CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2021 Mississippi State

7–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Southeastern Conference), coached by Mike Leach.

Schedule and results

Mississippi State in 2021, game by game: won vs. Louisiana Tech 35–34; won vs. NC State 24–10; lost at Memphis 29–31; lost vs. LSU 25–28; won at No. 15 Texas A&M 26–22; lost vs. No. 5 Alabama 9–49; won at Vanderbilt 45–6; won vs. No. 12 Kentucky 31–17; lost at Arkansas 28–31; won at No. 16 Auburn 43–34; won vs. Tennessee State 55–10; lost vs. No. 8 Ole Miss 21–31; lost vs. Texas Tech 7–34+45−40Won 35–34 vs. Louisiana Tech+1Louisiana TechWon 24–10 vs. NC State+14NC StateLost 29–31 at Memphis-2MemphisLost 25–28 vs. LSU-3LSUWon 26–22 at No. 15 Texas A&M+4No. 15 Texas A&MLost 9–49 vs. No. 5 Alabama-40No. 5 AlabamaWon 45–6 at Vanderbilt+39VanderbiltWon 31–17 vs. No. 12 Kentucky+14No. 12 KentuckyLost 28–31 at Arkansas-3ArkansasWon 43–34 at No. 16 Auburn+9No. 16 AuburnWon 55–10 vs. Tennessee State+45Tennessee StateLost 21–31 vs. No. 8 Ole Miss-10No. 8 Ole MissLost 7–34 vs. Texas Tech-27Texas Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsLouisiana TechW 35–⁠3459%
Sep 11vsNC StateW 24–⁠1052%
Sep 18atMemphisL 29–⁠3130%
Sep 25vsLSUL 25–⁠2845%
Oct 2at15Texas A&MW 26–⁠2223%
Oct 16vs5AlabamaL 9–⁠4923%
Oct 23atVanderbiltW 45–⁠671%
Oct 30vs12KentuckyW 31–⁠1745%
Nov 6atArkansasL 28–⁠3147%
Nov 13at16AuburnW 43–⁠3434%
Nov 20vsTennessee StateW 55–⁠1092%
Nov 25vs8Ole MissL 21–⁠3149%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsTexas TechLiberty BowlL 7–⁠3463%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Texas Tech 34–⁠7 in the Liberty Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 53rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 5th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
378–⁠337
Coach
Mike Leach
Elo
1525 +32 this season
SP+ rating
10.5 No. 34 of 130; offense No. 28, defense No. 33
SRS
5.6 No. 37 of 130 in FBS
Returning
67% of last season’s EPA, No. 76 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 25 roster talent No. 29 in FBS
Defensive coordinator
Zach Arnett
Offense
Air raid
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense39th of 130
  • Defense67th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted26th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted39th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2050%1.0939th of 130
Defense0.1440%1.3567th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.21 off
0.11 def		50% off
39% def		—26th off
39th 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
Offense4.1own 3014% allowed
Defense4.0own 3015% caused

CORE rating 12.9, 24th of 130 (offense 8.2, defense -4.7).

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 yardsWill Rogers QB4,739 yds
Passing touchdownsWill Rogers QB36 TD
Rushing yardsDillon Johnson RB485 yds
Rushing touchdownsJo’quavious Marks RB6 TD
Receiving yardsMakai Polk WR1,046 yds
Receiving touchdownsMakai Polk WR9 TD
TacklesJett Johnson LB86 tkl
SacksTyrus Wheat LB7 sacks
InterceptionsEmmanuel Forbes CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Sawyer Robertson QB★★★★No. 134
John Lewis LB★★★★No. 237
Teddy Knox WR★★★★No. 267
Antonio Harmon WR★★★★No. 301
Ke’Travion Hargrove RB★★★★No. 310

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.50.893
Running backs14.00.900
Receivers43.50.888
Offensive line33.00.853
Defensive line33.00.860
Linebackers33.30.873
Defensive backs32.70.826
Athletes and specialists13.00.876
Whole class203.20.867

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 1Charles Cross OTSeattle Seahawks
Rd 3Martin Emerson CBCleveland Browns

Roster 92

The 2021 roster

92 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 57 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 8

The 2021 portal
Randy Charlton DL★★★from UCF
Jalen Green CB★★★from Texas
Makai Polk WR★★★from California
Jack Abraham QB★★★from Southern Miss
Jamire Calvin WR★★★★from Washington State
Chance Lovertich QB★★★from South Alabama
Jonathan Alexander S★★★from Kansas State
Jack Kristofek QBfrom Sam Houston

Transfers out 22

JaVonta Payton WR★★★to Tennessee
Brandon Cunningham OL★★★no new school on file
Tyrell Shavers WR★★★to San Diego State
Garrett Shrader DUAL★★★to Syracuse
Nick Pendley OG★★★to Georgia Tech
Jalen Mayden DUAL★★★★to San Diego State
Allan Walters QB★★★to Arkansas State
Cameron Gardner WR★★★to Montana State
Cameron Threatt CB★★★no new school on file
Devon Robinson DL★★★to Memphis
Dontea Jones TE★★★no new school on file
Geor’quarius Spivey TE★★★to TCU

And 10 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-SEC

1 first team, 1 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.