CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2021 North Dakota State

14–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Missouri Valley Football Conference).

Schedule and results

North Dakota State in 2021, game by game: won vs. UAlbany 28–6; won vs. Valparaiso 64–0; won at Towson 35–7; won at North Dakota 16–10; won vs. Northern Iowa 34–20; won at Illinois State 20–0; won vs. Missouri State 27–20; won vs. Indiana State 44–2; lost at South Dakota State 19–27; won at Youngstown State 49–17; won vs. South Dakota 52–24; won vs. Southern Illinois 38–7; won vs. East Tennessee State 27–3; won vs. James Madison 20–14; won vs. Montana State 38–10+64−8Won 28–6 vs. UAlbany+22UAlbanyWon 64–0 vs. Valparaiso+64ValparaisoWon 35–7 at Towson+28TowsonWon 16–10 at North Dakota+6North DakotaWon 34–20 vs. Northern Iowa+14Northern IowaWon 20–0 at Illinois State+20Illinois StateWon 27–20 vs. Missouri State+7Missouri StateWon 44–2 vs. Indiana State+42Indiana StateLost 19–27 at South Dakota State-8South Dakota St…Won 49–17 at Youngstown State+32Youngstown StateWon 52–24 vs. South Dakota+28South DakotaWon 38–7 vs. Southern Illinois+31Southern Illino…Won 27–3 vs. East Tennessee State+24East Tennessee …Won 20–14 vs. James Madison+6James MadisonWon 38–10 vs. Montana State+28Montana State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsUAlbanyW 28–⁠679%
Sep 11vsValparaisoW 64–⁠087%
Sep 18atTowsonW 35–⁠759%
Oct 2atNorth DakotaW 16–⁠1059%
Oct 9vsNorthern IowaW 34–⁠2072%
Oct 16atIllinois StateW 20–⁠076%
Oct 23vsMissouri StateW 27–⁠2082%
Oct 30vsIndiana StateW 44–⁠288%
Nov 6atSouth Dakota StateL 19–⁠2752%
Nov 13atYoungstown StateW 49–⁠1783%
Nov 20vsSouth DakotaW 52–⁠2477%
Dec 4vsSouthern IllinoisFCS Championship – Second RoundW 38–⁠779%
Dec 11vsEast Tennessee StateFCS Championship – Quarterfinals, CFP QuarterfinalW 27–⁠375%
Dec 17Bowls & playoffvsJames MadisonW 20–⁠1454%
Jan 8Bowls & playoffvsMontana StateW 38–⁠1055%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Montana State 38–⁠10; unranked in the final AP poll; Missouri Valley Football Conference champions.

In program history: The 8th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 51 on file).

Missouri Valley Football Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Record
14–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 first in Missouri Valley Football Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
511–⁠167
Coach
—
Elo
1651 +183 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
7.3 No. 1 of 128 in FCS
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Tyler Roehl
Defensive coordinator
David Braun
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

Player leaders are hidden for this season: our source’s player stats for North Dakota State are missing players (they add up to less than 85% of the team’s passing or rushing yards).

Drafted in 2022

The 2022 draft
Rd 2Christian Watson WRGreen Bay Packers
Rd 4Cordell Volson OTCincinnati Bengals

Transfers in 4

The 2021 portal
Quincy Patterson II QB★★★★from Virginia Tech
Jerodd Vines S★★★from Eastern Michigan
TaMerik Williams RB★★★from SMU
Luke LaCilento OL★from San Diego

Transfers out 2

Adam Cofield RB★★to Western Kentucky
Josh Hayes CB★★to Virginia

2021 Missouri Valley Football Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
North Dakota State7–⁠114–⁠1
Missouri State6–⁠28–⁠4
South Dakota State5–⁠311–⁠4
Southern Illinois5–⁠38–⁠5
South Dakota5–⁠37–⁠5
Northern Iowa4–⁠46–⁠6
Indiana State3–⁠55–⁠6
North Dakota3–⁠55–⁠6
Illinois State2–⁠64–⁠7
Youngstown State2–⁠63–⁠7
Western Illinois2–⁠62–⁠9

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