2021 Kansas State
8–5 (4–5 Big 12), coached by Chris Klieman. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Kansas 35–10Nov 6
By 25 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingBeat TCU 31–12Oct 30
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4 | vs Stanford | W 24–7 | 48% |
| Sep 11 | vs Southern Illinois | W 31–23 | 74% |
| Sep 18 | vs Nevada | W 38–17 | 53% |
| Sep 25 | at Oklahoma State | L 20–31 | 37% |
| Oct 2 | vs 6Oklahoma | L 31–37 | 35% |
| Oct 16 | vs Iowa State | L 20–33 | 46% |
| Oct 23 | at Texas Tech | W 25–24 | 44% |
| Oct 30 | vs TCU | W 31–12 | 58% |
| Nov 6 | at Kansas | W 35–10 | 77% |
| Nov 13 | vs West Virginia | W 34–17 | 62% |
| Nov 20 | vs 11Baylor | L 10–20 | 50% |
| Nov 26 | at Texas | L 17–22 | 45% |
| Jan 4Bowls & playoff | vs LSUTexas Bowl | W 42–20 | 45% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat LSU 42–20 in the Texas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Big 12.
In program history: The 26th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 4: 25
- Record
- 8–5
- Conference
- 4–5 tied for 5th in Big 12
- AP final
- Unranked peak No. 25
- Points
- 358–273
- Coach
- Chris Klieman
- Elo
- 1573 +78 this season
- SP+ rating
- 14.2 No. 21 of 130; offense No. 36, defense No. 16
- SRS
- 9.4 No. 25 of 130 in FBS
- Returning
- 91% of last season’s EPA, No. 23 of 128
- Recruiting class
- No. 56 roster talent No. 67 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Courtney Messingham
- Defensive coordinator
- Joe Klanderman
- Offense
- Pro-style
- Defense
- 3–3–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.26 | 47% | 1.27 | 9th of 130 |
| Defense | 0.14 | 41% | 1.35 | 65th of 130 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.23 off 0.10 def | 46% off 40% def | — | 17th off 33rd 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 4.0 | own 31 | 17% allowed |
| Defense | 3.3 | own 28 | 18% caused |
CORE rating 14.6, 17th of 130 (offense 11.5, defense -3.1).
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 yards | Skylar John Thompson QB | 2,113 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Skylar John Thompson QB | 12 TD |
| Rushing yards | Deuce Vaughn RB | 1,404 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Deuce Vaughn RB | 18 TD |
| Receiving yards | Phillip Brooks III WR | 543 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Deuce Vaughn RB | 4 TD |
| Tackles | Daniel Green LB | 89 tkl |
| Sacks | Felix Anudike DE | 11 sacks |
| Interceptions | Russ Yeast DB | 4 INT |
Top recruits in the 2021 class
| Jake Rubley QB | ★★★★ | No. 204 |
| Davonte Pritchard ATH | ★★★ | No. 635 |
| Andrew Leingang OL | ★★★ | No. 785 |
| Marvin Martin S | ★★★ | No. 785 |
| Brayden Wood DL | ★★★ | No. 837 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2021 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 4.0 | 0.920 |
| Receivers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.853 |
| Offensive line | 2 | 3.0 | 0.858 |
| Defensive line | 3 | 3.0 | 0.848 |
| Linebackers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.853 |
| Defensive backs | 3 | 3.0 | 0.860 |
| Athletes and specialists | 4 | 3.0 | 0.855 |
| Whole class | 17 | 3.1 | 0.858 |
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 7 | Skylar Thompson QB | Miami Dolphins |
| Rd 7 | Russ Yeast S | Los Angeles Rams |
Roster 130
The 2021 roster130 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 65 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 8
The 2021 portal Daniel Imatorbhebhe TE | ★★★ | from  Illinois |
 Russ Yeast S | ★★★ | from  Louisville |
 Timmy Horne DL | ★★★ | from  Charlotte |
 Julius Brents S | ★★★ | from  Iowa |
 Kade Warner WR | ★★ | from  Nebraska |
 Reggie Stubblefield S | ★★ | from  Prairie View A&M |
 Eric Munoz LB | from  Utah State | |
| Gabe Garber ATH | from  Kansas |
Transfers out 15
And 3 more, lower-rated or unrated.
All-Big 12
4 first team, 2 second teamFirst team
Cooper BeebeOTCoaches-1; Media-1
Felix Anudike-UzomahDLCoaches-1; Media-1
Russ YeastDBCoaches-1; Media-2- Malik KnowlesAPBCoaches-1; Media-2
Second team
Deuce VaughnRBCoaches-2; Media-2- Jax DineenFBCoaches-2
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 12 standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma State | 8–1 | 12–2 | 7 |
| Baylor | 7–2 | 12–2 | 5 |
| Oklahoma | 7–2 | 11–2 | 10 |
| Iowa State | 5–4 | 7–6 | |
| Kansas State | 4–5 | 8–5 | |
| West Virginia | 4–5 | 6–7 | |
| Texas Tech | 3–6 | 7–6 | |
| Texas | 3–6 | 5–7 | |
| TCU | 3–6 | 5–7 | |
| Kansas | 1–8 | 2–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.