2021 Nebraska
3–9 (1–8 Big Ten), coached by Scott Frost. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Northwestern 56–7Oct 2
By 49 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to No. 9 Michigan 29–32Oct 9
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 28 | at Illinois | L 22–30 | 48% |
| Sep 4 | vs Fordham | W 52–7 | 79% |
| Sep 11 | vs Buffalo | W 28–3 | 42% |
| Sep 18 | at 3Oklahoma | L 16–23 | 21% |
| Sep 25 | at 20Michigan State | L 20–23 | 33% |
| Oct 2 | vs Northwestern | W 56–7 | 53% |
| Oct 9 | vs 9Michigan | L 29–32 | 43% |
| Oct 16 | at Minnesota | L 23–30 | 36% |
| Oct 30 | vs Purdue | L 23–28 | 59% |
| Nov 6 | vs 6Ohio State | L 17–26 | 21% |
| Nov 20 | at 19Wisconsin | L 28–35 | 19% |
| Nov 26 | vs 17Iowa | L 21–28 | 29% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Iowa 28–21; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 12th in the Big Ten.
In program history: The 109th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).
- Record
- 3–9
- Conference
- 1–8 tied for 12th in Big Ten
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 335–272
- Coach
- Scott Frost
- Elo
- 1460 −23 this season
- SP+ rating
- 10.3 No. 35 of 130; offense No. 33, defense No. 27
- SRS
- 8.4 No. 31 of 130 in FBS
- Returning
- 61% of last season’s EPA, No. 89 of 128
- Recruiting class
- No. 20 roster talent No. 25 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Matt Lubick
- Defensive coordinator
- Erik Chinander
- Offense
- Spread option
- Defense
- 3–4
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.21 | 45% | 1.36 | 30th of 130 |
| Defense | 0.11 | 44% | 1.07 | 49th of 130 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.24 off 0.10 def | 47% off 42% def | — | 13th off 31st 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 4.0 | own 28 | 15% allowed |
| Defense | 3.0 | own 30 | 16% caused |
CORE rating 12.9, 23rd of 130 (offense 8.1, defense -4.8).
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 yards | Adrian Martinez QB | 2,863 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Adrian Martinez QB | 14 TD |
| Rushing yards | Adrian Martinez QB | 525 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Adrian Martinez QB | 13 TD |
| Receiving yards | Samori Toure WR | 898 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Samori Toure WR | 5 TD |
| Tackles | Nick Henrich LB | 99 tkl |
| Sacks | Garrett Nelson DE | 5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Deontai Williams S | 4 INT |
Top recruits in the 2021 class
| Thomas Fidone II TE | ★★★★ | No. 93 |
| Wynden Ho’ohuli LB | ★★★★ | No. 156 |
| Teddy Prochazka OT | ★★★★ | No. 232 |
| Randolph Kpai LB | ★★★★ | No. 268 |
| Henry Lutovsky OL | ★★★ | No. 461 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2021 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.874 |
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.870 |
| Receivers | 5 | 3.2 | 0.888 |
| Offensive line | 3 | 3.3 | 0.887 |
| Defensive line | 2 | 3.0 | 0.868 |
| Linebackers | 4 | 3.5 | 0.890 |
| Defensive backs | 3 | 3.0 | 0.860 |
| Athletes and specialists | 1 | 3.0 | 0.871 |
| Whole class | 20 | 3.2 | 0.880 |
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 2 | Cameron Jurgens C | Philadelphia Eagles |
| Rd 2 | Cam Taylor-Britt S | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Rd 7 | Samori Toure WR | Green Bay Packers |
Roster 166
The 2021 roster166 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 71 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 5
The 2021 portal Markese Stepp RB | ★★★ | from  USC |
 Samori Toure WR | ★★★ | from  Montana |
| Tyreke Johnson CB | ★★★ | from  Ohio State |
 Chris Kolarevic ILB | ★★★ | from  Northern Iowa |
| Oliver Martin WR | ★★★★ | from  Iowa |
Transfers out 18
 Wan’Dale Robinson WR | ★★★★ | to  Kentucky |
| Marcus Fleming WR | ★★★ | to  Maryland |
| Boe Wilson OL | ★★★ | to  Western Kentucky |
| Jahkeem Green DT | ★★★ | to  South Carolina |
 Luke McCaffrey QB | ★★★ | to  Rice |
| Matthew Anderson OT | ★★★ | to  Louisiana |
| Keyshawn Greene LB | ★★★★ | to  Florida Atlantic |
| David Alston LB | ★★★ | returned to  Nebraska |
| Demariyon Houston WR | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Jamie Nance WR | ★★★ | to  Utah State |
| Jared Bubak TE | ★★★ | to Central Missouri |
| Kurt Rafdal TE | ★★★ | to  Boise State |
And 6 more, lower-rated or unrated.
All-Big Ten
1 first team, 2 second teamFirst team
- Austin AllenTECoaches-2; Media-1
Second team
- JoJo DomannLBCoaches-2; Media-3
- Cam Taylor-BrittDBCoaches-2; Media-2
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| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 8–1 | 12–2 | 3 |
| Ohio State | 8–1 | 11–2 | 6 |
| Michigan State | 7–2 | 11–2 | 9 |
| Iowa | 7–2 | 10–4 | 23 |
| Wisconsin | 6–3 | 9–4 | |
| Minnesota | 6–3 | 9–4 | |
| Purdue | 6–3 | 9–4 | |
 Penn State | 4–5 | 7–6 | |
| Illinois | 4–5 | 5–7 | |
 Maryland | 3–6 | 7–6 | |
 Rutgers | 2–7 | 5–8 | |
| Northwestern | 1–8 | 3–9 | |
| Nebraska | 1–8 | 3–9 | |
 Indiana | 0–9 | 2–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.