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2021 Indiana

2–⁠10 (0–⁠9 Big Ten), coached by Tom Allen.

Schedule and results

Indiana in 2021, game by game: lost at No. 18 Iowa 6–34; won vs. Idaho 56–14; lost vs. No. 8 Cincinnati 24–38; won at Western Kentucky 33–31; lost at No. 4 Penn State 0–24; lost vs. No. 10 Michigan State 15–20; lost vs. No. 5 Ohio State 7–54; lost at Maryland 35–38; lost at No. 9 Michigan 7–29; lost vs. Rutgers 3–38; lost vs. Minnesota 14–35; lost at Purdue 7–44+42−47Lost 6–34 at No. 18 Iowa-28No. 18 IowaWon 56–14 vs. Idaho+42IdahoLost 24–38 vs. No. 8 Cincinnati-14No. 8 CincinnatiWon 33–31 at Western Kentucky+2Western KentuckyLost 0–24 at No. 4 Penn State-24No. 4 Penn StateLost 15–20 vs. No. 10 Michigan State-5No. 10 Michigan StateLost 7–54 vs. No. 5 Ohio State-47No. 5 Ohio StateLost 35–38 at Maryland-3MarylandLost 7–29 at No. 9 Michigan-22No. 9 MichiganLost 3–38 vs. Rutgers-35RutgersLost 14–35 vs. Minnesota-21MinnesotaLost 7–44 at Purdue-37Purdue
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4at18IowaL 6–⁠3433%
Sep 11vsIdahoW 56–⁠1487%
Sep 18vs8CincinnatiL 24–⁠3842%
Sep 25atWestern KentuckyW 33–⁠3151%
Oct 2at4Penn StateL 0–⁠2430%
Oct 16vs10Michigan StateL 15–⁠2046%
Oct 23vs5Ohio StateL 7–⁠5428%
Oct 30atMarylandL 35–⁠3847%
Nov 6at9MichiganL 7–⁠2922%
Nov 13vsRutgersL 3–⁠3865%
Nov 20vsMinnesotaL 14–⁠3537%
Nov 27atPurdueL 7–⁠4423%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Purdue 44–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; 14th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 97th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 132 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 17
Record
2–⁠10
Conference
0–⁠9 14th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 17
Points
207–⁠399
Coach
Tom Allen
Elo
1392 −189 this season
SP+ rating
-7.8 No. 100 of 130; offense No. 112, defense No. 72
SRS
−4.7 No. 89 of 130 in FBS
Returning
88% of last season’s EPA, No. 33 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 54 roster talent No. 38 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Nick Sheridan and Grant Heard
Defensive coordinators
Charlton Warren and Kevin Peoples
Captains
Ty Fryfogle, Peyton Hendershot, Cam Jones, Marcelino McCrary-Ball, Micah McFadden and Michael Penix Jr.
Most valuable player
Peyton Hendershot and Micah McFadden
Offense
Spread
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense127th of 130
  • Defense99th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted124th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted86th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0636%1.16127th of 130
Defense0.2147%1.1099th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.03 off
0.16 def		39% off
44% def		—124th off
86th 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
Offense3.4own 2618% allowed
Defense4.4own 3214% caused

CORE rating -12.8, 105th of 130 (offense -10.9, defense 1.9).

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 yardsMichael Penix Jr. QB939 yds
Passing touchdownsMichael Penix Jr. QB4 TD
Rushing yardsStephen Carr RB600 yds
Rushing touchdownsStephen Carr RB6 TD
Receiving yardsPeyton Hendershot TE543 yds
Receiving touchdownsPeyton Hendershot TE4 TD
TacklesMicah McFadden LB77 tkl
SacksMicah McFadden LB6.5 sacks
InterceptionsDevon Matthews DB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Donaven McCulley QB★★★★No. 223
Jaquez Smith WR★★★★No. 275
Malachi Holt-Bennett WR★★★No. 422
Cooper Jones DL★★★No. 467
Larry Smith III S★★★No. 533

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.917
Running backs13.00.857
Receivers43.30.883
Offensive line23.00.863
Defensive line13.00.884
Defensive backs23.00.872
Athletes and specialists33.00.838
Whole class143.10.870

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 5Micah McFadden ILBNew York Giants

Roster 123

The 2021 roster

123 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 62 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 8

The 2021 portal
Stephen Carr RB★★★from USC
Zach Carpenter OG★★★from Michigan
Ryder Anderson WDE★★★from Ole Miss
Jaren Handy SDE★★★★from Auburn
Camron Buckley WR★★★from Texas A&M
Deland McCullough S★★★from Miami (OH)
James Bomba TE★★★from Miami (OH)
Weston Kramer DT★★from Northern Illinois

Transfers out 10

Rashawn Williams WR★★★★to Hutchinson C.C.
Britt Beery OL★★★no new school on file
Damarjhe Lewis DL★★★to Purdue
Gary Cooper WR★★★to Bryant
Jalen Mayala DE★★★to UAB
Jeramy Passmore DL★★★no new school on file
Jordan Jakes WR★★★to UNLV
Tramar Reece DE★★★to Towson
Turon Ivy Jr. TE★★★to Coastal Carolina
Jack Cardillo Kto Vanderbilt

All-Big Ten

1 second 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 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan8–⁠112–⁠23
Ohio State8–⁠111–⁠26
Michigan State7–⁠211–⁠29
Iowa7–⁠210–⁠423
Wisconsin6–⁠39–⁠4
Minnesota6–⁠39–⁠4
Purdue6–⁠39–⁠4
Penn State4–⁠57–⁠6
Illinois4–⁠55–⁠7
Maryland3–⁠67–⁠6
Rutgers2–⁠75–⁠8
Northwestern1–⁠83–⁠9
Nebraska1–⁠83–⁠9
Indiana0–⁠92–⁠10

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