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2021 Louisiana

13–⁠1 (8–⁠0 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Billy Napier, then Michael Desormeaux (interim, bowl game), finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Louisiana in 2021, game by game: lost at No. 21 Texas 18–38; won vs. Nicholls 27–24; won vs. Ohio 49–14; won at Georgia Southern 28–20; won at South Alabama 20–18; won vs. App State 41–13; won at Arkansas State 28–27; won vs. Texas State 45–0; won vs. Georgia State 21–17; won at Troy 35–21; won at Liberty 42–14; won vs. UL Monroe 21–16; won vs. App State 24–16; won vs. Marshall 36–21+45−20Lost 18–38 at No. 21 Texas-20No. 21 TexasWon 27–24 vs. Nicholls+3NichollsWon 49–14 vs. Ohio+35OhioWon 28–20 at Georgia Southern+8Georgia SouthernWon 20–18 at South Alabama+2South AlabamaWon 41–13 vs. App State+28App StateWon 28–27 at Arkansas State+1Arkansas StateWon 45–0 vs. Texas State+45Texas StateWon 21–17 vs. Georgia State+4Georgia StateWon 35–21 at Troy+14TroyWon 42–14 at Liberty+28LibertyWon 21–16 vs. UL Monroe+5UL MonroeWon 24–16 vs. App State+8App StateWon 36–21 vs. Marshall+15Marshall
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4at21TexasL 18–⁠3843%
Sep 11vsNichollsW 27–⁠2487%
Sep 16vsOhioW 49–⁠1476%
Sep 25atGeorgia SouthernW 28–⁠2062%
Oct 2atSouth AlabamaW 20–⁠1868%
Oct 12vsApp StateW 41–⁠1357%
Oct 21atArkansas StateW 28–⁠2780%
Oct 30vsTexas StateW 45–⁠091%
Nov 4vsGeorgia StateW 21–⁠1779%
Nov 13atTroyW 35–⁠2169%
Nov 20atLibertyW 42–⁠1456%
Nov 27vsUL MonroeW 21–⁠1693%
Dec 4vsApp StateSun Belt Championship GameW 24–⁠1663%
Dec 18Bowls & playoffvsMarshallNew Orleans BowlW 36–⁠2177%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Marshall 36–⁠21 in the New Orleans Bowl; No. 16 in the final AP poll; Sun Belt Conference champions.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 92 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 23
  2. Wk 10: 24
  3. Wk 11: 24
  4. Wk 12: 22
  5. Wk 13: 23
  6. Wk 14: 20
  7. Wk 15: 16
  8. Final: 16

Sun Belt Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference, won the Sun Belt Championship Game

Record
13–⁠1
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Sun Belt Conference
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 16
Points
435–⁠259
Coach
Billy Napier, then Michael Desormeaux (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1762 +134 this season
SP+ rating
8.7 No. 47 of 130; offense No. 54, defense No. 26
SRS
3.6 No. 54 of 130 in FBS
Returning
71% of last season’s EPA, No. 71 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 79 roster talent No. 96 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Michael Desormeaux and Tim Leger
Defensive coordinator
Patrick Toney
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense38th of 130
  • Defense25th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted48th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted36th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2045%1.2938th of 130
Defense0.0738%1.3025th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
0.10 def		44% off
40% def		—48th off
36th 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
Offense4.0own 3114% allowed
Defense3.2own 2818% caused

CORE rating 4.1, 55th of 130 (offense 0.4, defense -3.7).

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 yardsLevi Lewis QB2,917 yds
Passing touchdownsLevi Lewis QB20 TD
Rushing yardsChris Smith RB855 yds
Rushing touchdownsMontrell Johnson RB12 TD
Receiving yardsMichael Jefferson WR481 yds
Receiving touchdownsKyren Lacy WR6 TD
TacklesLorenzo McCaskill LB84 tkl
SacksChauncey Manac LB10.5 sacks
InterceptionsEric Garror CB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Terrence Williams RB★★★No. 833
Montrell Johnson Jr. RB★★★No. 894
Robert Williams WR★★★No. 1005
George Jackson OT★★★No. 1017
Ja’Marian Peterson DL★★★No. 1188

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.839
Running backs43.00.850
Receivers23.00.842
Offensive line23.00.834
Defensive line33.00.827
Linebackers13.00.850
Defensive backs23.00.840
Athletes and specialists13.00.805
Whole class173.00.838

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 4Max Mitchell OTNew York Jets
Rd 4Percy Butler SWashington Commanders

Roster 132

The 2021 roster

132 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 70 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 9

The 2021 portal
Lance LeGendre QB★★★from Maryland
T.J. Fiailoa OL★★★from UL Monroe
Matthew Anderson OT★★★from Nebraska
Clinton Anokwuru SDE★★★from Kansas
Jacob Kibodi RB★★★from Incarnate Word
John Stephens Jr. WR★★★from TCU
Tyrone Lewis S★★★from Kansas State
Ben Wooldridge QB★★from Fresno State
Michael Jefferson WRfrom Alabama State

Transfers out 7

Ahmad Johnson LB★★★no new school on file
Brian Smith Jr. WR★★★no new school on file
Clifton McDowell QB★★★no new school on file
Glenn Beal TE★★★no new school on file
Reginald Johnson Jr. WR★★★no new school on file
Joe Dillon DE★★no new school on file
Jordan Cordova LB★★no new school on file

2021 Sun Belt Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Louisiana8–⁠013–⁠116
App State7–⁠110–⁠4
Coastal Carolina6–⁠211–⁠2
Georgia State6–⁠28–⁠5
Troy3–⁠55–⁠7
Texas State3–⁠54–⁠8
South Alabama2–⁠65–⁠7
UL Monroe2–⁠64–⁠8
Georgia Southern2–⁠63–⁠9
Arkansas State1–⁠72–⁠10

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