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2021 Michigan State

11–⁠2 (7–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Mel Tucker, finished No. 9 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 2021, game by game: won at Northwestern 38–21; won vs. Youngstown State 42–14; won at No. 24 Miami 38–17; won vs. Nebraska 23–20; won vs. Western Kentucky 48–31; won at Rutgers 31–13; won at Indiana 20–15; won vs. No. 6 Michigan 37–33; lost at Purdue 29–40; won vs. Maryland 40–21; lost at No. 5 Ohio State 7–56; won vs. Penn State 30–27; won vs. No. 13 Pittsburgh 31–21+28−49Won 38–21 at Northwestern+17NorthwesternWon 42–14 vs. Youngstown State+28Youngstown StateWon 38–17 at No. 24 Miami+21No. 24 MiamiWon 23–20 vs. Nebraska+3NebraskaWon 48–31 vs. Western Kentucky+17Western KentuckyWon 31–13 at Rutgers+18RutgersWon 20–15 at Indiana+5IndianaWon 37–33 vs. No. 6 Michigan+4No. 6 MichiganLost 29–40 at Purdue-11PurdueWon 40–21 vs. Maryland+19MarylandLost 7–56 at No. 5 Ohio State-49No. 5 Ohio StateWon 30–27 vs. Penn State+3Penn StateWon 31–21 vs. No. 13 Pittsburgh+10No. 13 Pittsburgh
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3atNorthwesternW 38–⁠2131%
Sep 11vsYoungstown StateW 42–⁠1485%
Sep 18at24MiamiW 38–⁠1739%
Sep 25vsNebraskaW 23–⁠2067%
Oct 2vsWestern KentuckyW 48–⁠3172%
Oct 9atRutgersW 31–⁠1360%
Oct 16atIndianaW 20–⁠1554%
Oct 30vs6MichiganW 37–⁠3354%
Nov 6atPurdueL 29–⁠4061%
Nov 13vsMarylandW 40–⁠2177%
Nov 20at5Ohio StateL 7–⁠5622%
Nov 27vsPenn StateW 30–⁠2754%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvs13PittsburghPeach BowlW 31–⁠2137%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Pittsburgh 31–⁠21 in the Peach Bowl; No. 9 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 19th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 20
  2. Wk 5: 17
  3. Wk 6: 11
  4. Wk 7: 10
  5. Wk 8: 9
  6. Wk 9: 8
  7. Wk 10: 5
  8. Wk 11: 8
  9. Wk 12: 7
  10. Wk 13: 12
  11. Wk 14: 11
  12. Wk 15: 11
  13. Final: 9

Walter Camp AwardKenneth Walker III, RB; also the Doak Walker

Consensus All-AmericanKenneth Walker III, RB

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 9 peak No. 5
Points
414–⁠329
Coach
Mel Tucker
Elo
1661 +177 this season
SP+ rating
11.2 No. 28 of 130; offense No. 31, defense No. 30
SRS
13.7 No. 9 of 130 in FBS
Returning
57% of last season’s EPA, No. 94 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 43 roster talent No. 36 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Jay Johnson
Defensive coordinator
Scottie Hazelton
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense46th of 130
  • Defense69th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted33rd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted53rd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1842%1.4146th of 130
Defense0.1445%1.2169th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.20 off
0.11 def		43% off
43% def		—33rd off
53rd 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
Offense3.8own 2918% allowed
Defense3.4own 2617% caused

CORE rating 6.9, 41st of 130 (offense 4.0, defense -3.0).

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 yardsPayton Thorne QB3,240 yds
Passing touchdownsPayton Thorne QB27 TD
Rushing yardsKenneth Walker III RB1,636 yds
Rushing touchdownsKenneth Walker III RB18 TD
Receiving yardsJayden Reed WR1,026 yds
Receiving touchdownsJayden Reed WR10 TD
TacklesCal Haladay LB96 tkl
SacksJacub Panasiuk DE7 sacks
InterceptionsCal Haladay LB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Ma’a Gaoteote LB★★★★No. 163
Keon Coleman WR★★★★No. 377
Geno VanDeMark OL★★★No. 428
Charles Brantley CB★★★No. 520
A.J. Kirk S★★★No. 583

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.853
Running backs13.00.854
Receivers23.50.870
Offensive line33.00.867
Defensive line33.00.861
Linebackers23.50.881
Defensive backs53.00.859
Athletes and specialists13.00.802
Whole class183.10.861

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 2Ken Walker III RBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 6Jalen Nailor WRMinnesota Vikings
Rd 6Connor Heyward FBPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 7A.J. Arcuri OTLos Angeles Rams

Roster 116

The 2021 roster

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

Transfers in 14

The 2021 portal
Itayvion Brown LB★★★from Minnesota
Ken Walker III RB★★★from Wake Forest
Quavaris Crouch LB★★★from Tennessee
Jarrett Horst OT★★★from Arkansas State
Anthony Russo QB★★★from Temple
Chester Kimbrough CB★★★from Florida
Drew Jordan WDE★★★from Duke
Harold Joiner RB★★★from Auburn
Maliq Carr WR★★★★from Purdue
Ronald Williams Jr. CB★★★★from Alabama
Ben VanSumeren LB★★★from Michigan
Christian Fitzpatrick WR★★★from Louisville

And 2 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 21

Tre’Von Morgan WR★★★to Kentucky
Devontae Dobbs OT★★★to Memphis
Luke Fulton LB★★★to Kentucky
Rocky Lombardi QB★★★to Northern Illinois
Julian Barnett CB★★★★to Memphis
Anthony Williams Jr. RB★★★to Akron
Chris Mayfield DE★★★no new school on file
Damon Kaylor OT★★★to Ball State
Davion Williams CB★★★to Western Kentucky
DeAri Todd DL★★★no new school on file
Devin Hightower LB★★★to Cincinnati
Dominique Long S★★★to Duke

And 9 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-Big Ten

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 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan8–⁠112–⁠23
Ohio State8–⁠111–⁠26
Michigan State7–⁠211–⁠29
Iowa7–⁠210–⁠423
Wisconsin6–⁠39–⁠4
Minnesota6–⁠39–⁠4
Purdue6–⁠39–⁠4
Penn State4–⁠57–⁠6
Illinois4–⁠55–⁠7
Maryland3–⁠67–⁠6
Rutgers2–⁠75–⁠8
Northwestern1–⁠83–⁠9
Nebraska1–⁠83–⁠9
Indiana0–⁠92–⁠10

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