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2021 Cincinnati

13–⁠1 (8–⁠0 American Athletic Conference), coached by Luke Fickell, finished No. 4 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Cincinnati in 2021, game by game: won vs. Miami (OH) 49–14; won vs. Murray State 42–7; won at Indiana 38–24; won at No. 9 Notre Dame 24–13; won vs. Temple 52–3; won vs. UCF 56–21; won at Navy 27–20; won at Tulane 31–12; won vs. Tulsa 28–20; won at South Florida 45–28; won vs. SMU 48–14; won at East Carolina 35–13; won vs. No. 16 Houston 35–20; lost vs. No. 1 Alabama 6–27+49−21Won 49–14 vs. Miami (OH)+35Miami (OH)Won 42–7 vs. Murray State+35Murray StateWon 38–24 at Indiana+14IndianaWon 24–13 at No. 9 Notre Dame+11No. 9 Notre DameWon 52–3 vs. Temple+49TempleWon 56–21 vs. UCF+35UCFWon 27–20 at Navy+7NavyWon 31–12 at Tulane+19TulaneWon 28–20 vs. Tulsa+8TulsaWon 45–28 at South Florida+17South FloridaWon 48–14 vs. SMU+34SMUWon 35–13 at East Carolina+22East CarolinaWon 35–20 vs. No. 16 Houston+15No. 16 HoustonLost 6–27 vs. No. 1 Alabama-21No. 1 Alabama
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsMiami (OH)W 49–⁠1477%
Sep 11vsMurray StateW 42–⁠792%
Sep 18atIndianaW 38–⁠2458%
Oct 2at9Notre DameW 24–⁠1340%
Oct 8vsTempleW 52–⁠389%
Oct 16vsUCFW 56–⁠2177%
Oct 23atNavyW 27–⁠2085%
Oct 30atTulaneW 31–⁠1283%
Nov 6vsTulsaW 28–⁠2088%
Nov 12atSouth FloridaW 45–⁠2888%
Nov 20vsSMUW 48–⁠1476%
Nov 26atEast CarolinaW 35–⁠1377%
Dec 4vs16HoustonAmerican Athletic Championship GameW 35–⁠2076%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs1AlabamaCotton Bowl, CFP SemifinalL 6–⁠2743%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Alabama 27–⁠6 in the Cotton Bowl, CFP Semifinal; No. 4 in the final AP poll; American Athletic Conference champions.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 114 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 8
  2. Wk 2: 7
  3. Wk 3: 8
  4. Wk 4: 8
  5. Wk 5: 7
  6. Wk 6: 5
  7. Wk 7: 3
  8. Wk 8: 2
  9. Wk 9: 2
  10. Wk 10: 2
  11. Wk 11: 2
  12. Wk 12: 3
  13. Wk 13: 4
  14. Wk 14: 3
  15. Wk 15: 4
  16. Final: 4

American Athletic Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference, won the American Athletic Championship Game

Jim Thorpe AwardCoby Bryant, CB

Consensus All-AmericanSauce Gardner, DB

Eddie Robinson Coach of the YearLuke Fickell, coach; also the Walter Camp Coach, Bear Bryant Award and Bobby Dodd Award

Record
13–⁠1
Conference
8–⁠0 shared first in American Athletic Conference
AP final
No. 4 peak No. 2
Points
516–⁠236
Coach
Luke Fickell
Elo
1794 +134 this season
SP+ rating
21.2 No. 5 of 130; offense No. 13, defense No. 11
SRS
16.5 No. 5 of 130 in FBS
Returning
86% of last season’s EPA, No. 39 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 42 roster talent No. 52 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mike Denbrock
Defensive coordinator
Mike Tressel
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense15th of 130
  • Defense5th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted20th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted7th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2549%1.2315th of 130
Defense-0.0438%1.215th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.23 off
-0.01 def		49% off
39% def		—20th off
7th 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
Offense4.6own 3413% allowed
Defense2.9own 2620% caused

CORE rating 24.1, 5th of 130 (offense 6.4, defense -17.7).

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 yardsDesmond Ridder QB3,334 yds
Passing touchdownsDesmond Ridder QB30 TD
Rushing yardsJerome Ford RB1,319 yds
Rushing touchdownsJerome Ford RB19 TD
Receiving yardsAlec Pierce WR884 yds
Receiving touchdownsAlec Pierce WR8 TD
TacklesJoel Dublanko LB113 tkl
SacksCurtis Brooks DT7.5 sacks
InterceptionsDeshawn Pace LB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Chamon Metayer ATH★★★★No. 367
Bryon Threats ATH★★★No. 511
Jack Dingle LB★★★No. 526
Zeiqui Lawton DL★★★No. 559
Rob Jackson DL★★★No. 629

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.849
Running backs13.00.856
Receivers23.00.851
Offensive line33.00.861
Defensive line53.00.854
Linebackers33.00.864
Defensive backs53.00.849
Athletes and specialists43.30.863
Whole class243.00.856

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 1Sauce Gardner CBNew York Jets
Rd 2Alec Pierce WRIndianapolis Colts
Rd 2Bryan Cook SKansas City Chiefs
Rd 3Desmond Ridder QBAtlanta Falcons
Rd 3Myjai Sanders DEArizona Cardinals
Rd 4Coby Bryant CBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 5Jerome Ford RBCleveland Browns
Rd 6Darrian Beavers ILBNew York Giants
Rd 6Curtis Brooks DTIndianapolis Colts

Roster 132

The 2021 roster

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

Transfers in 3

The 2021 portal
Jowon Briggs DT★★★from Virginia
Devin Hightower LB★★★from Michigan State
James Tunstall OT★★from Stony Brook

Transfers out 10

Ben Bryant QB★★★to Eastern Michigan
Dorian Holloway LB★★★no new school on file
Jayshon Jackson WR★★★no new school on file
Kobe McAllister OT★★★to Chattanooga
Michael Lindauer QB★★★no new school on file
Michael Pitts LB★★★to Western Kentucky
Steven Hawthorne DE★★★no new school on file
Zach Hummel OT★★★no new school on file
Jakari Robinson OL★★to Memphis
Dalrone Donaldson WRno new school on file

2021 American Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Cincinnati8–⁠013–⁠14
Houston8–⁠012–⁠217
UCF5–⁠39–⁠4
East Carolina5–⁠37–⁠5
Tulsa5–⁠37–⁠6
SMU4–⁠48–⁠4
Memphis3–⁠56–⁠6
Navy3–⁠54–⁠8
Temple1–⁠73–⁠9
Tulane1–⁠72–⁠10
South Florida1–⁠72–⁠10

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