2021 Old Dominion

6–⁠7 (5–⁠3 Conference USA), coached by Ricky Rahne.

Schedule and results

Old Dominion in 2021, game by game: lost at Wake Forest 10–42; won vs. Hampton 47–7; lost at Liberty 17–45; lost vs. Buffalo 34–35; lost at UTEP 21–28; lost at Marshall 13–20; lost vs. Western Kentucky 20–43; won vs. Louisiana Tech 23–20; won at Florida International 47–24; won vs. Florida Atlantic 30–16; won at Middle Tennessee 24–17; won vs. Charlotte 56–34; lost vs. Tulsa 17–30+40−32Lost 10–42 at Wake Forest-32Wake ForestWon 47–7 vs. Hampton+40HamptonLost 17–45 at Liberty-28LibertyLost 34–35 vs. Buffalo-1BuffaloLost 21–28 at UTEP-7UTEPLost 13–20 at Marshall-7MarshallLost 20–43 vs. Western Kentucky-23Western KentuckyWon 23–20 vs. Louisiana Tech+3Louisiana TechWon 47–24 at Florida International+23Florida Interna…Won 30–16 vs. Florida Atlantic+14Florida AtlanticWon 24–17 at Middle Tennessee+7Middle TennesseeWon 56–34 vs. Charlotte+22CharlotteLost 17–30 vs. Tulsa-13Tulsa
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Tulsa 30–⁠17 in the Myrtle Beach Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 9th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 17 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
359–⁠361
Coach
Ricky Rahne
Elo
1416 +83 this season
SP+ rating
-7.4 No. 99 of 130; offense No. 107, defense No. 81
SRS
−6.6 No. 95 of 130 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 100 roster talent No. 104 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Kirk Campbell
Defensive coordinator
Blake Seiler
Offense
Pro spread
Defense
3–⁠2–⁠6

How good, play by play

  • Offense102nd of 130
  • Defense36th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted119th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted59th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0540%1.28102nd of 130
Defense0.0942%1.2636th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.12 def
39% off
43% def
—119th off
59th 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
Offense3.3own 3018% allowed
Defense3.4own 3014% caused

CORE rating -5.4, 89th of 130 (offense -7.2, defense -1.8).

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 yardsHayden Wolff QB1,933 yds
Passing touchdownsHayden Wolff QB10 TD
Rushing yardsBlake Watson RB1,112 yds
Rushing touchdownsBlake Watson RB8 TD
Receiving yardsAli Jennings WR1,066 yds
Receiving touchdownsAli Jennings WR5 TD
TacklesJordan Young LB93 tkl
SacksMarcus Haynes DE4.5 sacks
InterceptionsJoe Joe Headen S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Jalen McCain CB★★★No. 1284
Chris Adams OT★★★No. 1405
Jordan Bly WR★★★No. 1491
Curtis Nixon TE★★★No. 1687
Jahaad Scales S★★★No. 1704

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.807
Running backs13.00.811
Receivers33.00.829
Offensive line43.00.815
Defensive line13.00.814
Linebackers33.00.819
Defensive backs42.80.823
Athletes and specialists12.00.791
Whole class182.90.818

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 107

The 2021 roster

107 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 73 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 7

The 2021 portal
Darriel Mack QB★★★from UCF
Trey Blount WR★★★from Georgia
Zack Kuntz TE★★★★from Penn State
Ali Jennings WR★★★from West Virginia
D’Vion Harris DE★★★from Minnesota
Tyran Hunt OT★★★from Maryland
Robert Kennedy S★★from East Carolina

Transfers out 14

Keion White WDE★★★to Georgia Tech
Kaleb Ford-Dement CB★★★to Washington State
Jeremy Meiser DL★★★to Northwestern
Adrian Spellman DE★★★no new school on file
Devin Lester WR★★★no new school on file
Eric Kumah WR★★★no new school on file
Jorell Baum DE★★★no new school on file
Messiah DeWeaver QB★★★no new school on file
Andrew Lawson OL★★no new school on file
Cameron Washington DL★★no new school on file
James Valle III DE★★no new school on file
Juwan Ross DL★★to East Tennessee State

And 2 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2021 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UTSA7–⁠112–⁠2
Western Kentucky7–⁠19–⁠5
UAB6–⁠29–⁠4
Marshall5–⁠37–⁠6
North Texas5–⁠36–⁠7
Old Dominion5–⁠36–⁠7
Middle Tennessee4–⁠47–⁠6
UTEP4–⁠47–⁠6
Charlotte3–⁠55–⁠7
Florida Atlantic3–⁠55–⁠7
Rice3–⁠54–⁠8
Southern Miss2–⁠63–⁠9
Louisiana Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
Florida International0–⁠81–⁠11

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