2021 Memphis
6–6 (3–5 American Athletic Conference), coached by Ryan Silverfield. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest upsetBeat No. 23 SMU 28–25Nov 6
SMU was ranked No. 23 and favored to win.
- Most excitingBeat Mississippi State 31–29Sep 18
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4 | vs Nicholls | W 42–17 | 86% |
| Sep 11 | at Arkansas State | W 55–50 | 62% |
| Sep 18 | vs Mississippi State | W 31–29 | 70% |
| Sep 25 | vs UTSA | L 28–31 | 73% |
| Oct 2 | at Temple | L 31–34 | 69% |
| Oct 9 | at Tulsa | L 29–35 | 59% |
| Oct 14 | vs Navy | W 35–17 | 77% |
| Oct 22 | at UCF | L 7–24 | 43% |
| Nov 6 | vs 23SMU | W 28–25 | 48% |
| Nov 13 | vs East Carolina | L 29–30 | 65% |
| Nov 19 | at 17Houston | L 13–31 | 31% |
| Nov 27 | vs Tulane | W 33–28 | 73% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat Tulane 33–28; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the American Athletic Conference.
In program history: The 26th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 84 on file).
- Record
- 6–6
- Conference
- 3–5 tied for 7th in American Athletic Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 361–351
- Coach
- Ryan Silverfield
- Elo
- 1545 −54 this season
- SP+ rating
- 1.0 No. 74 of 130; offense No. 60, defense No. 78
- SRS
- −2.0 No. 80 of 130 in FBS
- Returning
- 36% of last season’s EPA, No. 119 of 128
- Recruiting class
- No. 46 roster talent No. 65 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Kevin Johns
- Defensive coordinator
- Mike MacIntyre
- Offense
- Spread
- Defense
- 3–4
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.15 | 41% | 1.43 | 57th of 130 |
| Defense | 0.18 | 43% | 1.28 | 90th of 130 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.14 off 0.19 def | 42% off 44% def | — | 70th off 100th 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 | 3.6 | own 29 | 17% allowed |
| Defense | 3.8 | own 30 | 16% caused |
CORE rating -5.1, 88th of 130 (offense -3.0, defense 2.1).
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 | Seth Henigan QB | 3,322 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Seth Henigan QB | 25 TD |
| Rushing yards | Brandon Thomas RB | 669 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Brandon Thomas RB | 8 TD |
| Receiving yards | Calvin Austin III WR | 1,149 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Calvin Austin III WR | 8 TD |
| Tackles | J.J. Russell LB | 123 tkl |
| Sacks | Jaylon Allen DL | 5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Jacobi Francis DB | 2 INT |
Top recruits in the 2021 class
| Roc Taylor ATH | ★★★ | No. 440 |
| Andrew Jones LB | ★★★ | No. 453 |
| Tyrese Johnson WR | ★★★ | No. 526 |
| Royce White OT | ★★★ | No. 702 |
| Tyrell Raby CB | ★★★ | No. 756 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2021 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.850 |
| Running backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.844 |
| Receivers | 4 | 3.0 | 0.851 |
| Offensive line | 2 | 3.0 | 0.862 |
| Defensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.852 |
| Linebackers | 4 | 3.0 | 0.849 |
| Defensive backs | 5 | 3.0 | 0.854 |
| Athletes and specialists | 3 | 3.0 | 0.851 |
| Whole class | 25 | 3.0 | 0.852 |
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 3 | Dylan Parham OG | Las Vegas Raiders |
| Rd 4 | Calvin Austin III WR | Pittsburgh Steelers |
Roster 101
The 2021 roster101 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 55 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 12
The 2021 portal Grant Gunnell PRO | ★★★ | from  Arizona |
 Shamar Nash WR | ★★★ | from  Arkansas |
 Devontae Dobbs OT | ★★★ | from  Michigan State |
 Greg Emerson DL | ★★★ | from  Tennessee |
 Peter Parrish QB | ★★★ | from  LSU |
 Austin Myers OT | ★★★★ | from  TCU |
| Julian Barnett CB | ★★★★ | from Michigan State |
| Devon Robinson DL | ★★★ | from  Mississippi State |
 Jeremiah Oatsvall QB | ★★★ | from  Austin Peay |
 Rush Lansdell S | ★★★ | from  UT Martin |
 Jakari Robinson OL | ★★ | from  Cincinnati |
| Joe Doyle P | ★★ | from Tennessee |
Transfers out 25
 Obinna Eze OT | ★★★★ | to TCU |
| T.J. Carter CB | ★★★ | to TCU |
| Tahj Washington WR | ★★★ | to  USC |
| Brian Thomas OT | ★★★ | returned to  Memphis |
| Carlito Gonzalez S | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Everitt Cunningham WDE | ★★★ | to  Southern Miss |
| John Williams WR | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Joseph Honeysucker DE | ★★★ | to  Middle Tennessee |
| Kory Gainwell RB | ★★★ | to Delta State |
| Markevion Quinn QB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Nehemiah Augustus S | ★★★ | to  Nicholls |
| Nigel Brannon OT | ★★★ | no new school on file |
And 13 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2021 American Athletic Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati | 8–0 | 13–1 | 4 |
| Houston | 8–0 | 12–2 | 17 |
| UCF | 5–3 | 9–4 | |
| East Carolina | 5–3 | 7–5 | |
| Tulsa | 5–3 | 7–6 | |
| SMU | 4–4 | 8–4 | |
| Memphis | 3–5 | 6–6 | |
| Navy | 3–5 | 4–8 | |
| Temple | 1–7 | 3–9 | |
| Tulane | 1–7 | 2–10 | |
 South Florida | 1–7 | 2–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.