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2021 Iowa

10–⁠4 (7–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Kirk Ferentz, finished No. 23 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Iowa in 2021, game by game: won vs. No. 17 Indiana 34–6; won at No. 9 Iowa State 27–17; won vs. Kent State 30–7; won vs. Colorado State 24–14; won at Maryland 51–14; won vs. No. 4 Penn State 23–20; lost vs. Purdue 7–24; lost at Wisconsin 7–27; won at Northwestern 17–12; won vs. Minnesota 27–22; won vs. Illinois 33–23; won at Nebraska 28–21; lost vs. No. 2 Michigan 3–42; lost vs. No. 25 Kentucky 17–20+37−39Won 34–6 vs. No. 17 Indiana+28No. 17 IndianaWon 27–17 at No. 9 Iowa State+10No. 9 Iowa StateWon 30–7 vs. Kent State+23Kent StateWon 24–14 vs. Colorado State+10Colorado StateWon 51–14 at Maryland+37MarylandWon 23–20 vs. No. 4 Penn State+3No. 4 Penn StateLost 7–24 vs. Purdue-17PurdueLost 7–27 at Wisconsin-20WisconsinWon 17–12 at Northwestern+5NorthwesternWon 27–22 vs. Minnesota+5MinnesotaWon 33–23 vs. Illinois+10IllinoisWon 28–21 at Nebraska+7NebraskaLost 3–42 vs. No. 2 Michigan-39No. 2 MichiganLost 17–20 vs. No. 25 Kentucky-3No. 25 Kentucky
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vs17IndianaW 34–⁠667%
Sep 11at9Iowa StateW 27–⁠1749%
Sep 18vsKent StateW 30–⁠781%
Sep 25vsColorado StateW 24–⁠1487%
Oct 1atMarylandW 51–⁠1469%
Oct 9vs4Penn StateW 23–⁠2067%
Oct 16vsPurdueL 7–⁠2487%
Oct 30atWisconsinL 7–⁠2753%
Nov 6atNorthwesternW 17–⁠1267%
Nov 13vsMinnesotaW 27–⁠2268%
Nov 20vsIllinoisW 33–⁠2384%
Nov 26atNebraskaW 28–⁠2171%
Dec 4vs2MichiganBig Ten Championship GameL 3–⁠4244%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs25KentuckyCitrus BowlL 17–⁠2055%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Kentucky 20–⁠17 in the Citrus Bowl; No. 23 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 29th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 18
  2. Wk 2: 10
  3. Wk 3: 5
  4. Wk 4: 5
  5. Wk 5: 5
  6. Wk 6: 3
  7. Wk 7: 2
  8. Wk 8: 11
  9. Wk 9: 9
  10. Wk 10: 19
  11. Wk 11: 19
  12. Wk 12: 18
  13. Wk 13: 17
  14. Wk 14: 15
  15. Wk 15: 17
  16. Final: 23

Big Ten West champions7–⁠2 in the conference

Rimington TrophyTyler Linderbaum, C

Consensus All-AmericanTyler Linderbaum, C

Record
10–⁠4
Conference
7–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 23 peak No. 2
Points
328–⁠269
Coach
Kirk Ferentz
Elo
1645 −7 this season
SP+ rating
11.4 No. 27 of 130; offense No. 93, defense No. 5
SRS
8.9 No. 28 of 130 in FBS
Returning
62% of last season’s EPA, No. 87 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 23 roster talent No. 42 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Brian Ferentz
Defensive coordinator
Phil Parker
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense124th of 130
  • Defense8th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted127th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted8th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0237%1.20124th of 130
Defense-0.0238%1.178th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.03 off
0.00 def		38% off
37% def		—127th off
8th 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
Offense3.0own 3317% allowed
Defense3.9own 2516% caused

CORE rating 5.9, 46th of 130 (offense -11.8, defense -17.8).

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 yardsSpencer Petras QB1,880 yds
Passing touchdownsSpencer Petras QB10 TD
Rushing yardsTyler Goodson RB1,151 yds
Rushing touchdownsTyler Goodson RB6 TD
Receiving yardsSam LaPorta TE670 yds
Receiving touchdownsCharlie Jones WR3 TD
TacklesJack Campbell LB140 tkl
SacksJoe Evans DE7 sacks
InterceptionsDane Belton DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

David Davidkov OT★★★★No. 153
Connor Colby OL★★★★No. 236
Justice Sullivan DE★★★★No. 308
Arland Bruce IV ATH★★★★No. 324
Beau Stephens OT★★★★No. 353
Keagan Johnson ATH★★★★No. 354
Cooper DeJean S★★★★No. 359

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.872
Receivers13.00.869
Offensive line53.60.897
Defensive line53.20.880
Linebackers13.00.876
Defensive backs14.00.895
Athletes and specialists53.40.868
Whole class193.40.881

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 1Tyler Linderbaum CBaltimore Ravens
Rd 4Dane Belton SNew York Giants

Roster 120

The 2021 roster

120 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 53 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 1

The 2021 portal
Xavior Williams S★★★from Northern Iowa

Transfers out 10

Oliver Martin WR★★★★to Nebraska
Calvin Lockett WR★★★no new school on file
Daraun McKinney CB★★★to South Dakota
Jake Karchinski DL★★★no new school on file
Julius Brents S★★★to Kansas State
Matt Lorbeck DE★★★no new school on file
Noah Fenske OG★★★to Colorado
Shadrick Byrd RB★★★to Charlotte
Yahweh Jeudy LB★★★no new school on file
Keontae Luckett RBno new school on file

All-Big Ten

6 first team, 4 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 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.