CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2021 Kent State

7–⁠7 (6–⁠2 Mid-American Conference), coached by Sean Lewis.

Schedule and results

Kent State in 2021, game by game: lost at No. 6 Texas A&M 10–41; won vs. VMI 60–10; lost at No. 5 Iowa 7–30; lost at Maryland 16–37; won vs. Bowling Green 27–20; won vs. Buffalo 48–38; lost at Western Michigan 31–64; won at Ohio 34–27; won vs. Northern Illinois 52–47; lost at Central Michigan 30–54; won at Akron 38–0; won vs. Miami (OH) 48–47; lost vs. Northern Illinois 23–41; lost vs. Wyoming 38–52+50−33Lost 10–41 at No. 6 Texas A&M-31No. 6 Texas A&MWon 60–10 vs. VMI+50VMILost 7–30 at No. 5 Iowa-23No. 5 IowaLost 16–37 at Maryland-21MarylandWon 27–20 vs. Bowling Green+7Bowling GreenWon 48–38 vs. Buffalo+10BuffaloLost 31–64 at Western Michigan-33Western MichiganWon 34–27 at Ohio+7OhioWon 52–47 vs. Northern Illinois+5Northern Illino…Lost 30–54 at Central Michigan-24Central MichiganWon 38–0 at Akron+38AkronWon 48–47 vs. Miami (OH)+1Miami (OH)Lost 23–41 vs. Northern Illinois-18Northern Illino…Lost 38–52 vs. Wyoming-14Wyoming
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4at6Texas A&ML 10–⁠4122%
Sep 11vsVMIW 60–⁠1077%
Sep 18at5IowaL 7–⁠3019%
Sep 25atMarylandL 16–⁠3742%
Oct 2vsBowling GreenW 27–⁠2071%
Oct 9vsBuffaloW 48–⁠3853%
Oct 16atWestern MichiganL 31–⁠6439%
Oct 23atOhioW 34–⁠2749%
Nov 3vsNorthern IllinoisW 52–⁠4765%
Nov 10atCentral MichiganL 30–⁠5443%
Nov 20atAkronW 38–⁠070%
Nov 27vsMiami (OH)W 48–⁠4752%
Dec 4vsNorthern IllinoisMid-American Championship GameL 23–⁠4161%
Dec 21Bowls & playoffvsWyomingFamous Idaho Potato BowlL 38–⁠5250%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Wyoming 52–⁠38 in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 68 on file).

MAC East champions6–⁠2 in the conference

Record
7–⁠7
Conference
6–⁠2 shared first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
462–⁠508
Coach
Sean Lewis
Elo
1444 −57 this season
SP+ rating
-6.4 No. 93 of 130; offense No. 45, defense No. 120
SRS
−9.8 No. 107 of 130 in FBS
Returning
90% of last season’s EPA, No. 27 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 118 roster talent No. 113 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Andrew Sowder
Defensive coordinator
Tom Kaufman
Offense
Veer and shoot
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense22nd of 130
  • Defense111th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted38th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted122nd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2349%1.1822nd of 130
Defense0.2548%1.27111th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.19 off
0.25 def		47% off
49% def		—38th off
122nd 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
Offense3.7own 2916% allowed
Defense4.1own 3215% caused

CORE rating -4.7, 85th of 130 (offense 8.4, defense 13.1).

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 yardsDustin Crum QB3,238 yds
Passing touchdownsDustin Crum QB20 TD
Rushing yardsMarquez Cooper RB1,205 yds
Rushing touchdownsDustin Crum QB12 TD
Receiving yardsDante Cephas WR1,240 yds
Receiving touchdownsDante Cephas WR9 TD
TacklesDean Clark DB116 tkl
SacksC.J. West DL5 sacks
InterceptionsMontre Miller CB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Brad Kemayou CB★★★No. 1317
Ian Kipp QB★★★No. 1517
Shakhi Carson RB★★★No. 1832
Macyo Williams DL★★★No. 2062
T.J. Spradley CB★★★No. 2166

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.823
Running backs13.00.827
Receivers22.50.802
Defensive line23.00.810
Linebackers33.00.807
Defensive backs43.00.821
Athletes and specialists12.00.763
Whole class152.90.811

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.

Roster 105

The 2021 roster

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

Transfers in 7

The 2021 portal
Aaron Hackett TE★★★from Syracuse
Antwaine Richardson S★★★from Maryland
Damir Faison DE★★★from East Carolina
Nico Bolden S★★★from New Mexico
Nykeim Johnson WR★★★from Syracuse
Taj Mustapha WR★★★from Wisconsin
Asher Frow DEfrom North Texas

Transfers out 14

Antwan Dixon WR★★★to Valdosta State
Brad Kemayou CB★★★no new school on file
Julian Sams OL★★★no new school on file
Lon’kevious McFadden WR★★★to Eastern Kentucky
Mike McNicholas OL★★★no new school on file
Prince Okituama DL★★★no new school on file
Woody Barrett QB★★★no new school on file
Jaylen DeCoteau CB★★to Sacred Heart
Jeremiah Salaam CB★★no new school on file
Logan Swartz OT★★no new school on file
Matthew Trickett K★★to Minnesota
Miles Daniel CB★★no new school on file

And 2 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2021 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Central Michigan6–⁠29–⁠4
Northern Illinois6–⁠29–⁠5
Kent State6–⁠27–⁠7
Toledo5–⁠37–⁠6
Miami (OH)5–⁠37–⁠6
Western Michigan4–⁠48–⁠5
Eastern Michigan4–⁠47–⁠6
Ball State4–⁠46–⁠7
Ohio3–⁠53–⁠9
Buffalo2–⁠64–⁠8
Bowling Green2–⁠64–⁠8
Akron1–⁠72–⁠10

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