CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2021 Houston

12–⁠2 (8–⁠0 American Athletic Conference), coached by Dana Holgorsen, finished No. 17 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Houston in 2021, game by game: lost vs. Texas Tech 21–38; won at Rice 44–7; won vs. Grambling 45–0; won vs. Navy 28–20; won at Tulsa 45–10; won at Tulane 40–22; won vs. East Carolina 31–24; won vs. No. 19 SMU 44–37; won at South Florida 54–42; won at Temple 37–8; won vs. Memphis 31–13; won at UConn 45–17; lost at No. 3 Cincinnati 20–35; won vs. Auburn 17–13+45−17Lost 21–38 vs. Texas Tech-17Texas TechWon 44–7 at Rice+37RiceWon 45–0 vs. Grambling+45GramblingWon 28–20 vs. Navy+8NavyWon 45–10 at Tulsa+35TulsaWon 40–22 at Tulane+18TulaneWon 31–24 vs. East Carolina+7East CarolinaWon 44–37 vs. No. 19 SMU+7No. 19 SMUWon 54–42 at South Florida+12South FloridaWon 37–8 at Temple+29TempleWon 31–13 vs. Memphis+18MemphisWon 45–17 at UConn+28UConnLost 20–35 at No. 3 Cincinnati-15No. 3 CincinnatiWon 17–13 vs. Auburn+4Auburn
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsTexas TechL 21–⁠3855%
Sep 11atRiceW 44–⁠746%
Sep 18vsGramblingW 45–⁠085%
Sep 25vsNavyW 28–⁠2071%
Oct 1atTulsaW 45–⁠1043%
Oct 7atTulaneW 40–⁠2256%
Oct 23vsEast CarolinaW 31–⁠2471%
Oct 30vs19SMUW 44–⁠3751%
Nov 6atSouth FloridaW 54–⁠4274%
Nov 13atTempleW 37–⁠878%
Nov 19vsMemphisW 31–⁠1369%
Nov 27atUConnW 45–⁠1790%
Dec 4at3CincinnatiAmerican Athletic Championship GameL 20–⁠3524%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsAuburnBirmingham BowlW 17–⁠1363%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Auburn 17–⁠13 in the Birmingham Bowl; No. 17 in the final AP poll; tied for first in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 12th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 81 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 10: 20
  2. Wk 11: 17
  3. Wk 12: 17
  4. Wk 13: 19
  5. Wk 14: 16
  6. Wk 15: 21
  7. Final: 17

Paul Hornung AwardMarcus Jones, WR/CB/RS

Consensus All-AmericanMarcus Jones, WR/CB/RS

Record
12–⁠2
Conference
8–⁠0 shared first in American Athletic Conference
AP final
No. 17 peak No. 16
Points
502–⁠286
Coach
Dana Holgorsen
Elo
1663 +177 this season
SP+ rating
10.9 No. 31 of 130; offense No. 51, defense No. 18
SRS
8.0 No. 32 of 130 in FBS
Returning
67% of last season’s EPA, No. 76 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 81 roster talent No. 66 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Shannon Dawson and Brandon Jones
Defensive coordinator
Doug Belk
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense53rd of 130
  • Defense6th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted67th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted9th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1742%1.3653rd of 130
Defense-0.0336%1.376th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.15 off
0.02 def		42% off
38% def		—67th off
9th 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
Offense4.5own 3317% allowed
Defense3.4own 2821% caused

CORE rating 10.3, 33rd of 130 (offense -1.2, defense -11.5).

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 yardsClayton Tune QB3,546 yds
Passing touchdownsClayton Tune QB30 TD
Rushing yardsAlton McCaskill RB961 yds
Rushing touchdownsAlton McCaskill RB16 TD
Receiving yardsNathaniel Dell WR1,329 yds
Receiving touchdownsNathaniel Dell WR12 TD
TacklesDonavan Mutin LB77 tkl
SacksD’Anthony Jones DL7 sacks
InterceptionsMarcus Jones CB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Alton McCaskill RB★★★No. 406
Mark Wilson S★★★No. 555
Maddox Kopp QB★★★No. 744
Garfield Lawrence DL★★★No. 776
Carlton Guidry WR★★★No. 1009

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.867
Running backs13.00.889
Receivers13.00.857
Offensive line33.00.837
Defensive line13.00.866
Linebackers13.00.848
Defensive backs23.00.860
Whole class103.00.856

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.

Drafted in 2022

The 2022 draft
Rd 2Logan Hall DETampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 3Marcus Jones CBNew England Patriots
Rd 4Damarion Williams CBBaltimore Ravens

Roster 114

The 2021 roster

114 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 64 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 9

The 2021 portal
Ja’Lynn Polk WR★★★from Texas Tech
Latrell Bankston DT★★★from Iowa State
Kody Russey OL★★★from Louisiana Tech
Tre Williams WDE★★★from Missouri
Alex Hogan CB★★★from Texas Tech
Jaylen Erwin WR★★★from UCLA
Justin Beadles DE★★★from Virginia Tech
KeSean Carter WR★★★from Texas Tech
Seth Green WR★★★from Minnesota

Transfers out 11

Colin Samuel CB★★★★no new school on file
Brian Merritt DL★★★no new school on file
Keith Corbin WR★★★to Jackson State
Logan Holgorsen QB★★★no new school on file
Terrance Edgeston LB★★★no new school on file
Tre’von Bradley WR★★★to UTSA
Willie Smith III DL★★★no new school on file
Javian Smith CB★★no new school on file
Zamar Kirven LB★★no new school on file
Jaylen Davis RBno new school on file
Jordan Moore Sno new school on file

2021 American Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Cincinnati8–⁠013–⁠14
Houston8–⁠012–⁠217
UCF5–⁠39–⁠4
East Carolina5–⁠37–⁠5
Tulsa5–⁠37–⁠6
SMU4–⁠48–⁠4
Memphis3–⁠56–⁠6
Navy3–⁠54–⁠8
Temple1–⁠73–⁠9
Tulane1–⁠72–⁠10
South Florida1–⁠72–⁠10

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