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2021 Notre Dame

11–⁠2, coached by Brian Kelly, then Marcus Freeman (bowl game), finished No. 8 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Notre Dame in 2021, game by game: won at Florida State 41–38; won vs. Toledo 32–29; won vs. Purdue 27–13; won vs. No. 18 Wisconsin 41–13; lost vs. No. 7 Cincinnati 13–24; won at Virginia Tech 32–29; won vs. USC 31–16; won vs. North Carolina 44–34; won vs. Navy 34–6; won at Virginia 28–3; won vs. Georgia Tech 55–0; won at Stanford 45–14; lost vs. No. 9 Oklahoma State 35–37+55−11Won 41–38 at Florida State+3Florida StateWon 32–29 vs. Toledo+3ToledoWon 27–13 vs. Purdue+14PurdueWon 41–13 vs. No. 18 Wisconsin+28No. 18 WisconsinLost 13–24 vs. No. 7 Cincinnati-11No. 7 CincinnatiWon 32–29 at Virginia Tech+3Virginia TechWon 31–16 vs. USC+15USCWon 44–34 vs. North Carolina+10North CarolinaWon 34–6 vs. Navy+28NavyWon 28–3 at Virginia+25VirginiaWon 55–0 vs. Georgia Tech+55Georgia TechWon 45–14 at Stanford+31StanfordLost 35–37 vs. No. 9 Oklahoma State-2No. 9 Oklahoma State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5atFlorida StateW 41–⁠3872%
Sep 11vsToledoW 32–⁠2978%
Sep 18vsPurdueW 27–⁠1381%
Sep 25vs18WisconsinW 41–⁠1364%
Oct 2vs7CincinnatiL 13–⁠2460%
Oct 9atVirginia TechW 32–⁠2960%
Oct 23vsUSCW 31–⁠1677%
Oct 30vsNorth CarolinaW 44–⁠3477%
Nov 6vsNavyW 34–⁠689%
Nov 13atVirginiaW 28–⁠368%
Nov 20vsGeorgia TechW 55–⁠090%
Nov 27atStanfordW 45–⁠1485%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs9Oklahoma StateFiesta BowlL 35–⁠3758%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oklahoma State 37–⁠35 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 8 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 29th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 131 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 9
  2. Wk 2: 8
  3. Wk 3: 12
  4. Wk 4: 12
  5. Wk 5: 9
  6. Wk 6: 14
  7. Wk 7: 14
  8. Wk 8: 13
  9. Wk 9: 11
  10. Wk 10: 8
  11. Wk 11: 7
  12. Wk 12: 6
  13. Wk 13: 5
  14. Wk 14: 6
  15. Wk 15: 5
  16. Final: 8

Consensus All-AmericanKyle Hamilton, DB

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
—
AP final
No. 8 peak No. 5
Points
458–⁠256
Coach
Brian Kelly, then Marcus Freeman (bowl game)
Elo
1748 +76 this season
SP+ rating
17.4 No. 11 of 130; offense No. 20, defense No. 15
SRS
16.3 No. 6 of 130 in FBS
Returning
37% of last season’s EPA, No. 117 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 9 roster talent No. 12 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Tommy Rees
Defensive coordinator
Marcus Freeman
Captains
Avery Davis, Kyle Hamilton, Kurt Hinish, Jarrett Patterson, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and Drew White
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5 or 4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense37th of 130
  • Defense15th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted25th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted11th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2043%1.3637th of 130
Defense0.0239%1.2115th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.22 off
0.03 def		45% off
38% def		—25th off
11th 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
Offense4.3own 2917% allowed
Defense2.9own 2817% caused

CORE rating 13.1, 22nd of 130 (offense 3.3, defense -9.8).

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 yardsJack Coan QB3,150 yds
Passing touchdownsJack Coan QB25 TD
Rushing yardsKyren Williams RB1,002 yds
Rushing touchdownsKyren Williams RB14 TD
Receiving yardsKevin Austin WR888 yds
Receiving touchdownsKevin Austin WR7 TD
TacklesJ.D. Bertrand LB102 tkl
SacksIsaiah Foskey DL11 sacks
InterceptionsD.J. Brown S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Blake Fisher OT★★★★No. 55
Rocco Spindler OL★★★★No. 60
Tyler Buchner QB★★★★No. 71
Deion Colzie WR★★★★No. 102
Lorenzo Styles Jr. WR★★★★No. 115
Gabriel Rubio DL★★★★No. 117
Prince Kollie LB★★★★No. 147
Audric Estime RB★★★★No. 231

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.50.892
Running backs23.50.898
Receivers53.80.920
Offensive line53.80.922
Defensive line23.50.910
Linebackers43.30.890
Defensive backs53.40.884
Athletes and specialists23.00.846
Whole class273.50.899

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 1Kyle Hamilton SBaltimore Ravens
Rd 5Kyren Williams RBLos Angeles Rams

Roster 102

The 2021 roster

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

Transfers in 2

The 2021 portal
Cain Madden OL★★★★from Marshall
Jack Coan PRO★★★from Wisconsin

Transfers out 17

Jordan Johnson WR★★★to UCF
Devin Aupiu LB★★★to UCLA
Jafar Armstrong WR★★★to Illinois
Jack Lamb LB★★★to Colorado
Jordan Genmark-Heath S★★★to UCLA
Isaiah Rutherford CB★★★to Arizona
Ja’Mion Franklin DT★★★to Duke
Isaiah Robertson S★★★★no new school on file
John Olmstead OT★★★★to Lafayette
Micah Jones WR★★★★to Illinois State
Dillan Gibbons OL★★★to Florida State
Jahmir Smith RB★★★to App State

And 5 more, lower-rated or unrated.