2021 Northwestern State
3–8 (3–5 Southland Conference). Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Houston Christian 21–17Oct 9
By 4 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to North Texas 14–44Sep 4
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4 | at North Texas | L 14–44 | 19% |
| Sep 11 | at Alcorn State | L 10–13 | 37% |
| Sep 18 | vs UT Martin | L 10–35 | 41% |
| Oct 2 | vs Incarnate Word | L 27–38 | 30% |
| Oct 9 | at Houston Christian | W 21–17 | 42% |
| Oct 16 | vs McNeese | L 17–35 | 44% |
| Oct 23 | vs SE Louisiana | L 14–51 | 19% |
| Oct 30 | at Nicholls | L 21–42 | 19% |
| Nov 6 | vsHouston Christian | W 28–24 | 61% |
| Nov 13 | atSE Louisiana | L 28–56 | 10% |
| Nov 20 | atMcNeese | W 24–20 | 21% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat McNeese 24–20; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Southland Conference.
In program history: The 42nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 75 on file).
- Record
- 3–8
- Conference
- 3–5 tied for 4th in Southland Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 214–375
- Coach
- —
- Elo
- 1156 −56 this season
- SP+ rating
- —
- SRS
- −26.6 No. 66 of 128 in FCS
- Recruiting class
- No. 180
- Offensive coordinator
- Brad Smiley
- Defensive coordinator
- Mike Lucas
- Offense
- Spread
- Defense
- 3–4
Top recruits in the 2021 class
| Zequarrius Rhone CB | ★★★ | No. 2342 |
| Waymon Smith DL | ||
| Ara Rauls S | ||
| Dylan Fluellen WR |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2021 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Defensive backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.806 |
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.
Transfers in 2
The 2021 portal Stanley King WR | ★★★ | from  Rutgers |
 Steve Ballard OT | ★★★ | from  Louisiana Tech |
Transfers out 1
2021 Southland Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Incarnate Word | 7–1 | 10–3 | |
| SE Louisiana | 6–2 | 9–4 | |
| Nicholls | 5–3 | 6–5 | |
| McNeese | 3–5 | 4–7 | |
 Northwestern State | 3–5 | 3–8 | |
| Houston Christian | 0–8 | 0–11 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.