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2021 Clemson

10–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Dabo Swinney, finished No. 14 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 2021, game by game: lost vs. No. 5 Georgia 3–10; won vs. South Carolina State 49–3; won vs. Georgia Tech 14–8; lost at NC State 21–27; won vs. Boston College 19–13; won at Syracuse 17–14; lost at No. 23 Pittsburgh 17–27; won vs. Florida State 30–20; won at Louisville 30–24; won vs. UConn 44–7; won vs. No. 13 Wake Forest 48–27; won at South Carolina 30–0; won vs. Iowa State 20–13+46−10Lost 3–10 vs. No. 5 Georgia-7No. 5 GeorgiaWon 49–3 vs. South Carolina State+46South Carolina …Won 14–8 vs. Georgia Tech+6Georgia TechLost 21–27 at NC State-6NC StateWon 19–13 vs. Boston College+6Boston CollegeWon 17–14 at Syracuse+3SyracuseLost 17–27 at No. 23 Pittsburgh-10No. 23 PittsburghWon 30–20 vs. Florida State+10Florida StateWon 30–24 at Louisville+6LouisvilleWon 44–7 vs. UConn+37UConnWon 48–27 vs. No. 13 Wake Forest+21No. 13 Wake ForestWon 30–0 at South Carolina+30South CarolinaWon 20–13 vs. Iowa State+7Iowa State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vs5GeorgiaL 3–⁠1056%
Sep 11vsSouth Carolina StateW 49–⁠391%
Sep 18vsGeorgia TechW 14–⁠884%
Sep 25atNC StateL 21–⁠2766%
Oct 2vsBoston CollegeW 19–⁠1370%
Oct 15atSyracuseW 17–⁠1476%
Oct 23at23PittsburghL 17–⁠2748%
Oct 30vsFlorida StateW 30–⁠2081%
Nov 6atLouisvilleW 30–⁠2464%
Nov 13vsUConnW 44–⁠795%
Nov 20vs13Wake ForestW 48–⁠2765%
Nov 27atSouth CarolinaW 30–⁠073%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsIowa StateCheez-It BowlW 20–⁠1363%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Iowa State 20–⁠13 in the Cheez-It Bowl; No. 14 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 10th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 3
  2. Wk 2: 6
  3. Wk 3: 6
  4. Wk 4: 9
  5. Wk 5: 25
  6. Wk 14: 22
  7. Wk 15: 19
  8. Final: 14
Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 14 peak No. 3
Points
342–⁠193
Coach
Dabo Swinney
Elo
1744 +31 this season
SP+ rating
18.7 No. 8 of 130; offense No. 71, defense No. 3
SRS
12.7 No. 14 of 130 in FBS
Returning
26% of last season’s EPA, No. 125 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 5 roster talent No. 4 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Tony Elliott
Defensive coordinator
Brent Venables
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense108th of 130
  • Defense7th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted101st of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted6th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0439%1.23108th of 130
Defense-0.0336%1.187th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.08 off
-0.01 def		40% off
36% def		—101st off
6th 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
Offense3.8own 3115% allowed
Defense2.3own 2620% caused

CORE rating 10.9, 27th of 130 (offense -5.4, defense -16.4).

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 yardsD.J. Uiagalelei QB2,246 yds
Passing touchdownsD.J. Uiagalelei QB9 TD
Rushing yardsWill Shipley RB739 yds
Rushing touchdownsWill Shipley RB11 TD
Receiving yardsJustyn Ross WR514 yds
Receiving touchdownsBeaux Collins WR3 TD
TacklesJames Skalski LB87 tkl
SacksMyles Murphy DE7.5 sacks
InterceptionsAndrew Booth Jr. CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Tristan Leigh OT★★★★★No. 14
Will Shipley RB★★★★★No. 32
Barrett Carter LB★★★★★No. 33
Jeremiah Trotter Jr. LB★★★★No. 37
Jake Briningstool TE★★★★No. 61
Beaux Collins WR★★★★No. 86
Payton Page DL★★★★No. 94
Cade Denhoff DL★★★★No. 104

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.50.854
Running backs24.50.954
Receivers53.80.923
Offensive line44.30.941
Defensive line34.00.945
Linebackers24.50.983
Defensive backs24.00.936
Athletes and specialists13.00.849
Whole class214.00.930

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 2Andrew Booth Jr. CBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 7Baylon Spector ILBBuffalo Bills

Roster 136

The 2021 roster

136 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 79 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 0

The 2021 portal

No transfers in.

Transfers out 8

Demarkcus Bowman RB★★★★to Florida
Derion Kendrick CB★★★★to Georgia
Mike Jones Jr. LB★★★★to LSU
Jordan Williams DT★★★to Virginia Tech
Chez Mellusi RB★★★to Wisconsin
Nyles Pinckney DT★★★to Minnesota
LeAnthony Williams CB★★★★to Marshall
Kaleb Boateng OT★★★to Florida

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.