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2021 Northern Illinois

9–⁠5 (6–⁠2 Mid-American Conference), coached by Thomas Hammock.

Schedule and results

Northern Illinois in 2021, game by game: won at Georgia Tech 22–21; lost vs. Wyoming 43–50; lost at No. 25 Michigan 10–63; won vs. Maine 41–14; won vs. Eastern Michigan 27–20; won at Toledo 22–20; won vs. Bowling Green 34–26; won at Central Michigan 39–38; lost at Kent State 47–52; won vs. Ball State 30–29; won at Buffalo 33–27; lost vs. Western Michigan 21–42; won vs. Kent State 41–23; lost vs. Coastal Carolina 41–47+27−53Won 22–21 at Georgia Tech+1Georgia TechLost 43–50 vs. Wyoming-7WyomingLost 10–63 at No. 25 Michigan-53No. 25 MichiganWon 41–14 vs. Maine+27MaineWon 27–20 vs. Eastern Michigan+7Eastern MichiganWon 22–20 at Toledo+2ToledoWon 34–26 vs. Bowling Green+8Bowling GreenWon 39–38 at Central Michigan+1Central MichiganLost 47–52 at Kent State-5Kent StateWon 30–29 vs. Ball State+1Ball StateWon 33–27 at Buffalo+6BuffaloLost 21–42 vs. Western Michigan-21Western MichiganWon 41–23 vs. Kent State+18Kent StateLost 41–47 vs. Coastal Carolina-6Coastal Carolina
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4atGeorgia TechW 22–⁠2135%
Sep 11vsWyomingL 43–⁠5040%
Sep 18at25MichiganL 10–⁠6318%
Sep 25vsMaineW 41–⁠1467%
Oct 2vsEastern MichiganW 27–⁠2043%
Oct 9atToledoW 22–⁠2028%
Oct 16vsBowling GreenW 34–⁠2672%
Oct 23atCentral MichiganW 39–⁠3837%
Nov 3atKent StateL 47–⁠5236%
Nov 10vsBall StateW 30–⁠2941%
Nov 17atBuffaloW 33–⁠2742%
Nov 23vsWestern MichiganL 21–⁠4256%
Dec 4vsKent StateMid-American Championship GameW 41–⁠2339%
Dec 17Bowls & playoffvsCoastal CarolinaCure BowlL 41–⁠4725%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Coastal Carolina 47–⁠41 in the Cure Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Mid-American Conference champions.

In program history: The 25th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Mid-American Conference champions6–⁠2 in the conference, won the Mid-American Championship Game

Record
9–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 shared first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
451–⁠472
Coach
Thomas Hammock
Elo
1460 +76 this season
SP+ rating
-7.1 No. 97 of 130; offense No. 62, defense No. 116
SRS
−4.7 No. 89 of 130 in FBS
Returning
54% of last season’s EPA, No. 98 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 91 roster talent No. 114 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Eric Eidsness
Defensive coordinator
Derrick Jackson
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense23rd of 130
  • Defense122nd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted40th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted125th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2345%1.2923rd of 130
Defense0.3049%1.35122nd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.19 off
0.27 def		43% off
49% def		—40th off
125th 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
Offense4.1own 2914% allowed
Defense4.1own 3012% caused

CORE rating -8.8, 99th of 130 (offense 6.1, defense 14.9).

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 yardsRocky Lombardi QB2,597 yds
Passing touchdownsRocky Lombardi QB15 TD
Rushing yardsJevyon Ducker RB1,184 yds
Rushing touchdownsClint Ratkovich RB13 TD
Receiving yardsTrayvon Rudolph WR892 yds
Receiving touchdownsTrayvon Rudolph WR7 TD
TacklesC.J. Brown DB107 tkl
SacksDevonte O’Malley DT4 sacks
InterceptionsC.J. Brown DB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Antario Brown RB★★★No. 732
Tajheem Lawson RB★★★No. 1654
Ethan Hampton QB★★★No. 1704
George Gumbs Jr. WR★★★No. 1704
Akanimo Asuquo LB★★★No. 1704

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.832
Running backs33.00.834
Receivers32.70.812
Offensive line43.00.814
Defensive line43.00.810
Linebackers33.00.813
Defensive backs73.00.809
Athletes and specialists13.00.808
Whole class263.00.814

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 128

The 2021 roster

128 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 66 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 1

The 2021 portal
Rocky Lombardi QB★★★from Michigan State

Transfers out 19

Antwain Walker CB★★★no new school on file
Cortez Hogans LB★★★no new school on file
Dennis Robinson WR★★★to Texas State
Jyran Mitchell RB★★★no new school on file
Mark Aitken CB★★★no new school on file
Michael Love WR★★★returned to Northern Illinois
Romel Goston CB★★★no new school on file
Ross Bowers QB★★★no new school on file
Tyrik Henderson CB★★★no new school on file
Woodly Appolon S★★★no new school on file
Caleb Wright DE★★no new school on file
Charlie Fish WR★★no new school on file

And 7 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2021 Mid-American Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Central Michigan6–⁠29–⁠4
Northern Illinois6–⁠29–⁠5
Kent State6–⁠27–⁠7
Toledo5–⁠37–⁠6
Miami (OH)5–⁠37–⁠6
Western Michigan4–⁠48–⁠5
Eastern Michigan4–⁠47–⁠6
Ball State4–⁠46–⁠7
Ohio3–⁠53–⁠9
Buffalo2–⁠64–⁠8
Bowling Green2–⁠64–⁠8
Akron1–⁠72–⁠10

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