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2021 Middle Tennessee

7–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Conference USA), coached by Rick Stockstill.

Schedule and results

Middle Tennessee in 2021, game by game: won vs. Monmouth 50–15; lost at No. 19 Virginia Tech 14–35; lost at UTSA 13–27; lost at Charlotte 39–42; won vs. Marshall 34–28; lost at Liberty 13–41; won at UConn 44–13; won vs. Southern Miss 35–10; lost at Western Kentucky 21–48; won vs. Florida International 50–10; lost vs. Old Dominion 17–24; won at Florida Atlantic 27–17; won vs. Toledo 31–24+40−28Won 50–15 vs. Monmouth+35MonmouthLost 14–35 at No. 19 Virginia Tech-21No. 19 Virginia TechLost 13–27 at UTSA-14UTSALost 39–42 at Charlotte-3CharlotteWon 34–28 vs. Marshall+6MarshallLost 13–41 at Liberty-28LibertyWon 44–13 at UConn+31UConnWon 35–10 vs. Southern Miss+25Southern MissLost 21–48 at Western Kentucky-27Western KentuckyWon 50–10 vs. Florida International+40Florida Interna…Lost 17–24 vs. Old Dominion-7Old DominionWon 27–17 at Florida Atlantic+10Florida AtlanticWon 31–24 vs. Toledo+7Toledo
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsMonmouthW 50–⁠1560%
Sep 11at19Virginia TechL 14–⁠3530%
Sep 18atUTSAL 13–⁠2735%
Sep 24atCharlotteL 39–⁠4239%
Oct 2vsMarshallW 34–⁠2839%
Oct 9atLibertyL 13–⁠4119%
Oct 22atUConnW 44–⁠1367%
Oct 30vsSouthern MissW 35–⁠1072%
Nov 6atWestern KentuckyL 21–⁠4836%
Nov 13vsFlorida InternationalW 50–⁠1079%
Nov 20vsOld DominionL 17–⁠2468%
Nov 27atFlorida AtlanticW 27–⁠1737%
Dec 17Bowls & playoffvsToledoBahamas BowlW 31–⁠2437%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Toledo 31–⁠24 in the Bahamas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 7th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 63 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 7th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
388–⁠334
Coach
Rick Stockstill
Elo
1485 +53 this season
SP+ rating
-4.0 No. 90 of 130; offense No. 90, defense No. 69
SRS
−3.5 No. 87 of 130 in FBS
Returning
58% of last season’s EPA, No. 93 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 123 roster talent No. 81 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Brent Dearmon
Defensive coordinator
Scott Shafer
Offense
Pro spread
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense110th of 130
  • Defense29th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted126th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted45th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0439%1.29110th of 130
Defense0.0841%1.2629th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.03 off
0.11 def		38% off
43% def		—126th off
45th 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
Offense3.9own 3218% allowed
Defense3.2own 2920% caused

CORE rating -8.6, 97th of 130 (offense -7.5, defense 1.1).

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 yardsChase Cunningham QB1,318 yds
Passing touchdownsChase Cunningham QB16 TD
Rushing yardsMartell Pettaway RB372 yds
Rushing touchdownsMike Diliello QB6 TD
Receiving yardsJarrin Pierce WR523 yds
Receiving touchdownsJarrin Pierce WR6 TD
TacklesReed Blankenship S110 tkl
SacksJordan Ferguson DE9 sacks
InterceptionsQuincy Riley DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Kameron Grays CB★★★No. 819
Javonte Sherman WR★★★No. 1117
Nicholas Vattiato QB★★★No. 1459
ZaBrien Harden LB★★★No. 1551
Elijah Metcalf WR★★★No. 1654

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.841
Receivers33.00.840
Offensive line13.00.808
Linebackers13.00.837
Defensive backs23.00.841
Whole class83.00.836

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 107

The 2021 roster

107 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 69 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 5

The 2021 portal
Bailey Hockman QB★★★from NC State
Netori Johnson DL★★★from Georgia
Jamari Williams OL★★★from Arizona
Joseph Honeysucker DE★★★from Memphis
Ma’jon Wright WR★★★from Arizona

Transfers out 9

Asher O’Hara QB★★★to Sacramento State
Darius McClendon S★★★no new school on file
Jayy McDonald RB★★★no new school on file
Crews Holt K★★no new school on file
Kenneth Major CB★★no new school on file
Kylan Stribling S★★no new school on file
Caleb Willis CBno new school on file
Demetric Hardin Jr. WRto Fort Valley State
Joey Cambron QBno new school on file

2021 Conference USA standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
UTSA7–⁠112–⁠2
Western Kentucky7–⁠19–⁠5
UAB6–⁠29–⁠4
Marshall5–⁠37–⁠6
North Texas5–⁠36–⁠7
Old Dominion5–⁠36–⁠7
Middle Tennessee4–⁠47–⁠6
UTEP4–⁠47–⁠6
Charlotte3–⁠55–⁠7
Florida Atlantic3–⁠55–⁠7
Rice3–⁠54–⁠8
Southern Miss2–⁠63–⁠9
Louisiana Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
Florida International0–⁠81–⁠11

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