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2021 Oklahoma

11–⁠2 (7–⁠2 Big 12), coached by Lincoln Riley, then Bob Stoops (interim, bowl game), finished No. 10 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Oklahoma in 2021, game by game: won vs. Tulane 40–35; won vs. Western Carolina 76–0; won vs. Nebraska 23–16; won vs. West Virginia 16–13; won at Kansas State 37–31; won vs. No. 21 Texas 55–48; won vs. TCU 52–31; won at Kansas 35–23; won vs. Texas Tech 52–21; lost at No. 18 Baylor 14–27; won vs. Iowa State 28–21; lost at No. 7 Oklahoma State 33–37; won vs. No. 15 Oregon 47–32+76−13Won 40–35 vs. Tulane+5TulaneWon 76–0 vs. Western Carolina+76Western CarolinaWon 23–16 vs. Nebraska+7NebraskaWon 16–13 vs. West Virginia+3West VirginiaWon 37–31 at Kansas State+6Kansas StateWon 55–48 vs. No. 21 Texas+7No. 21 TexasWon 52–31 vs. TCU+21TCUWon 35–23 at Kansas+12KansasWon 52–21 vs. Texas Tech+31Texas TechLost 14–27 at No. 18 Baylor-13No. 18 BaylorWon 28–21 vs. Iowa State+7Iowa StateLost 33–37 at No. 7 Oklahoma State-4No. 7 Oklahoma StateWon 47–32 vs. No. 15 Oregon+15No. 15 Oregon
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsTulaneW 40–⁠3576%
Sep 11vsWestern CarolinaW 76–⁠097%
Sep 18vsNebraskaW 23–⁠1679%
Sep 25vsWest VirginiaW 16–⁠1378%
Oct 2atKansas StateW 37–⁠3165%
Oct 9vs21TexasW 55–⁠4860%
Oct 16vsTCUW 52–⁠3179%
Oct 23atKansasW 35–⁠2391%
Oct 30vsTexas TechW 52–⁠2186%
Nov 13at18BaylorL 14–⁠2766%
Nov 20vsIowa StateW 28–⁠2170%
Nov 27at7Oklahoma StateL 33–⁠3745%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvs15OregonAlamo BowlW 47–⁠3261%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Oregon 47–⁠32 in the Alamo Bowl; No. 10 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big 12.

In program history: The 39th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 2
  2. Wk 2: 4
  3. Wk 3: 3
  4. Wk 4: 4
  5. Wk 5: 6
  6. Wk 6: 6
  7. Wk 7: 4
  8. Wk 8: 3
  9. Wk 9: 4
  10. Wk 10: 4
  11. Wk 11: 4
  12. Wk 12: 12
  13. Wk 13: 10
  14. Wk 14: 13
  15. Wk 15: 14
  16. Final: 10
Record
11–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Big 12
AP final
No. 10 peak No. 2
Points
508–⁠335
Coach
Lincoln Riley, then Bob Stoops (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1742 +59 this season
SP+ rating
16.8 No. 13 of 130; offense No. 3, defense No. 57
SRS
13.4 No. 10 of 130 in FBS
Returning
72% of last season’s EPA, No. 68 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 11 roster talent No. 6 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Cale Gundy and Bill Bedenbaugh
Defensive coordinator
Alex Grinch
Offense
Air raid
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense5th of 130
  • Defense75th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted6th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted58th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2847%1.345th of 130
Defense0.1543%1.3175th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.28 off
0.12 def		48% off
42% def		—6th off
58th 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
Offense4.9own 3115% allowed
Defense3.8own 2818% caused

CORE rating 14.9, 15th of 130 (offense 13.0, defense -1.9).

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 yardsCaleb Williams QB1,912 yds
Passing touchdownsCaleb Williams QB21 TD
Rushing yardsKennedy Brooks RB1,253 yds
Rushing touchdownsKennedy Brooks RB13 TD
Receiving yardsMarvin Mims WR705 yds
Receiving touchdownsJadon Haselwood WR6 TD
TacklesBrian Asamoah LB80 tkl
SacksIsaiah Thomas DL8 sacks
InterceptionsDelarrin Turner-Yell S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Caleb Williams QB★★★★★No. 7
Clayton Smith DE★★★★No. 38
Mario Williams WR★★★★No. 43
Billy Bowman ATH★★★★No. 44
Savion Byrd OL★★★★No. 64
Kelvin Gilliam Jr. DE★★★★No. 107
Cody Jackson WR★★★★No. 110
Jalil Farooq WR★★★★No. 123

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks15.00.997
Receivers34.00.958
Offensive line23.50.927
Defensive line44.00.942
Linebackers23.00.860
Defensive backs34.00.904
Athletes and specialists14.00.980
Whole class163.90.932

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 2Nik Bonitto OLBDenver Broncos
Rd 3Brian Asamoah ILBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 4Perrion Winfrey DTCleveland Browns
Rd 5Delarrin Turner-Yell SDenver Broncos
Rd 6Michael Woods II WRCleveland Browns
Rd 7Isaiah Thomas DECleveland Browns
Rd 7Marquis Hayes OGArizona Cardinals

Roster 114

The 2021 roster

114 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 70 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 10

The 2021 portal
Eric Gray RB★★★★from Tennessee
Wanya Morris OT★★★★from Tennessee
Key Lawrence S★★★★from Tennessee
Kevontre Bradford RB★★★from LSU
Michael Woods II WR★★★from Arkansas
Big Kat Bryant DE★★★from UCF
D.J. Matthews WR★★★from Florida State
Micah Bowens DUAL★★★from Penn State
Robert Congel OG★★★from Arizona
Josh Plaster Pfrom Arizona State

Transfers out 19

Charleston Rambo WR★★★to Miami
Tanner Mordecai DUAL★★★to SMU
Grant Calcaterra TE★★★to SMU
Brendan Radley-Hiles CB★★★to Washington
Jalin Conyers TE★★★to Arizona State
Stacey Wilkins OT★★★to UL Monroe
Robert Barnes S★★★to Colorado
T.J. Pledger RB★★★to Utah
Theo Howard WR★★★to Utah
E.J. Ndoma-Ogar OL★★★to Missouri
Chandler Morris DUAL★★★to TCU
Ryan Jones ILB★★★★to East Carolina

And 7 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-Big 12

2 first team, 10 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

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.