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2021 Oklahoma State

12–⁠2 (8–⁠1 Big 12), coached by Mike Gundy, finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Oklahoma State in 2021, game by game: won vs. Missouri State 23–16; won vs. Tulsa 28–23; won at Boise State 21–20; won vs. No. 25 Kansas State 31–20; won vs. No. 21 Baylor 24–14; won at No. 25 Texas 32–24; lost at Iowa State 21–24; won vs. Kansas 55–3; won at West Virginia 24–3; won vs. TCU 63–17; won at Texas Tech 23–0; won vs. No. 10 Oklahoma 37–33; lost vs. No. 9 Baylor 16–21; won vs. No. 5 Notre Dame 37–35+52−5Won 23–16 vs. Missouri State+7Missouri StateWon 28–23 vs. Tulsa+5TulsaWon 21–20 at Boise State+1Boise StateWon 31–20 vs. No. 25 Kansas State+11No. 25 Kansas StateWon 24–14 vs. No. 21 Baylor+10No. 21 BaylorWon 32–24 at No. 25 Texas+8No. 25 TexasLost 21–24 at Iowa State-3Iowa StateWon 55–3 vs. Kansas+52KansasWon 24–3 at West Virginia+21West VirginiaWon 63–17 vs. TCU+46TCUWon 23–0 at Texas Tech+23Texas TechWon 37–33 vs. No. 10 Oklahoma+4No. 10 OklahomaLost 16–21 vs. No. 9 Baylor-5No. 9 BaylorWon 37–35 vs. No. 5 Notre Dame+2No. 5 Notre Dame
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsMissouri StateW 23–⁠1689%
Sep 11vsTulsaW 28–⁠2367%
Sep 18atBoise StateW 21–⁠2042%
Sep 25vs25Kansas StateW 31–⁠2063%
Oct 2vs21BaylorW 24–⁠1468%
Oct 16at25TexasW 32–⁠2442%
Oct 23atIowa StateL 21–⁠2445%
Oct 30vsKansasW 55–⁠392%
Nov 6atWest VirginiaW 24–⁠357%
Nov 13vsTCUW 63–⁠1779%
Nov 20atTexas TechW 23–⁠069%
Nov 27vs10OklahomaW 37–⁠3355%
Dec 4vs9BaylorBig 12 Championship GameL 16–⁠2160%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs5Notre DameFiesta BowlW 37–⁠3542%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Notre Dame 37–⁠35 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 7 in the final AP poll; first in the Big 12.

In program history: The 5th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 115 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 19
  2. Wk 6: 12
  3. Wk 7: 12
  4. Wk 8: 8
  5. Wk 9: 15
  6. Wk 10: 11
  7. Wk 11: 10
  8. Wk 12: 9
  9. Wk 13: 7
  10. Wk 14: 5
  11. Wk 15: 9
  12. Final: 7
Record
12–⁠2
Conference
8–⁠1 first in Big 12
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 5
Points
435–⁠253
Coach
Mike Gundy
Elo
1720 +139 this season
SP+ rating
17.2 No. 12 of 130; offense No. 53, defense No. 4
SRS
14.0 No. 8 of 130 in FBS
Returning
51% of last season’s EPA, No. 101 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 39 roster talent No. 54 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Kasey Dunn
Defensive coordinator
Jim Knowles
Offense
Spread option
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense69th of 130
  • Defense3rd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted69th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted3rd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1444%1.1969th of 130
Defense-0.0635%1.253rd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.14 off
-0.06 def		45% off
34% def		—69th off
3rd 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
Offense4.0own 3115% allowed
Defense2.7own 2621% caused

CORE rating 25.8, 4th of 130 (offense 1.6, defense -24.1).

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 yardsSpencer Sanders QB2,839 yds
Passing touchdownsSpencer Sanders QB20 TD
Rushing yardsJaylen Warren RB1,216 yds
Rushing touchdownsJaylen Warren RB11 TD
Receiving yardsDavontavean Martin WR1,046 yds
Receiving touchdownsDavontavean Martin WR10 TD
TacklesMalcolm Rodriguez LB129 tkl
SacksCollin Oliver LB11.5 sacks
InterceptionsKolby Peel S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Kendal Daniels S★★★★No. 101
Aden Kelley DL★★★★No. 309
Bryson Green WR★★★No. 432
Collin Oliver LB★★★No. 439
Ty Williams S★★★No. 441

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs13.00.858
Receivers43.00.871
Offensive line13.00.852
Defensive line23.50.861
Linebackers23.00.876
Defensive backs53.20.892
Athletes and specialists33.00.859
Whole class183.10.872

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 6Malcolm Rodriguez ILBDetroit Lions
Rd 6Devin Harper ILBDallas Cowboys
Rd 7Christian Holmes CBWashington Commanders

Roster 112

The 2021 roster

112 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 74 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 5

The 2021 portal
Jaylen Warren RB★★★from Utah State
Danny Godlevske OL★★★from Miami (OH)
Chandler Anthony OT★★★from North Texas
Trey Rucker S★★★from Wake Forest
Davontavean Martin WR★★★from Washington State

Transfers out 8

Jelani Woods TE★★★to Virginia
Deondrick Glass RB★★★no new school on file
Bryce Bray OL★★★to Tulsa
Jacob Farrell OT★★★to North Texas
Dee Anderson WR★★★★to Alabama A&M
Amadou Fofana DL★★★no new school on file
Trent Pullen OL★★★no new school on file
Landon Wolf WRno new school on file

All-Big 12

7 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2021 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2021 Big 12 standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma State8–⁠112–⁠27
Baylor7–⁠212–⁠25
Oklahoma7–⁠211–⁠210
Iowa State5–⁠47–⁠6
Kansas State4–⁠58–⁠5
West Virginia4–⁠56–⁠7
Texas Tech3–⁠67–⁠6
Texas3–⁠65–⁠7
TCU3–⁠65–⁠7
Kansas1–⁠82–⁠10

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