CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2021 LSU

6–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Southeastern Conference), coached by Ed Orgeron, then Brad Davis (interim, bowl game).

Schedule and results

LSU in 2021, game by game: lost at UCLA 27–38; won vs. McNeese 34–7; won vs. Central Michigan 49–21; won at Mississippi State 28–25; lost vs. No. 22 Auburn 19–24; lost at No. 16 Kentucky 21–42; won vs. No. 20 Florida 49–42; lost at No. 12 Ole Miss 17–31; lost at No. 3 Alabama 14–20; lost vs. Arkansas 13–16; won vs. UL Monroe 27–14; won vs. No. 14 Texas A&M 27–24; lost vs. Kansas State 20–42+28−22Lost 27–38 at UCLA-11UCLAWon 34–7 vs. McNeese+27McNeeseWon 49–21 vs. Central Michigan+28Central MichiganWon 28–25 at Mississippi State+3Mississippi Sta…Lost 19–24 vs. No. 22 Auburn-5No. 22 AuburnLost 21–42 at No. 16 Kentucky-21No. 16 KentuckyWon 49–42 vs. No. 20 Florida+7No. 20 FloridaLost 17–31 at No. 12 Ole Miss-14No. 12 Ole MissLost 14–20 at No. 3 Alabama-6No. 3 AlabamaLost 13–16 vs. Arkansas-3ArkansasWon 27–14 vs. UL Monroe+13UL MonroeWon 27–24 vs. No. 14 Texas A&M+3No. 14 Texas A&MLost 20–42 vs. Kansas State-22Kansas State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4atUCLAL 27–⁠3853%
Sep 11vsMcNeeseW 34–⁠789%
Sep 18vsCentral MichiganW 49–⁠2173%
Sep 25atMississippi StateW 28–⁠2555%
Oct 2vs22AuburnL 19–⁠2463%
Oct 9at16KentuckyL 21–⁠4239%
Oct 16vs20FloridaW 49–⁠4248%
Oct 23at12Ole MissL 17–⁠3141%
Nov 6at3AlabamaL 14–⁠2015%
Nov 13vsArkansasL 13–⁠1661%
Nov 20vsUL MonroeW 27–⁠1482%
Nov 27vs14Texas A&MW 27–⁠2440%
Jan 4Bowls & playoffvsKansas StateTexas BowlL 20–⁠4255%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Kansas State 42–⁠20 in the Texas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 82nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 16
Record
6–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 9th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 16
Points
345–⁠346
Coach
Ed Orgeron, then Brad Davis (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1540 −71 this season
SP+ rating
4.1 No. 65 of 130; offense No. 72, defense No. 57
SRS
4.7 No. 45 of 130 in FBS
Returning
60% of last season’s EPA, No. 92 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 4 roster talent No. 5 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Jake Peetz
Defensive coordinator
Daronte Jones
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense72nd of 130
  • Defense74th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted43rd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted44th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1441%1.3072nd of 130
Defense0.1544%1.3474th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.18 off
0.11 def		43% off
41% def		—43rd off
44th 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
Offense4.3own 2817% allowed
Defense4.0own 2917% caused

CORE rating 1.5, 66th of 130 (offense -1.3, defense -2.8).

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 yardsMax Johnson QB2,815 yds
Passing touchdownsMax Johnson QB27 TD
Rushing yardsTyrion Davis-Price RB1,003 yds
Rushing touchdownsTyrion Davis-Price RB6 TD
Receiving yardsKayshon Boutte WR509 yds
Receiving touchdownsKayshon Boutte WR9 TD
TacklesDamone Clark LB136 tkl
SacksB.J. Ojulari DE7 sacks
InterceptionsJay Ward S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Maason Smith DL★★★★★No. 20
Sage Ryan S★★★★★No. 30
Derrick Davis Jr. S★★★★No. 65
Deion Smith WR★★★★No. 70
Chris Hilton Jr. WR★★★★No. 79
Garrett Nussmeier QB★★★★No. 84
Brian Thomas Jr. WR★★★★No. 89
Garrett Dellinger OT★★★★No. 91

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.962
Running backs24.00.945
Receivers63.80.927
Offensive line23.50.923
Defensive line44.30.950
Linebackers24.00.917
Defensive backs44.00.941
Athletes and specialists13.00.839
Whole class223.90.932

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 1Derek Stingley Jr. CBHouston Texans
Rd 2Ed Ingram OGMinnesota Vikings
Rd 3Cordale Flott CBNew York Giants
Rd 3Tyrion Davis-Price RBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 4Cade York KCleveland Browns
Rd 4Neil Farrell Jr. DTLas Vegas Raiders
Rd 5Damone Clark ILBDallas Cowboys
Rd 6Austin Deculus OTHouston Texans
Rd 6Chasen Hines OGNew England Patriots
Rd 7Andre Anthony DETampa Bay Buccaneers

Roster 107

The 2021 roster

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

Transfers in 2

The 2021 portal
Mike Jones Jr. LB★★★★from Clemson
Major Burns S★★★from Georgia

Transfers out 14

Arik Gilbert TE★★★★to Georgia
Siaki Ika DT★★★★to Baylor
Dare Rosenthal OT★★★to Kentucky
Kevontre Bradford RB★★★to Oklahoma
T.J. Finley QB★★★to Auburn
Maurice Hampton Jr. S★★★no new school on file
Ray Thornton OLB★★★to Texas
Chris Curry RB★★★to South Florida
Travez Moore WDE★★★to Arizona State
Justin Thomas DL★★★to UAB
Peter Parrish QB★★★to Memphis
Jamal Pettigrew TE★★★★to McNeese

And 2 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-SEC

1 first team, 3 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 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia8–⁠014–⁠11
Alabama7–⁠113–⁠22
Ole Miss6–⁠210–⁠311
Kentucky5–⁠310–⁠318
Arkansas4–⁠49–⁠421
Texas A&M4–⁠48–⁠4
Tennessee4–⁠47–⁠6
Mississippi State4–⁠47–⁠6
South Carolina3–⁠57–⁠6
LSU3–⁠56–⁠7
Auburn3–⁠56–⁠7
Missouri3–⁠56–⁠7
Florida2–⁠66–⁠7
Vanderbilt0–⁠82–⁠10

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