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2021 Fresno State

10–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Mountain West Conference), coached by Kalen DeBoer, then Lee Marks (interim, bowl game).

Schedule and results

Fresno State in 2021, game by game: won vs. UConn 45–0; lost at No. 11 Oregon 24–31; won vs. Cal Poly 63–10; won at No. 13 UCLA 40–37; won vs. UNLV 38–30; lost at Hawai’i 24–27; won at Wyoming 17–0; won vs. Nevada 34–32; won at No. 21 San Diego State 30–20; lost vs. Boise State 14–40; won vs. New Mexico 34–7; won at San José State 40–9; won vs. UTEP 31–24+53−26Won 45–0 vs. UConn+45UConnLost 24–31 at No. 11 Oregon-7No. 11 OregonWon 63–10 vs. Cal Poly+53Cal PolyWon 40–37 at No. 13 UCLA+3No. 13 UCLAWon 38–30 vs. UNLV+8UNLVLost 24–27 at Hawai’i-3Hawai’iWon 17–0 at Wyoming+17WyomingWon 34–32 vs. Nevada+2NevadaWon 30–20 at No. 21 San Diego State+10No. 21 San Diego StateLost 14–40 vs. Boise State-26Boise StateWon 34–7 vs. New Mexico+27New MexicoWon 40–9 at San José State+31San José StateWon 31–24 vs. UTEP+7UTEP
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vsUConnW 45–⁠077%
Sep 4at11OregonL 24–⁠3130%
Sep 11vsCal PolyW 63–⁠1083%
Sep 18at13UCLAW 40–⁠3734%
Sep 24vsUNLVW 38–⁠3080%
Oct 2atHawai’iL 24–⁠2750%
Oct 16atWyomingW 17–⁠037%
Oct 23vsNevadaW 34–⁠3251%
Oct 30at21San Diego StateW 30–⁠2032%
Nov 6vsBoise StateL 14–⁠4056%
Nov 13vsNew MexicoW 34–⁠784%
Nov 25atSan José StateW 40–⁠958%
Dec 18Bowls & playoffvsUTEPNew Mexico BowlW 31–⁠2472%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat UTEP 31–⁠24 in the New Mexico Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 13th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 97 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 22
  2. Wk 5: 18
  3. Wk 10: 25
Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Mountain West Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 18
Points
434–⁠267
Coach
Kalen DeBoer, then Lee Marks (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1610 +124 this season
SP+ rating
10.8 No. 32 of 130; offense No. 27, defense No. 49
SRS
5.2 No. 41 of 130 in FBS
Returning
97% of last season’s EPA, No. 12 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 74 roster talent No. 82 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Ryan Grubb
Defensive coordinator
William Inge
Offense
Air raid
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense60th of 130
  • Defense11th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted57th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted19th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1547%1.1560th of 130
Defense0.0138%1.2811th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.16 off
0.05 def		47% off
40% def		—57th off
19th 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
Offense3.9own 3014% allowed
Defense3.5own 2820% caused

CORE rating 9.3, 36th of 130 (offense 1.4, defense -7.9).

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 yardsJake Haener QB4,096 yds
Passing touchdownsJake Haener QB33 TD
Rushing yardsRonnie Rivers RB788 yds
Rushing touchdownsJordan Mims RB6 TD
Receiving yardsJalen Cropper WR899 yds
Receiving touchdownsJalen Cropper WR11 TD
TacklesEvan Williams DB90 tkl
SacksDavid Perales DE7 sacks
InterceptionsEvan Williams DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Jordan Hornbeak RB★★★No. 707
Jalen Williams CB★★★No. 937
Jaylen Henderson QB★★★No. 1009
Braylen Nelson OT★★★No. 1142
Ja’Quez Harvey DL★★★No. 1157

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.857
Running backs23.00.858
Receivers13.00.823
Offensive line23.00.846
Defensive line33.00.840
Linebackers13.00.818
Defensive backs43.00.835
Athletes and specialists53.00.837
Whole class193.00.839

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 5DaRon Bland CBDallas Cowboys

Roster 99

The 2021 roster

99 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 66 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 8

The 2021 portal
Jordan Wilmore RB★★★from Utah
Ty Jones WR★★★from Washington
Elijah Gates CB★★★★from UCLA
Evan Bennett DL★★★from Oregon State
Isaac Garcia OLB★★★from Oregon State
Ryan Boehm DE★★★from Cal Poly
Daron Bland CBfrom Sacramento State
Jalen Guerrero OTfrom New Mexico State

Transfers out 13

Chris Gaston CB★★★no new school on file
Colby Warkentin DE★★★no new school on file
Dupree Williams S★★★no new school on file
Jalan Early DE★★★no new school on file
Jamal Glaspie WR★★★no new school on file
Justin Rice ILB★★★to Arkansas State
Leevel Tatum III DT★★★to Arizona
Tilini Livai OL★★★no new school on file
Ben Wooldridge QB★★to Louisiana
Chris Coleman CB★★no new school on file
Clive Truschel OL★★to Southeast Missouri State
Saevion Johnson RB★★no new school on file

And 1 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2021 Mountain West Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
San Diego State7–⁠112–⁠225
Utah State6–⁠211–⁠324
Fresno State6–⁠210–⁠3
Air Force6–⁠210–⁠3
Nevada5–⁠38–⁠5
Boise State5–⁠37–⁠5
Hawai’i3–⁠56–⁠7
San José State3–⁠55–⁠7
Wyoming2–⁠67–⁠6
Colorado State2–⁠63–⁠9
UNLV2–⁠62–⁠10
New Mexico1–⁠73–⁠9

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