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2021 Coastal Carolina

11–⁠2 (6–⁠2 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Jamey Chadwell.

Schedule and results

Coastal Carolina in 2021, game by game: won vs. The Citadel 52–14; won vs. Kansas 49–22; won at Buffalo 28–25; won vs. Massachusetts 53–3; won vs. UL Monroe 59–6; won at Arkansas State 52–20; lost at App State 27–30; won vs. Troy 35–28; won at Georgia Southern 28–8; lost vs. Georgia State 40–42; won vs. Texas State 35–21; won at South Alabama 27–21; won vs. Northern Illinois 47–41+53−3Won 52–14 vs. The Citadel+38The CitadelWon 49–22 vs. Kansas+27KansasWon 28–25 at Buffalo+3BuffaloWon 53–3 vs. Massachusetts+50MassachusettsWon 59–6 vs. UL Monroe+53UL MonroeWon 52–20 at Arkansas State+32Arkansas StateLost 27–30 at App State-3App StateWon 35–28 vs. Troy+7TroyWon 28–8 at Georgia Southern+20Georgia SouthernLost 40–42 vs. Georgia State-2Georgia StateWon 35–21 vs. Texas State+14Texas StateWon 27–21 at South Alabama+6South AlabamaWon 47–41 vs. Northern Illinois+6Northern Illino…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsThe CitadelW 52–⁠1492%
Sep 10vsKansasW 49–⁠2285%
Sep 18atBuffaloW 28–⁠2551%
Sep 25vsMassachusettsW 53–⁠390%
Oct 2vsUL MonroeW 59–⁠686%
Oct 7atArkansas StateW 52–⁠2075%
Oct 20atApp StateL 27–⁠3047%
Oct 28vsTroyW 35–⁠2877%
Nov 6atGeorgia SouthernW 28–⁠873%
Nov 13vsGeorgia StateL 40–⁠4279%
Nov 20vsTexas StateW 35–⁠2190%
Nov 26atSouth AlabamaW 27–⁠2175%
Dec 17Bowls & playoffvsNorthern IllinoisCure BowlW 47–⁠4175%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Northern Illinois 47–⁠41 in the Cure Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Sun Belt Conference.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 24 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 22
  2. Wk 2: 17
  3. Wk 3: 16
  4. Wk 4: 17
  5. Wk 5: 16
  6. Wk 6: 15
  7. Wk 7: 15
  8. Wk 8: 14
  9. Wk 9: 24
  10. Wk 10: 21
  11. Wk 11: 22

Led the nationGrayson McCall: passer rating (207.6)

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Sun Belt Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 14
Points
532–⁠281
Coach
Jamey Chadwell
Elo
1672 +74 this season
SP+ rating
13.2 No. 25 of 130; offense No. 6, defense No. 62
SRS
2.6 No. 61 of 130 in FBS
Returning
84% of last season’s EPA, No. 47 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 84 roster talent No. 100 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Newland Isaac and Willy Korn
Defensive coordinator
Chad Staggs
Offense
Up-tempo spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense1st of 130
  • Defense42nd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted3rd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted79th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.4053%1.361st of 130
Defense0.1041%1.2742nd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.28 off
0.15 def		49% off
44% def		—3rd off
79th 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
Offense5.0own 2913% allowed
Defense3.8own 2718% caused

CORE rating 14.5, 18th of 130 (offense 14.4, defense -0.1).

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 yardsGrayson McCall QB2,873 yds
Passing touchdownsGrayson McCall QB27 TD
Rushing yardsShermari Jones RB1,040 yds
Rushing touchdownsShermari Jones RB13 TD
Receiving yardsJaivon Heiligh WR1,128 yds
Receiving touchdownsIsaiah Likely TE12 TD
TacklesSilas Kelly LB109 tkl
SacksJosaiah Stewart DE12.5 sacks
InterceptionsAlex Spillum S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Zemarion Harrell LB★★★No. 635
Tae’Quan Johnson WR★★★No. 744
Josaiah Stewart DE★★★No. 749
Jared Brown WR★★★No. 1073
Rakim Cooper DL★★★No. 1459

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.837
Running backs23.00.836
Receivers43.00.838
Offensive line32.70.802
Defensive line23.00.854
Linebackers13.00.873
Defensive backs33.00.832
Athletes and specialists23.00.809
Whole class182.90.831

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 4Isaiah Likely TEBaltimore Ravens
Rd 7Jeffrey Gunter DECincinnati Bengals

Roster 127

The 2021 roster

127 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 68 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 4

The 2021 portal
Emmanuel Johnson DL★★★from Georgia Tech
Tre Douglas S★★★from Vanderbilt
Turon Ivy Jr. TE★★★from Indiana
Zovon Lindsay OT★★★from NC State

Transfers out 11

Cesar Moreno OL★★★no new school on file
Fred Payton QB★★★to Mercer
Jack Franklin OL★★★no new school on file
K.J. Johnson II S★★★no new school on file
Baden Pinson RB★★no new school on file
Damari Kelly CB★★no new school on file
Davon Bomar DE★★to Stony Brook
Michael McFarlane QB★★no new school on file
Myles Prosser K★★no new school on file
Sean Fitzgerald OL★★to Missouri State
Kameron Burton Sno new school on file

2021 Sun Belt Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Louisiana8–⁠013–⁠116
App State7–⁠110–⁠4
Coastal Carolina6–⁠211–⁠2
Georgia State6–⁠28–⁠5
Troy3–⁠55–⁠7
Texas State3–⁠54–⁠8
South Alabama2–⁠65–⁠7
UL Monroe2–⁠64–⁠8
Georgia Southern2–⁠63–⁠9
Arkansas State1–⁠72–⁠10

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