2021 Colorado
4–8 (3–6 Pac-12), coached by Karl Dorrell. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Arizona 34–0Oct 16
By 34 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingBeat Oregon State 37–34Nov 6
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 3 | vs Northern Colorado | W 35–7 | 90% |
| Sep 11 | vs 5Texas A&M | L 7–10 | 27% |
| Sep 18 | vs Minnesota | L 0–30 | 51% |
| Sep 25 | at Arizona State | L 13–35 | 30% |
| Oct 2 | vs USC | L 14–37 | 42% |
| Oct 16 | vs Arizona | W 34–0 | 69% |
| Oct 23 | at California | L 3–26 | 43% |
| Oct 30 | at 7Oregon | L 29–52 | 16% |
| Nov 6 | vs Oregon State | W 37–34 | 42% |
| Nov 13 | at UCLA | L 20–44 | 26% |
| Nov 20 | vs Washington | W 20–17 | 41% |
| Nov 26 | at 16Utah | L 13–28 | 13% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Utah 28–13; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Pac-12.
In program history: The 107th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).
- Record
- 4–8
- Conference
- 3–6 tied for 8th in Pac-12
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 225–320
- Coach
- Karl Dorrell
- Elo
- 1412 −84 this season
- SP+ rating
- -10.0 No. 104 of 130; offense No. 120, defense No. 94
- SRS
- −7.0 No. 97 of 130 in FBS
- Returning
- 76% of last season’s EPA, No. 63 of 128
- Recruiting class
- No. 65 roster talent No. 47 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Darrin Chiaverini
- Defensive coordinator
- Chris Wilson
- Offense
- Pro-style
- Defense
- 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.00 | 35% | 1.12 | 120th of 130 |
| Defense | 0.19 | 46% | 1.24 | 95th of 130 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.06 off 0.17 def | 37% off 44% def | — | 109th off 91st 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 3.8 | own 28 | 20% allowed |
| Defense | 3.7 | own 29 | 14% caused |
CORE rating -17.0, 114th of 130 (offense -12.7, defense 4.3).
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 yards | Brendon Lewis QB | 1,540 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Brendon Lewis QB | 10 TD |
| Rushing yards | Jarek Broussard RB | 661 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Alex Fontenot RB | 5 TD |
| Receiving yards | Brady Russell TE | 307 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Brenden Rice WR | 3 TD |
| Tackles | Isaiah Lewis S | 68 tkl |
| Sacks | Carson Wells LB | 5.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Mark Perry S | 3 INT |
Top recruits in the 2021 class
| Erik Olsen TE | ★★★ | No. 413 |
| Tyas Martin DL | ★★★ | No. 697 |
| Chase Penry WR | ★★★ | No. 861 |
| Drew Carter QB | ★★★ | No. 969 |
| Trevor Woods S | ★★★ | No. 992 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2021 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.858 |
| Receivers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.855 |
| Offensive line | 2 | 3.0 | 0.844 |
| Defensive line | 3 | 3.0 | 0.843 |
| Linebackers | 2 | 3.0 | 0.846 |
| Defensive backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.847 |
| Athletes and specialists | 5 | 3.0 | 0.826 |
| Whole class | 18 | 3.0 | 0.842 |
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.
Roster 104
The 2021 roster104 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 63 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 6
The 2021 portal Robert Barnes S | ★★★ | from  Oklahoma |
 Jack Lamb LB | ★★★ | from  Notre Dame |
 J.T. Shrout PRO | ★★★ | from  Tennessee |
 Max Wray OT | ★★★★ | from  Ohio State |
 Blayne Toll TE | ★★★ | from  Arkansas |
 Noah Fenske OG | ★★★ | from  Iowa |
Transfers out 13
 K.D. Nixon WR | ★★★ | to  USC |
| Jason Harris WDE | ★★★ | to  Arizona |
| Jaren Mangham RB | ★★★ | to  South Florida |
| Tyler Lytle PRO | ★★★ | to  Massachusetts |
 Antonio Alfano DL | ★★★★★ | to Independence C.C. |
| Akil Jones LB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| D.J. Oats RB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Derrion Rakestraw CB | ★★★ | to  Tulane |
| K.J. Trujillo CB | ★★★ | to  Wake Forest |
| Sam Noyer QB | ★★★ | to  Oregon State |
| Valentin Senn OT | ★★★ | to  UConn |
| Will Anglen S | ★★★ | no new school on file |
And 1 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2021 Pac-12 standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Utah | 8–1 | 10–4 | 12 |
| Oregon | 7–2 | 10–4 | 22 |
| UCLA | 6–3 | 8–4 | |
| Arizona State | 6–3 | 8–5 | |
 Washington State | 6–3 | 7–6 | |
| Oregon State | 5–4 | 7–6 | |
| California | 4–5 | 5–7 | |
| USC | 3–6 | 4–8 | |
| Washington | 3–6 | 4–8 | |
| Colorado | 3–6 | 4–8 | |
 Stanford | 2–7 | 3–9 | |
| Arizona | 1–8 | 1–11 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.