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2021 North Texas

6–⁠7 (5–⁠3 Conference USA), coached by Seth Littrell.

Schedule and results

North Texas in 2021, game by game: won vs. Northwestern State 44–14; lost at SMU 12–35; lost vs. UAB 6–40; lost at Louisiana Tech 17–24; lost at Missouri 35–48; lost vs. Marshall 21–49; lost vs. Liberty 26–35; won at Rice 30–24; won at Southern Miss 38–14; won vs. UTEP 20–17; won at Florida International 49–7; won vs. No. 15 UTSA 45–23; lost vs. Miami (OH) 14–27+42−34Won 44–14 vs. Northwestern State+30Northwestern St…Lost 12–35 at SMU-23SMULost 6–40 vs. UAB-34UABLost 17–24 at Louisiana Tech-7Louisiana TechLost 35–48 at Missouri-13MissouriLost 21–49 vs. Marshall-28MarshallLost 26–35 vs. Liberty-9LibertyWon 30–24 at Rice+6RiceWon 38–14 at Southern Miss+24Southern MissWon 20–17 vs. UTEP+3UTEPWon 49–7 at Florida International+42Florida Interna…Won 45–23 vs. No. 15 UTSA+22No. 15 UTSALost 14–27 vs. Miami (OH)-13Miami (OH)
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsNorthwestern StateW 44–⁠1481%
Sep 11atSMUL 12–⁠3525%
Sep 18vsUABL 6–⁠4038%
Sep 25atLouisiana TechL 17–⁠2430%
Oct 9atMissouriL 35–⁠4831%
Oct 15vsMarshallL 21–⁠4934%
Oct 23vsLibertyL 26–⁠3521%
Oct 30atRiceW 30–⁠2430%
Nov 6atSouthern MissW 38–⁠1447%
Nov 13vsUTEPW 20–⁠1749%
Nov 20atFlorida InternationalW 49–⁠764%
Nov 27vs15UTSAW 45–⁠2329%
Dec 23Bowls & playoffvsMiami (OH)Frisco Football ClassicL 14–⁠2741%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Miami (OH) 27–⁠14 in the Frisco Football Classic; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 21st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 105 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
357–⁠357
Coach
Seth Littrell
Elo
1456 +44 this season
SP+ rating
-6.5 No. 94 of 130; offense No. 99, defense No. 87
SRS
−6.8 No. 96 of 130 in FBS
Returning
50% of last season’s EPA, No. 105 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 80 roster talent No. 80 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Mike Bloesch and Tommy Mainord
Defensive coordinator
Phil Bennett
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense87th of 130
  • Defense76th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted103rd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted81st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0941%1.1787th of 130
Defense0.1538%1.4976th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.15 def		40% off
40% def		—103rd off
81st 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
Offense3.1own 2913% allowed
Defense3.5own 2917% caused

CORE rating -2.8, 79th of 130 (offense -4.3, defense -1.5).

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 yardsAustin Aune QB1,991 yds
Passing touchdownsAustin Aune QB9 TD
Rushing yardsDeAndre Torrey RB1,215 yds
Rushing touchdownsDeAndre Torrey RB13 TD
Receiving yardsRoderic Burns WR802 yds
Receiving touchdownsRoderic Burns WR4 TD
TacklesK.D. Davis LB120 tkl
SacksGrayson Murphy DL8.5 sacks
InterceptionsKevin Wood LB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Caleb Johnson CB★★★No. 559
Dillion Williams S★★★No. 804
Var’Keyes Gumms TE★★★No. 917
Gabe Blair OL★★★No. 1250
Harold West S★★★No. 1426

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.838
Running backs13.00.840
Receivers23.00.847
Offensive line23.00.840
Defensive line52.80.820
Linebackers13.00.823
Defensive backs53.00.847
Whole class172.90.836

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.

Roster 104

The 2021 roster

104 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 62 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 10

The 2021 portal
Jace Ruder QB★★★from North Carolina
Jacob Farrell OT★★★from Oklahoma State
Tommy Bush WR★★★★from Georgia
Enoch Jackson Jr. DL★★★from Arkansas
Greg Francis CB★★★from UNLV
John Davis Jr. CB★★★from Texas Tech
Logan Wilson CB★★★from UL Monroe
Ridge Texada CB★★from McNeese
Tyrae Thornton CB★★from Rice
Sean-Thomas Faulkner LBfrom The Citadel

Transfers out 18

Cameron Johnson S★★★to UCLA
Tre Siggers RB★★★to SMU
Chandler Anthony OT★★★to Oklahoma State
Chris Thornton LB★★no new school on file
Anterrious Gray OG★★★to South Alabama
Austin Ogunmakin WR★★★no new school on file
Bryce English DL★★★no new school on file
Garnett Burke S★★★to Blinn College
Greg White WR★★★no new school on file
Jason Bean QB★★★to Kansas
Jaxon Gibbs S★★★no new school on file
Jimmy Walker DL★★★no new school on file

And 6 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2021 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UTSA7–⁠112–⁠2
Western Kentucky7–⁠19–⁠5
UAB6–⁠29–⁠4
Marshall5–⁠37–⁠6
North Texas5–⁠36–⁠7
Old Dominion5–⁠36–⁠7
Middle Tennessee4–⁠47–⁠6
UTEP4–⁠47–⁠6
Charlotte3–⁠55–⁠7
Florida Atlantic3–⁠55–⁠7
Rice3–⁠54–⁠8
Southern Miss2–⁠63–⁠9
Louisiana Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
Florida International0–⁠81–⁠11

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