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2021 NC State

9–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Dave Doeren, finished No. 20 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

NC State in 2021, game by game: won vs. South Florida 45–0; lost at Mississippi State 10–24; won vs. Furman 45–7; won vs. No. 9 Clemson 27–21; won vs. Louisiana Tech 34–27; won at Boston College 33–7; lost at Miami 30–31; won vs. Louisville 28–13; won at Florida State 28–14; lost at No. 13 Wake Forest 42–45; won vs. Syracuse 41–17; won vs. North Carolina 34–30+45−14Won 45–0 vs. South Florida+45South FloridaLost 10–24 at Mississippi State-14Mississippi Sta…Won 45–7 vs. Furman+38FurmanWon 27–21 vs. No. 9 Clemson+6No. 9 ClemsonWon 34–27 vs. Louisiana Tech+7Louisiana TechWon 33–7 at Boston College+26Boston CollegeLost 30–31 at Miami-1MiamiWon 28–13 vs. Louisville+15LouisvilleWon 28–14 at Florida State+14Florida StateLost 42–45 at No. 13 Wake Forest-3No. 13 Wake ForestWon 41–17 vs. Syracuse+24SyracuseWon 34–30 vs. North Carolina+4North Carolina
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsSouth FloridaW 45–⁠074%
Sep 11atMississippi StateL 10–⁠2448%
Sep 18vsFurmanW 45–⁠777%
Sep 25vs9ClemsonW 27–⁠2134%
Oct 2vsLouisiana TechW 34–⁠2767%
Oct 16atBoston CollegeW 33–⁠742%
Oct 23atMiamiL 30–⁠3156%
Oct 30vsLouisvilleW 28–⁠1366%
Nov 6atFlorida StateW 28–⁠1465%
Nov 13at13Wake ForestL 42–⁠4544%
Nov 20vsSyracuseW 41–⁠1778%
Nov 26vsNorth CarolinaW 34–⁠3069%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat North Carolina 34–⁠30; No. 20 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 23
  2. Wk 6: 23
  3. Wk 7: 22
  4. Wk 8: 18
  5. Wk 11: 21
  6. Wk 12: 25
  7. Wk 13: 24
  8. Wk 14: 21
  9. Wk 15: 18
  10. Final: 20

Led the nationZonovan Knight: kickoff return average (34.4)

Consensus All-AmericanIkem Ekwonu, OL

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 20 peak No. 18
Points
397–⁠236
Coach
Dave Doeren
Elo
1646 +126 this season
SP+ rating
16.1 No. 14 of 130; offense No. 39, defense No. 14
SRS
12.3 No. 15 of 130 in FBS
Returning
66% of last season’s EPA, No. 79 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 34 roster talent No. 34 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Tim Beck
Defensive coordinator
Tony Gibson
Offense
Spread option
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense43rd of 130
  • Defense17th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted41st of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted15th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1841%1.3943rd of 130
Defense0.0334%1.3917th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.18 off
0.04 def		42% off
34% def		—41st off
15th 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
Offense4.2own 3014% allowed
Defense3.6own 2519% caused

CORE rating 14.7, 16th of 130 (offense 2.0, defense -12.7).

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 yardsDevin Leary QB3,433 yds
Passing touchdownsDevin Leary QB35 TD
Rushing yardsZonovan Knight RB753 yds
Rushing touchdownsRicky Person Jr. RB5 TD
Receiving yardsEmeka Emezie WR802 yds
Receiving touchdownsThayer Thomas WR8 TD
TacklesDrake Thomas LB99 tkl
SacksDrake Thomas LB6 sacks
InterceptionsDrake Thomas LB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Micah Crowell WR★★★★No. 202
Jordan Poole LB★★★★No. 244
Aaron McLaughlin QB★★★★No. 274
Travali Price DE★★★★No. 393
Chase Hattley S★★★No. 551

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.907
Running backs13.00.851
Receivers53.20.875
Offensive line33.00.858
Defensive line23.50.879
Linebackers23.50.895
Defensive backs33.00.856
Athletes and specialists12.00.794
Whole class183.20.868

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 1Ikem Ekwonu OTCarolina Panthers
Rd 7Trenton Gill PChicago Bears

Roster 134

The 2021 roster

134 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 67 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 4

The 2021 portal
Derrek Pitts S★★★from Marshall
Cyrus Fagan S★★★from Florida State
Chandler Zavala OL★★★from Fairmont State
Cory Durden DL★★★from Florida State

Transfers out 11

Bailey Hockman QB★★★to Middle Tennessee
C.J. Hart OLB★★★to Illinois
Malik Dunlap CB★★★to Texas Tech
Ty Evans QB★★★to Texas State
Val Martin DT★★★to Minnesota
Taiyon Palmer CB★★★★to Troy
Dante Johnson DL★★★to Eastern Kentucky
Nick Booker-Brown DL★★★returned to NC State
Zovon Lindsay OT★★★to Coastal Carolina
Charles Fletcher OG★★to Texas State
Liam Ryan OLno new school on file

2021 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Pittsburgh7–⁠111–⁠313
Wake Forest7–⁠211–⁠315
Clemson6–⁠210–⁠314
NC State6–⁠29–⁠320
Miami5–⁠37–⁠5
Virginia4–⁠46–⁠6
Virginia Tech4–⁠46–⁠7
Louisville4–⁠46–⁠7
Florida State4–⁠45–⁠7
North Carolina4–⁠56–⁠7
Boston College2–⁠66–⁠6
Syracuse2–⁠65–⁠7
Georgia Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
Duke0–⁠83–⁠9

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