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2021 Duke

3–⁠9 (0–⁠8 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by David Cutcliffe.

Schedule and results

Duke in 2021, game by game: lost at Charlotte 28–31; won vs. North Carolina A&T 45–17; won vs. Northwestern 30–23; won vs. Kansas 52–33; lost at North Carolina 7–38; lost vs. Georgia Tech 27–31; lost at Virginia 0–48; lost at No. 13 Wake Forest 7–45; lost vs. Pittsburgh 29–54; lost at Virginia Tech 17–48; lost vs. Louisville 22–62; lost vs. Miami 10–47+28−48Lost 28–31 at Charlotte-3CharlotteWon 45–17 vs. North Carolina A&T+28North Carolina …Won 30–23 vs. Northwestern+7NorthwesternWon 52–33 vs. Kansas+19KansasLost 7–38 at North Carolina-31North CarolinaLost 27–31 vs. Georgia Tech-4Georgia TechLost 0–48 at Virginia-48VirginiaLost 7–45 at No. 13 Wake Forest-38No. 13 Wake ForestLost 29–54 vs. Pittsburgh-25PittsburghLost 17–48 at Virginia Tech-31Virginia TechLost 22–62 vs. Louisville-40LouisvilleLost 10–47 vs. Miami-37Miami
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3atCharlotteL 28–⁠3138%
Sep 10vsNorth Carolina A&TW 45–⁠1759%
Sep 18vsNorthwesternW 30–⁠2343%
Sep 25vsKansasW 52–⁠3375%
Oct 2atNorth CarolinaL 7–⁠3830%
Oct 9vsGeorgia TechL 27–⁠3156%
Oct 16atVirginiaL 0–⁠4831%
Oct 30at13Wake ForestL 7–⁠4517%
Nov 6vsPittsburghL 29–⁠5425%
Nov 13atVirginia TechL 17–⁠4828%
Nov 18vsLouisvilleL 22–⁠6234%
Nov 27vsMiamiL 10–⁠4729%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Miami 47–⁠10; unranked in the final AP poll; 14th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 100th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 108 on file).

Record
3–⁠9
Conference
0–⁠8 14th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
274–⁠477
Coach
David Cutcliffe
Elo
1323 −94 this season
SP+ rating
-13.5 No. 113 of 130; offense No. 96, defense No. 118
SRS
−14.8 No. 116 of 130 in FBS
Returning
68% of last season’s EPA, No. 75 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 58 roster talent No. 60 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Re’quan Boyette and Jeff Faris
Defensive coordinators
Ben Albert and Matt Guerrieri
Captains
Jake Bobo, DeWayne Carter, Gunnar Holmberg, Leonard Johnson and Jack Wohlabaugh
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense106th of 130
  • Defense125th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted129th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted127th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0541%1.16106th of 130
Defense0.3548%1.45125th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.01 off
0.30 def		39% off
46% def		—129th off
127th 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
Offense3.1own 2916% allowed
Defense4.8own 2816% caused

CORE rating -27.5, 127th of 130 (offense -11.0, defense 16.5).

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 yardsGunnar Holmberg QB2,358 yds
Passing touchdownsGunnar Holmberg QB7 TD
Rushing yardsMataeo Durant RB1,241 yds
Rushing touchdownsMataeo Durant RB9 TD
Receiving yardsJake Bobo WR794 yds
Receiving touchdownsJalon Calhoun WR3 TD
TacklesShaka Heyward LB97 tkl
SacksR.J. Oben DL5 sacks
InterceptionsJeremiah Lewis S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Andrew Jones OT★★★No. 464
Riley Leonard QB★★★No. 683
Cameron Bergeron CB★★★No. 707
Dylan Merrell CB★★★No. 837
Justin Pickett OL★★★No. 837

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.865
Running backs13.00.851
Receivers23.00.850
Offensive line23.00.874
Defensive line23.00.854
Linebackers33.00.849
Defensive backs53.00.856
Athletes and specialists13.00.847
Whole class183.00.856

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.

Roster 106

The 2021 roster

106 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 70 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 7

The 2021 portal
Brian Foley OG★★★from Holy Cross
Ja’Mion Franklin DT★★★from Notre Dame
Carson Van Lynn OT★★★from Pittsburgh
Dominique Long S★★★from Michigan State
Colby Campbell ILBfrom Presbyterian
Kade Parmelly OLfrom Abilene Christian
Scott Boylan WRfrom Brown

Transfers out 8

Derrick Tangelo DT★★★to Penn State
Marquis Waters S★★★to Texas Tech
Drew Jordan WDE★★★to Michigan State
Chase Brice PRO★★★to App State
Brandon Hill LB★★★no new school on file
Chris Katrenick QB★★★to Eastern Illinois
Damond Philyaw-Johnson WR★★★no new school on file
Dennis Smith WR★★★no new school on file

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.