CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2021 Georgia

14–⁠1 (8–⁠0 Southeastern Conference), coached by Kirby Smart, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Georgia in 2021, game by game: won vs. No. 3 Clemson 10–3; won vs. UAB 56–7; won vs. South Carolina 40–13; won at Vanderbilt 62–0; won vs. No. 8 Arkansas 37–0; won at No. 18 Auburn 34–10; won vs. No. 11 Kentucky 30–13; won vs. Florida 34–7; won vs. Missouri 43–6; won at Tennessee 41–17; won vs. Charleston Southern 56–7; won at Georgia Tech 45–0; lost vs. No. 4 Alabama 24–41; won vs. No. 2 Michigan 34–11; won vs. No. 1 Alabama 33–18+62−17Won 10–3 vs. No. 3 Clemson+7No. 3 ClemsonWon 56–7 vs. UAB+49UABWon 40–13 vs. South Carolina+27South CarolinaWon 62–0 at Vanderbilt+62VanderbiltWon 37–0 vs. No. 8 Arkansas+37No. 8 ArkansasWon 34–10 at No. 18 Auburn+24No. 18 AuburnWon 30–13 vs. No. 11 Kentucky+17No. 11 KentuckyWon 34–7 vs. Florida+27FloridaWon 43–6 vs. Missouri+37MissouriWon 41–17 at Tennessee+24TennesseeWon 56–7 vs. Charleston Southern+49Charleston Sout…Won 45–0 at Georgia Tech+45Georgia TechLost 24–41 vs. No. 4 Alabama-17No. 4 AlabamaWon 34–11 vs. No. 2 Michigan+23No. 2 MichiganWon 33–18 vs. No. 1 Alabama+15No. 1 Alabama
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vs3ClemsonW 10–⁠344%
Sep 11vsUABW 56–⁠774%
Sep 18vsSouth CarolinaW 40–⁠1385%
Sep 25atVanderbiltW 62–⁠089%
Oct 2vs8ArkansasW 37–⁠077%
Oct 9at18AuburnW 34–⁠1062%
Oct 16vs11KentuckyW 30–⁠1375%
Oct 30vsFloridaW 34–⁠772%
Nov 6vsMissouriW 43–⁠690%
Nov 13atTennesseeW 41–⁠1778%
Nov 20vsCharleston SouthernW 56–⁠797%
Nov 27atGeorgia TechW 45–⁠089%
Dec 4vs4AlabamaSEC Championship GameL 24–⁠4149%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs2MichiganOrange Bowl, CFP SemifinalW 34–⁠1155%
Jan 10Bowls & playoffvs1AlabamaCFP National ChampionshipW 33–⁠1841%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Alabama 33–⁠18 in the CFP National Championship; No. 1 in the final AP poll; first in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 5
  2. Wk 2: 2
  3. Wk 3: 2
  4. Wk 4: 2
  5. Wk 5: 2
  6. Wk 6: 2
  7. Wk 7: 1
  8. Wk 8: 1
  9. Wk 9: 1
  10. Wk 10: 1
  11. Wk 11: 1
  12. Wk 12: 1
  13. Wk 13: 1
  14. Wk 14: 1
  15. Wk 15: 3
  16. Final: 1

National championsNo. 1 in the final AP poll, and a title the school claims

SEC East champions8–⁠0 in the conference

Outland TrophyJordan Davis, DT; also the Bednarik

Butkus AwardNakobe Dean, ILB

2 consensus All-AmericansJordan Davis, DT; Nakobe Dean, ILB

Record
14–⁠1
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
579–⁠153
Coach
Kirby Smart
Elo
1864 +191 this season
SP+ rating
32.0 No. 1 of 130; offense No. 2, defense No. 1
SRS
25.3 No. 1 of 130 in FBS
Returning
97% of last season’s EPA, No. 11 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 3 roster talent No. 2 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Todd Monken
Defensive coordinators
Dan Lanning and Glenn Schumann
Offense
Pro spread
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense6th of 130
  • Defense2nd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted4th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted1st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2750%1.236th of 130
Defense-0.1033%1.272nd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.28 off
-0.09 def		51% off
32% def		—4th off
1st 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
Offense4.7own 3112% allowed
Defense1.9own 2620% caused

CORE rating 38.8, 1st of 130 (offense 13.3, defense -25.5).

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 yardsStetson Bennett QB2,862 yds
Passing touchdownsStetson Bennett QB29 TD
Rushing yardsZamir White RB856 yds
Rushing touchdownsZamir White RB11 TD
Receiving yardsBrock Bowers TE882 yds
Receiving touchdownsBrock Bowers TE13 TD
TacklesLewis Cine DB73 tkl
SacksRobert Beal Jr. LB6.5 sacks
InterceptionsDerion Kendrick DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Amarius Mims OT★★★★★No. 8
Brock Vandagriff QB★★★★★No. 17
Xavian Sorey Jr. LB★★★★★No. 26
Smael Mondon Jr. LB★★★★★No. 35
Micah Morris OT★★★★No. 67
Nyland Green CB★★★★No. 72
David Daniel-Sisavanh ATH★★★★No. 96
Dylan Fairchild OL★★★★No. 98

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks15.00.991
Running backs23.50.888
Receivers43.50.879
Offensive line44.00.952
Defensive line33.70.919
Linebackers44.50.946
Defensive backs33.70.918
Athletes and specialists14.00.958
Whole class223.90.925

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 1Travon Walker DEJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 1Jordan Davis DTPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 1Quay Walker ILBGreen Bay Packers
Rd 1Devonte Wyatt DTGreen Bay Packers
Rd 1Lewis Cine SMinnesota Vikings
Rd 2George Pickens WRPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 2James Cook RBBuffalo Bills
Rd 3Nakobe Dean ILBPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 3Channing Tindall ILBMiami Dolphins
Rd 4Zamir White RBLas Vegas Raiders
Rd 4Jake Camarda PTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 6Justin Shaffer OGAtlanta Falcons
Rd 6Jamaree Salyer OGLos Angeles Chargers
Rd 6Derion Kendrick CBLos Angeles Rams
Rd 6John FitzPatrick TEAtlanta Falcons

Roster 120

The 2021 roster

120 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 77 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 3

The 2021 portal
Arik Gilbert TE★★★★from LSU
Derion Kendrick CB★★★★from Clemson
Tykee Smith S★★★★from West Virginia

Transfers out 13

Tyrique Stevenson CB★★★★to Miami
Jermaine Johnson II OLB★★★to Florida State
Demetris Robertson WR★★★to Auburn
Major Burns S★★★to LSU
D’Wan Mathis QB★★★to Temple
Makiya Tongue WR★★★to Oregon State
Netori Johnson DL★★★to Middle Tennessee
Trey Blount WR★★★to Old Dominion
Tommy Bush WR★★★★to North Texas
Matt Landers WR★★★to Toledo
John Seter QBto SMU
Kolby Wyatt TEto Hawai’i

And 1 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-SEC

6 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2021 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2021 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia8–⁠014–⁠11
Alabama7–⁠113–⁠22
Ole Miss6–⁠210–⁠311
Kentucky5–⁠310–⁠318
Arkansas4–⁠49–⁠421
Texas A&M4–⁠48–⁠4
Tennessee4–⁠47–⁠6
Mississippi State4–⁠47–⁠6
South Carolina3–⁠57–⁠6
LSU3–⁠56–⁠7
Auburn3–⁠56–⁠7
Missouri3–⁠56–⁠7
Florida2–⁠66–⁠7
Vanderbilt0–⁠82–⁠10

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