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2021 Louisville

6–⁠7 (4–⁠4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Scott Satterfield.

Schedule and results

Louisville in 2021, game by game: lost vs. Ole Miss 24–43; won vs. Eastern Kentucky 30–3; won vs. UCF 42–35; won at Florida State 31–23; lost at No. 24 Wake Forest 34–37; lost vs. Virginia 33–34; won vs. Boston College 28–14; lost at NC State 13–28; lost vs. Clemson 24–30; won vs. Syracuse 41–3; won at Duke 62–22; lost vs. Kentucky 21–52; lost vs. Air Force 28–31+40−31Lost 24–43 vs. Ole Miss-19Ole MissWon 30–3 vs. Eastern Kentucky+27Eastern KentuckyWon 42–35 vs. UCF+7UCFWon 31–23 at Florida State+8Florida StateLost 34–37 at No. 24 Wake Forest-3No. 24 Wake ForestLost 33–34 vs. Virginia-1VirginiaWon 28–14 vs. Boston College+14Boston CollegeLost 13–28 at NC State-15NC StateLost 24–30 vs. Clemson-6ClemsonWon 41–3 vs. Syracuse+38SyracuseWon 62–22 at Duke+40DukeLost 21–52 vs. Kentucky-31KentuckyLost 28–31 vs. Air Force-3Air Force
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vsOle MissL 24–⁠4349%
Sep 11vsEastern KentuckyW 30–⁠378%
Sep 17vsUCFW 42–⁠3538%
Sep 25atFlorida StateW 31–⁠2357%
Oct 2at24Wake ForestL 34–⁠3736%
Oct 9vsVirginiaL 33–⁠3460%
Oct 23vsBoston CollegeW 28–⁠1455%
Oct 30atNC StateL 13–⁠2834%
Nov 6vsClemsonL 24–⁠3036%
Nov 13vsSyracuseW 41–⁠361%
Nov 18atDukeW 62–⁠2266%
Nov 27vsKentuckyL 21–⁠5253%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsAir ForceFirst Responder BowlL 28–⁠3134%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Air Force 31–⁠28 in the First Responder Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 32nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 82 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
411–⁠355
Coach
Scott Satterfield
Elo
1512 +9 this season
SP+ rating
7.8 No. 52 of 130; offense No. 24, defense No. 64
SRS
5.6 No. 37 of 130 in FBS
Returning
73% of last season’s EPA, No. 67 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 38 roster talent No. 58 in FBS
Defensive coordinators
Bryan Brown and Cort Dennison
Offense
Spread option
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense10th of 130
  • Defense97th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted11th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted97th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2644%1.4510th of 130
Defense0.2044%1.3397th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.25 off
0.18 def		45% off
42% def		—11th off
97th 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
Offense4.5own 2914% allowed
Defense4.2own 2917% caused

CORE rating 2.0, 64th of 130 (offense 6.1, defense 4.1).

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 yardsMalik Cunningham QB2,941 yds
Passing touchdownsMalik Cunningham QB19 TD
Rushing yardsMalik Cunningham QB1,031 yds
Rushing touchdownsMalik Cunningham QB20 TD
Receiving yardsMarshon Ford TE550 yds
Receiving touchdownsTyler Harrell WR6 TD
TacklesC.J. Avery LB97 tkl
SacksYasir Abdullah LB10 sacks
InterceptionsKei’Trel Clark DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Benjamin Perry S★★★★No. 361
Trey Cooley RB★★★★No. 373
Victoine Brown DL★★★No. 493
Bralyn Oliver S★★★No. 543
Ahmari Huggins-Bruce WR★★★No. 592

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.856
Running backs14.00.893
Receivers63.00.854
Offensive line23.00.867
Defensive line53.00.856
Linebackers33.00.861
Defensive backs63.20.868
Athletes and specialists13.00.820
Whole class253.10.860

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 109

The 2021 roster

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

Transfers in 6

The 2021 portal
Bryan Hudson OC★★★from Virginia Tech
Kenderick Duncan Jr. S★★★from Georgia Southern
Qwynnterrio Cole CB★★★from Alcorn State
Jacques Turner DL★★★from Southern Miss
Jawhar Jordan RB★★★from Syracuse
Shai Werts DUAL★★from Georgia Southern

Transfers out 16

Anthony Johnson CB★★★to Virginia
Russ Yeast S★★★to Kansas State
Tee Webb QB★★★to Southern Miss
Jawon Pass QB★★★★returned to Louisville
Trenell Troutman LB★★★★no new school on file
Christian Fitzpatrick WR★★★to Michigan State
Jackson Gregory OL★★★to Stony Brook
Jamel Starks CB★★★returned to Louisville
Lovie Jenkins S★★★no new school on file
Marqui Lowery CB★★★to Michigan State
Nick Malito WR★★★no new school on file
P.J. Blue LB★★★returned to Louisville

And 4 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2021 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Pittsburgh7–⁠111–⁠313
Wake Forest7–⁠211–⁠315
Clemson6–⁠210–⁠314
NC State6–⁠29–⁠320
Miami5–⁠37–⁠5
Virginia4–⁠46–⁠6
Virginia Tech4–⁠46–⁠7
Louisville4–⁠46–⁠7
Florida State4–⁠45–⁠7
North Carolina4–⁠56–⁠7
Boston College2–⁠66–⁠6
Syracuse2–⁠65–⁠7
Georgia Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
Duke0–⁠83–⁠9

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