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2021 Central Michigan

9–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Mid-American Conference), coached by Jim McElwain.

Schedule and results

Central Michigan in 2021, game by game: lost at Missouri 24–34; won vs. Robert Morris 45–0; lost at LSU 21–49; won vs. Florida International 31–27; lost at Miami (OH) 17–28; won at Ohio 30–27; won vs. Toledo 26–23; lost vs. Northern Illinois 38–39; won at Western Michigan 42–30; won vs. Kent State 54–30; won at Ball State 37–17; won vs. Eastern Michigan 31–10; won vs. Washington State 24–21+45−28Lost 24–34 at Missouri-10MissouriWon 45–0 vs. Robert Morris+45Robert MorrisLost 21–49 at LSU-28LSUWon 31–27 vs. Florida International+4Florida Interna…Lost 17–28 at Miami (OH)-11Miami (OH)Won 30–27 at Ohio+3OhioWon 26–23 vs. Toledo+3ToledoLost 38–39 vs. Northern Illinois-1Northern Illino…Won 42–30 at Western Michigan+12Western MichiganWon 54–30 vs. Kent State+24Kent StateWon 37–17 at Ball State+20Ball StateWon 31–10 vs. Eastern Michigan+21Eastern MichiganWon 24–21 vs. Washington State+3Washington State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4atMissouriL 24–⁠3438%
Sep 11vsRobert MorrisW 45–⁠081%
Sep 18atLSUL 21–⁠4927%
Sep 25vsFlorida InternationalW 31–⁠2768%
Oct 2atMiami (OH)L 17–⁠2841%
Oct 9atOhioW 30–⁠2742%
Oct 16vsToledoW 26–⁠2353%
Oct 23vsNorthern IllinoisL 38–⁠3963%
Nov 3atWestern MichiganW 42–⁠3035%
Nov 10vsKent StateW 54–⁠3057%
Nov 17atBall StateW 37–⁠1739%
Nov 26vsEastern MichiganW 31–⁠1070%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsWashington StateSun BowlW 24–⁠2151%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Washington State 24–⁠21 in the Sun Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 9th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 68 on file).

MAC West champions6–⁠2 in the conference, shared with Northern Illinois

Led the nationKalil Pimpleton: punt return average (19.1); Lew Nichols III: rushing yards (1,848 yds)

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 shared first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
420–⁠335
Coach
Jim McElwain
Elo
1596 +120 this season
SP+ rating
-1.0 No. 84 of 130; offense No. 68, defense No. 93
SRS
−1.4 No. 77 of 130 in FBS
Returning
77% of last season’s EPA, No. 60 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 87 roster talent No. 123 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Kevin Barbay
Defensive coordinator
Robb Akey
Offense
Pro spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense47th of 130
  • Defense57th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted77th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted61st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1843%1.3947th of 130
Defense0.1243%1.2857th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.12 off
0.12 def		40% off
43% def		—77th off
61st 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
Offense3.5own 3115% allowed
Defense3.9own 2720% caused

CORE rating 1.4, 68th of 130 (offense 0.3, defense -1.1).

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 yardsDaniel Richardson QB2,633 yds
Passing touchdownsDaniel Richardson QB24 TD
Rushing yardsLew Nichols RB1,848 yds
Rushing touchdownsLew Nichols RB16 TD
Receiving yardsKalil Pimpleton WR960 yds
Receiving touchdownsJaCorey Sullivan WR10 TD
TacklesGage Kreski DB80 tkl
SacksTroy Hairston DL8 sacks
InterceptionsDevonni Reed DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

D.J. Stepney ATH★★★No. 953
Irone Jackson ATH★★★No. 1471
Caleb Spann S★★★No. 1608
Elijah Rikard S★★★No. 1628
Pius Odjugo DL★★★No. 1704

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.824
Receivers53.00.812
Offensive line23.00.811
Defensive line53.00.814
Linebackers23.00.827
Defensive backs62.70.815
Athletes and specialists23.00.849
Whole class232.90.818

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 2Luke Goedeke OTTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 3Bernhard Raimann OTIndianapolis Colts

Roster 110

The 2021 roster

110 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 56 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 3

The 2021 portal
Jacob Sirmon QB★★★from Washington
Marcel Lewis LB★★★from Michigan State
Levar Gumms WR★★from Northwestern State

Transfers out 18

Jordon Ingram RB★★★to Auburn
Deron Irving-Bey DL★★★★no new school on file
Austin Hergott TE★★★returned to Central Michigan
Demarcus Governor CB★★★to Northern Iowa
Kyron McKinnie-Harper CB★★★no new school on file
Mohamed Diallo DL★★★to Professional
Brady Buell K★★returned to Central Michigan
Brandon Brown CB★★returned to Central Michigan
Charles Jones LB★★no new school on file
Jayden Cray LB★★no new school on file
Josh Crawford RB★★no new school on file
Marcus Romboli DL★★no new school on file

And 6 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2021 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Central Michigan6–⁠29–⁠4
Northern Illinois6–⁠29–⁠5
Kent State6–⁠27–⁠7
Toledo5–⁠37–⁠6
Miami (OH)5–⁠37–⁠6
Western Michigan4–⁠48–⁠5
Eastern Michigan4–⁠47–⁠6
Ball State4–⁠46–⁠7
Ohio3–⁠53–⁠9
Buffalo2–⁠64–⁠8
Bowling Green2–⁠64–⁠8
Akron1–⁠72–⁠10

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