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2021 San Diego State

12–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Mountain West Conference), coached by Brady Hoke, finished No. 25 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

San Diego State in 2021, game by game: won vs. New Mexico State 28–10; won at Arizona 38–14; won vs. Utah 33–31; won vs. Towson 48–21; won vs. New Mexico 31–7; won at San José State 19–13; won at Air Force 20–14; lost vs. Fresno State 20–30; won at Hawai’i 17–10; won vs. Nevada 23–21; won at UNLV 28–20; won vs. Boise State 27–16; lost vs. Utah State 13–46; won vs. No. 24 UTSA 38–24+27−33Won 28–10 vs. New Mexico State+18New Mexico StateWon 38–14 at Arizona+24ArizonaWon 33–31 vs. Utah+2UtahWon 48–21 vs. Towson+27TowsonWon 31–7 vs. New Mexico+24New MexicoWon 19–13 at San José State+6San José StateWon 20–14 at Air Force+6Air ForceLost 20–30 vs. Fresno State-10Fresno StateWon 17–10 at Hawai’i+7Hawai’iWon 23–21 vs. Nevada+2NevadaWon 28–20 at UNLV+8UNLVWon 27–16 vs. Boise State+11Boise StateLost 13–46 vs. Utah State-33Utah StateWon 38–24 vs. No. 24 UTSA+14No. 24 UTSA
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsNew Mexico StateW 28–⁠1081%
Sep 11atArizonaW 38–⁠1464%
Sep 18vsUtahW 33–⁠3156%
Sep 25vsTowsonW 48–⁠2184%
Oct 9vsNew MexicoW 31–⁠783%
Oct 15atSan José StateW 19–⁠1358%
Oct 23atAir ForceW 20–⁠1438%
Oct 30vsFresno StateL 20–⁠3068%
Nov 6atHawai’iW 17–⁠1063%
Nov 13vsNevadaW 23–⁠2160%
Nov 19atUNLVW 28–⁠2078%
Nov 26vsBoise StateW 27–⁠1654%
Dec 4vsUtah StateMountain West Championship GameL 13–⁠4674%
Dec 21Bowls & playoffvs24UTSAFrisco BowlW 38–⁠2449%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat UTSA 38–⁠24 in the Frisco Bowl; No. 25 in the final AP poll; first in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 8th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 86 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 6: 25
  2. Wk 7: 24
  3. Wk 8: 22
  4. Wk 9: 21
  5. Wk 12: 23
  6. Wk 13: 22
  7. Wk 14: 19
  8. Final: 25

MW West champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Ray Guy AwardMatt Araiza, P

Consensus All-AmericanMatt Araiza, P

Record
12–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 first in Mountain West Conference
AP final
No. 25 peak No. 19
Points
383–⁠277
Coach
Brady Hoke
Elo
1631 +93 this season
SP+ rating
8.3 No. 50 of 130; offense No. 92, defense No. 12
SRS
3.7 No. 52 of 130 in FBS
Returning
86% of last season’s EPA, No. 37 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 62 roster talent No. 95 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Jeff Hecklinski
Defensive coordinator
Kurt Mattix
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense98th of 130
  • Defense10th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted98th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted14th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0739%1.1898th of 130
Defense-0.0136%1.2110th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.09 off
0.03 def		40% off
37% def		—98th off
14th 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
Offense3.6own 3115% allowed
Defense3.5own 2620% caused

CORE rating 10.7, 29th of 130 (offense -5.3, defense -16.0).

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 yardsLucas Johnson QB1,424 yds
Passing touchdownsLucas Johnson QB12 TD
Rushing yardsGreg Bell RB1,100 yds
Rushing touchdownsGreg Bell RB9 TD
Receiving yardsJesse Matthews WR657 yds
Receiving touchdownsJesse Matthews WR9 TD
TacklesPatrick McMorris DB90 tkl
SacksCameron Thomas DL11.5 sacks
InterceptionsPatrick McMorris DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Josh Simmons OL★★★★No. 342
Noah Avinger CB★★★No. 600
Ross Ulugalu-Maseuli OL★★★No. 1017
C.J. Baskerville S★★★No. 1073
Zyrus Fiaseu LB★★★No. 1219

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.827
Running backs13.00.839
Receivers53.00.828
Offensive line43.30.846
Defensive line33.00.826
Linebackers43.00.837
Defensive backs53.00.846
Athletes and specialists12.00.784
Whole class253.00.834

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 3Cameron Thomas DEArizona Cardinals
Rd 4Daniel Bellinger TENew York Giants
Rd 6Matt Araiza PBuffalo Bills
Rd 6Zachary Thomas OTChicago Bears

Roster 98

The 2021 roster

98 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 58 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 2

The 2021 portal
Tyrell Shavers WR★★★from Mississippi State
Jalen Mayden DUAL★★★★from Mississippi State

Transfers out 9

Carson Baker QB★★★no new school on file
Eric Wilson CB★★★no new school on file
Jeffrey Blake LB★★★to New Mexico
Kaelin Himphill LB★★★no new school on file
Kobah Fuamatu LB★★★no new school on file
Nolan Givan TE★★★no new school on file
Zidane Thomas RB★★★no new school on file
Charlie Rogers TE★★to San José State
Mark Salazar QB★★no new school on file

2021 Mountain West Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
San Diego State7–⁠112–⁠225
Utah State6–⁠211–⁠324
Fresno State6–⁠210–⁠3
Air Force6–⁠210–⁠3
Nevada5–⁠38–⁠5
Boise State5–⁠37–⁠5
Hawai’i3–⁠56–⁠7
San José State3–⁠55–⁠7
Wyoming2–⁠67–⁠6
Colorado State2–⁠63–⁠9
UNLV2–⁠62–⁠10
New Mexico1–⁠73–⁠9

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