct 23atWashington StateW 21–⁠1961%
Oct 30vsVirginiaW 66–⁠4970%
Nov 6vsIdaho StateW 59–⁠1496%
Nov 20atGeorgia SouthernW 34–⁠1774%
Nov 27atUSCW 35–⁠3170%
Dec 18Bowls & playoffvsUABIndependence BowlL 28–⁠3163%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to UAB 31–⁠28 in the Independence Bowl; No. 19 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 15th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 102 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 23
  2. Wk 4: 15
  3. Wk 5: 13
  4. Wk 6: 10
  5. Wk 7: 19
  6. Wk 9: 25
  7. Wk 10: 17
  8. Wk 11: 14
  9. Wk 12: 14
  10. Wk 13: 13
  11. Wk 14: 12
  12. Wk 15: 12
  13. Final: 19

Led the nationTyler Allgeier: rushing touchdowns (23 TD)

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
—
AP final
No. 19 peak No. 10
Points
430–⁠322
Coach
Kalani Sitake
Elo
1674 +11 this season
SP+ rating
8.9 No. 44 of 130; offense No. 14, defense No. 78
SRS
6.9 No. 35 of 130 in FBS
Returning
48% of last season’s EPA, No. 108 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 71 roster talent No. 94 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Aaron Roderick
Defensive coordinator
Ilaisa Tuiaki
Captains
Keenan Pili, Jaren Hall, Payton Wilgar and James Empey
Offense
Power spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense3rd of 130
  • Defense85th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted5th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted87th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.3150%1.313rd of 130
Defense0.1847%1.1485th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.28 off
0.16 def		49% off
46% def		—5th off
87th 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
Offense4.2own 2914% allowed
Defense4.1own 2616% caused

CORE rating 10.1, 34th of 130 (offense 11.9, defense 1.8).

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 yardsJaren Hall QB2,583 yds
Passing touchdownsJaren Hall QB20 TD
Rushing yardsTyler Allgeier RB1,606 yds
Rushing touchdownsTyler Allgeier RB23 TD
Receiving yardsPuka Nacua WR805 yds
Receiving touchdownsNeil Pau’u WR6 TD
TacklesBen Bywater LB102 tkl
SacksTyler Batty DE3.5 sacks
InterceptionsJakob Robinson CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Logan Fano DE★★★★No. 367
Victory Vaka DL★★★No. 480
Raider Damuni ATH★★★No. 535
John Henry Daley ATH★★★No. 613
Bentley Redden ATH★★★No. 1250

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers23.00.814
Offensive line33.00.838
Defensive line33.30.873
Linebackers23.00.824
Defensive backs13.00.819
Athletes and specialists53.00.852
Whole class163.10.843

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 5Tyler Allgeier RBAtlanta Falcons

Roster 124

The 2021 roster

124 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 72 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 5

The 2021 portal
Puka Nacua WR★★★★from Washington
Jakob Robinson CB★★★from Utah State
Kaleb Hayes CB★★★from Oregon State
Mufi Hunt DE★★★from Utah
Samson Nacua WR★★★from Utah

Transfers out 3

Darius McFarland DL★★★no new school on file
Kuj Tapusoa RB★★★no new school on file
Seleti Fevaleaki DLreturned to BYU