CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2021 Minnesota

9–⁠4 (6–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by P.J. Fleck.

Schedule and results

Minnesota in 2021, game by game: lost vs. No. 4 Ohio State 31–45; won vs. Miami (OH) 31–26; won at Colorado 30–0; lost vs. Bowling Green 10–14; won at Purdue 20–13; won vs. Nebraska 30–23; won vs. Maryland 34–16; won at Northwestern 41–14; lost vs. Illinois 6–14; lost at No. 19 Iowa 22–27; won at Indiana 35–14; won vs. No. 18 Wisconsin 23–13; won vs. West Virginia 18–6+30−14Lost 31–45 vs. No. 4 Ohio State-14No. 4 Ohio StateWon 31–26 vs. Miami (OH)+5Miami (OH)Won 30–0 at Colorado+30ColoradoLost 10–14 vs. Bowling Green-4Bowling GreenWon 20–13 at Purdue+7PurdueWon 30–23 vs. Nebraska+7NebraskaWon 34–16 vs. Maryland+18MarylandWon 41–14 at Northwestern+27NorthwesternLost 6–14 vs. Illinois-8IllinoisLost 22–27 at No. 19 Iowa-5No. 19 IowaWon 35–14 at Indiana+21IndianaWon 23–13 vs. No. 18 Wisconsin+10No. 18 WisconsinWon 18–6 vs. West Virginia+12West Virginia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vs4Ohio StateL 31–⁠4534%
Sep 11vsMiami (OH)W 31–⁠2664%
Sep 18atColoradoW 30–⁠049%
Sep 25vsBowling GreenL 10–⁠1485%
Oct 2atPurdueW 20–⁠1350%
Oct 16vsNebraskaW 30–⁠2364%
Oct 23vsMarylandW 34–⁠1670%
Oct 30atNorthwesternW 41–⁠1456%
Nov 6vsIllinoisL 6–⁠1484%
Nov 13at19IowaL 22–⁠2732%
Nov 20atIndianaW 35–⁠1463%
Nov 27vs18WisconsinW 23–⁠1346%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsWest VirginiaGuaranteed Rate BowlW 18–⁠662%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat West Virginia 18–⁠6 in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 27th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠3 tied for 5th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
331–⁠225
Coach
P.J. Fleck
Elo
1641 +93 this season
SP+ rating
14.4 No. 18 of 130; offense No. 63, defense No. 8
SRS
9.5 No. 24 of 130 in FBS
Returning
81% of last season’s EPA, No. 55 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 37 roster talent No. 43 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Mike Sanford Jr. and Matt Simon
Defensive coordinators
Joe Rossi and Joe Harasymiak
Offense
Spread option
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense65th of 130
  • Defense13th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted58th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted18th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1443%1.1765th of 130
Defense0.0138%1.1813th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.16 off
0.05 def		43% off
39% def		—58th off
18th 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
Offense3.7own 3214% allowed
Defense3.8own 2417% caused

CORE rating 15.1, 14th of 130 (offense 2.6, defense -12.5).

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 yardsTanner Morgan QB2,044 yds
Passing touchdownsTanner Morgan QB10 TD
Rushing yardsKy Thomas RB824 yds
Rushing touchdownsKy Thomas RB6 TD
Receiving yardsChris Autman-Bell WR506 yds
Receiving touchdownsChris Autman-Bell WR6 TD
TacklesJack Gibbens LB92 tkl
SacksBoye Mafe DL7 sacks
InterceptionsTyler Nubin DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Steven Ortiz CB★★★★No. 312
Bucky Irving RB★★★★No. 340
Athan Kaliakmanis QB★★★★No. 349
Deven Eastern DL★★★★No. 358
Cameron James OT★★★No. 506

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.896
Running backs14.00.897
Receivers43.00.870
Offensive line33.00.877
Defensive line43.30.874
Linebackers13.00.875
Defensive backs33.30.876
Athletes and specialists13.00.848
Whole class183.20.875

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 2Boye Mafe OLBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 4Daniel Faalele OTBaltimore Ravens
Rd 5Esezi Otomewo DEMinnesota Vikings
Rd 6Ko Kieft TETampa Bay Buccaneers

Roster 118

The 2021 roster

118 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 58 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 7

The 2021 portal
Dylan Wright WR★★★from Texas A&M
Jack Gibbens ILB★★★from Abilene Christian
Karter Shaw OG★★★from Utah State
Nyles Pinckney DT★★★from Clemson
Val Martin DT★★★from NC State
Matthew Trickett K★★from Kent State
Will Mobley Kfrom Temple

Transfers out 12

Itayvion Brown LB★★★to Michigan State
Abner Dubar S★★★no new school on file
Ali Saad DL★★★to Bowling Green
Benjamin Sapp III S★★★to Northern Iowa
D’Vion Harris DE★★★to Old Dominion
Keonte Schad DL★★★to Oregon State
Malcolm Robinson DL★★★no new school on file
Noah Hickcox DT★★★to Illinois State
Royal Silver DL★★★no new school on file
Seth Green WR★★★to Houston
Ben McNaboe LBno new school on file
True Thompson WRno new school on file

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 2 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.