CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2021 North Carolina

6–⁠7 (4–⁠5 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Mack Brown.

Schedule and results

North Carolina in 2021, game by game: lost at Virginia Tech 10–17; won vs. Georgia State 59–17; won vs. Virginia 59–39; lost vs. Georgia Tech 22–45; won vs. Duke 38–7; lost vs. Florida State 25–35; won vs. Miami 45–42; lost at No. 11 Notre Dame 34–44; won vs. No. 10 Wake Forest 58–55; lost at No. 25 Pittsburgh 23–30; won vs. Wofford 34–14; lost at No. 24 NC State 30–34; lost vs. South Carolina 21–38+42−23Lost 10–17 at Virginia Tech-7Virginia TechWon 59–17 vs. Georgia State+42Georgia StateWon 59–39 vs. Virginia+20VirginiaLost 22–45 vs. Georgia Tech-23Georgia TechWon 38–7 vs. Duke+31DukeLost 25–35 vs. Florida State-10Florida StateWon 45–42 vs. Miami+3MiamiLost 34–44 at No. 11 Notre Dame-10No. 11 Notre DameWon 58–55 vs. No. 10 Wake Forest+3No. 10 Wake ForestLost 23–30 at No. 25 Pittsburgh-7No. 25 PittsburghWon 34–14 vs. Wofford+20WoffordLost 30–34 at No. 24 NC State-4No. 24 NC StateLost 21–38 vs. South Carolina-17South Carolina
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3atVirginia TechL 10–⁠1751%
Sep 11vsGeorgia StateW 59–⁠1771%
Sep 18vsVirginiaW 59–⁠3964%
Sep 25vsGeorgia TechL 22–⁠4572%
Oct 2vsDukeW 38–⁠770%
Oct 9vsFlorida StateL 25–⁠3579%
Oct 16vsMiamiW 45–⁠4261%
Oct 30at11Notre DameL 34–⁠4423%
Nov 6vs10Wake ForestW 58–⁠5544%
Nov 11at25PittsburghL 23–⁠3029%
Nov 20vsWoffordW 34–⁠1494%
Nov 26at24NC StateL 30–⁠3431%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsSouth CarolinaDuke’s Mayo BowlL 21–⁠3860%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to South Carolina 38–⁠21 in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 10th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 75th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 127 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 10
  2. Wk 2: 24
  3. Wk 3: 21
  4. Wk 4: 21
Record
6–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠5 10th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 10
Points
458–⁠417
Coach
Mack Brown
Elo
1505 −90 this season
SP+ rating
6.4 No. 59 of 130; offense No. 11, defense No. 101
SRS
2.8 No. 58 of 130 in FBS
Returning
51% of last season’s EPA, No. 103 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 14 roster talent No. 17 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Phil Longo
Defensive coordinators
Jay Bateman and Tommy Thigpen
Offense
Air raid
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense29th of 130
  • Defense92nd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted30th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted90th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2245%1.4129th of 130
Defense0.1945%1.3192nd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.20 off
0.17 def		46% off
44% def		—30th off
90th 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
Offense4.5own 2917% allowed
Defense4.2own 3015% caused

CORE rating 1.5, 66th of 130 (offense 6.0, defense 4.5).

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 yardsSam Howell QB3,056 yds
Passing touchdownsSam Howell QB24 TD
Rushing yardsTy Chandler RB1,092 yds
Rushing touchdownsTy Chandler RB13 TD
Receiving yardsJosh Downs WR1,335 yds
Receiving touchdownsJosh Downs WR8 TD
TacklesCedric Gray LB99 tkl
SacksTomon Fox LB9 sacks
InterceptionsCam’Ron Kelly DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Keeshawn Silver DL★★★★★No. 31
Drake Maye QB★★★★No. 56
RaRa Dillworth LB★★★★No. 103
Power Echols LB★★★★No. 128
Jahvaree Ritzie DL★★★★No. 133
DeAndre Boykins ATH★★★★No. 181
Gavin Blackwell WR★★★★No. 210
Gabe Stephens ATH★★★★No. 218

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.972
Running backs14.00.909
Receivers43.80.898
Offensive line23.50.895
Defensive line34.00.918
Linebackers24.00.948
Defensive backs23.50.895
Athletes and specialists43.50.897
Whole class193.70.910

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 3Joshua Ezeudu OGNew York Giants
Rd 5Sam Howell QBWashington Commanders
Rd 5Ty Chandler RBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 5Marcus McKethan OGNew York Giants

Roster 115

The 2021 roster

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

Transfers in 1

The 2021 portal
Ty Chandler RB★★★★from Tennessee

Transfers out 21

Patrice Rene CB★★★to Rutgers
Jace Ruder QB★★★to North Texas
Triston Miller OT★★★to Arizona State
Billy Ross OT★★★to Marshall
Xach Gill DL★★★to Temple
Ray Rose WR★★★★to East Carolina
Tre Shaw CB★★★★to Western Kentucky
Antwuan Branch RB★★★no new school on file
Bryce Watts CB★★★to Massachusetts
Bryson Richardson S★★★to Massachusetts
D.J. Ford S★★★to East Carolina
Khadry Jackson LB★★★to Georgia Southern

And 9 more, lower-rated or unrated.

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.