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2021 Rutgers

5–⁠8 (2–⁠7 Big Ten), coached by Greg Schiano.

Schedule and results

Rutgers in 2021, game by game: won vs. Temple 61–14; won at Syracuse 17–7; won vs. Delaware 45–13; lost at No. 19 Michigan 13–20; lost vs. No. 11 Ohio State 13–52; lost vs. No. 11 Michigan State 13–31; lost at Northwestern 7–21; won at Illinois 20–14; lost vs. Wisconsin 3–52; won at Indiana 38–3; lost at Penn State 0–28; lost vs. Maryland 16–40; lost vs. No. 20 Wake Forest 10–38+47−49Won 61–14 vs. Temple+47TempleWon 17–7 at Syracuse+10SyracuseWon 45–13 vs. Delaware+32DelawareLost 13–20 at No. 19 Michigan-7No. 19 MichiganLost 13–52 vs. No. 11 Ohio State-39No. 11 Ohio StateLost 13–31 vs. No. 11 Michigan State-18No. 11 Michigan StateLost 7–21 at Northwestern-14NorthwesternWon 20–14 at Illinois+6IllinoisLost 3–52 vs. Wisconsin-49WisconsinWon 38–3 at Indiana+35IndianaLost 0–28 at Penn State-28Penn StateLost 16–40 vs. Maryland-24MarylandLost 10–38 vs. No. 20 Wake Forest-28No. 20 Wake Forest
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsTempleW 61–⁠1456%
Sep 11atSyracuseW 17–⁠742%
Sep 18vsDelawareW 45–⁠1364%
Sep 25at19MichiganL 13–⁠2029%
Oct 2vs11Ohio StateL 13–⁠5227%
Oct 9vs11Michigan StateL 13–⁠3140%
Oct 16atNorthwesternL 7–⁠2135%
Oct 30atIllinoisW 20–⁠1444%
Nov 6vsWisconsinL 3–⁠5232%
Nov 13atIndianaW 38–⁠335%
Nov 20atPenn StateL 0–⁠2823%
Nov 27vsMarylandL 16–⁠4062%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs20Wake ForestGator BowlL 10–⁠3824%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Wake Forest 38–⁠10 in the Gator Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 11th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 85th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 152 on file).

Record
5–⁠8
Conference
2–⁠7 11th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
256–⁠333
Coach
Greg Schiano
Elo
1406 −7 this season
SP+ rating
-3.0 No. 88 of 130; offense No. 109, defense No. 46
SRS
−2.0 No. 80 of 130 in FBS
Returning
93% of last season’s EPA, No. 17 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 41 roster talent No. 64 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Sean Gleeson
Defensive coordinator
Robb Smith
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense126th of 130
  • Defense84th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted125th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted85th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0439%1.03126th of 130
Defense0.1739%1.4084th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.03 off
0.16 def		40% off
39% def		—125th off
85th 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
Offense3.4own 3017% allowed
Defense3.5own 2717% caused

CORE rating -21.5, 119th of 130 (offense -15.8, defense 5.7).

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 yardsNoah Vedral QB1,813 yds
Passing touchdownsNoah Vedral QB7 TD
Rushing yardsIsaih Pacheco RB647 yds
Rushing touchdownsAaron Young RB5 TD
Receiving yardsBo Melton WR618 yds
Receiving touchdownsBo Melton WR3 TD
TacklesOlakunle Fatukasi LB81 tkl
SacksMohamed Toure LB4.5 sacks
InterceptionsMax Melton DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Gavin Wimsatt QB★★★★No. 205
Alijah Clark CB★★★★No. 264
Khayri Banton LB★★★★No. 266
Jordan Thompson ATH★★★No. 592
Carnell Davis WR★★★No. 600

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.920
Running backs13.00.861
Receivers33.00.856
Offensive line33.00.848
Defensive line53.00.858
Linebackers23.50.868
Defensive backs33.30.877
Athletes and specialists42.80.845
Whole class223.10.860

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 7Bo Melton WRSeattle Seahawks
Rd 7Isaih Pacheco RBKansas City Chiefs

Roster 122

The 2021 roster

122 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 64 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 6

The 2021 portal
Joshua Youngblood WR★★★from Kansas State
Patrice Rene CB★★★from North Carolina
Ifeanyi Maijeh DT★★★from Temple
David Nwaogwugwu OT★★★from Temple
Christian Braswell CB★★from Temple
Brandon Sanders WRfrom Bucknell

Transfers out 16

Artur Sitkowski QB★★★to Illinois
Brayden Fox WR★★★to Toledo
Devin Baldwin SDE★★★to Massachusetts
Donald Williams CB★★★no new school on file
Elorm Lumor DE★★★to Towson
Everett Wormley WR★★★to Central Connecticut
Jack del Rio LB★★★no new school on file
Jaohne Duggan DL★★★to Duquesne
Jarrett Paul S★★★no new school on file
Kay’Ron Adams RB★★★to Massachusetts
Matt Thomas DL★★★to Rhode Island
Paul Woods WR★★★no new school on file

And 4 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-Big Ten

1 first team

First 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 Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan8–⁠112–⁠23
Ohio State8–⁠111–⁠26
Michigan State7–⁠211–⁠29
Iowa7–⁠210–⁠423
Wisconsin6–⁠39–⁠4
Minnesota6–⁠39–⁠4
Purdue6–⁠39–⁠4
Penn State4–⁠57–⁠6
Illinois4–⁠55–⁠7
Maryland3–⁠67–⁠6
Rutgers2–⁠75–⁠8
Northwestern1–⁠83–⁠9
Nebraska1–⁠83–⁠9
Indiana0–⁠92–⁠10

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