2021 SMU
8–4 (4–4 American Athletic Conference), coached by Sonny Dykes. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Abilene Christian 56–9Sep 4
By 47 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingBeat Louisiana Tech 39–37Sep 18
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4 | vs Abilene Christian | W 56–9 | 89% |
| Sep 11 | vs North Texas | W 35–12 | 75% |
| Sep 18 | at Louisiana Tech | W 39–37 | 54% |
| Sep 25 | at TCU | W 42–34 | 43% |
| Oct 2 | vs South Florida | W 41–17 | 83% |
| Oct 9 | at Navy | W 31–24 | 70% |
| Oct 21 | vs Tulane | W 55–26 | 80% |
| Oct 30 | at Houston | L 37–44 | 49% |
| Nov 6 | at Memphis | L 25–28 | 52% |
| Nov 13 | vs UCF | W 55–28 | 56% |
| Nov 20 | at 3Cincinnati | L 14–48 | 24% |
| Nov 27 | vs Tulsa | L 31–34 | 72% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Tulsa 34–31; unranked in the final AP poll; 6th in the American Athletic Conference.
In program history: The 26th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 110 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 6: 24
- Wk 7: 23
- Wk 8: 21
- Wk 9: 19
- Wk 10: 23
- Record
- 8–4
- Conference
- 4–4 6th in American Athletic Conference
- AP final
- Unranked peak No. 19
- Points
- 461–341
- Coach
- Sonny Dykes
- Elo
- 1596 +48 this season
- SP+ rating
- 8.9 No. 44 of 130; offense No. 18, defense No. 69
- SRS
- 7.4 No. 34 of 130 in FBS
- Returning
- 46% of last season’s EPA, No. 112 of 128
- Recruiting class
- No. 53 roster talent No. 63 in FBS
- Offensive coordinators
- Garrett Riley and A.J. Ricker
- Defensive coordinator
- Jim Leavitt
- Offense
- Air raid
- Defense
- 3–4
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.23 | 46% | 1.35 | 27th of 130 |
| Defense | 0.17 | 40% | 1.43 | 83rd of 130 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.20 off 0.17 def | 46% off 41% def | — | 32nd off 93rd 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 4.4 | own 32 | 14% allowed |
| Defense | 4.2 | own 29 | 16% caused |
CORE rating 5.5, 47th of 130 (offense 5.3, defense -0.2).
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 yards | Tanner Mordecai QB | 3,628 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Tanner Mordecai QB | 39 TD |
| Rushing yards | Tre Siggers RB | 727 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Tre Siggers RB | 9 TD |
| Receiving yards | Danny Gray WR | 803 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Danny Gray WR | 9 TD |
| Tackles | Delano Robinson LB | 78 tkl |
| Sacks | DeVere Levelston DT | 6.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | Isaac Slade-Matautia LB | 2 INT |
Top recruits in the 2021 class
| Preston Stone QB | ★★★★ | No. 111 |
| Isaiah Nwokobia S | ★★★ | No. 493 |
| Dylan Goffney WR | ★★★ | No. 511 |
| Je’lin Samuels DE | ★★★ | No. 666 |
| Roderick Daniels Jr. WR | ★★★ | No. 729 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2021 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 4.0 | 0.950 |
| Running backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.862 |
| Receivers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.861 |
| Defensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.858 |
| Linebackers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.838 |
| Defensive backs | 3 | 3.0 | 0.857 |
| Athletes and specialists | 1 | 3.0 | 0.815 |
| Whole class | 17 | 3.1 | 0.858 |
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 3 | Danny Gray WR | San Francisco 49ers |
| Rd 6 | Grant Calcaterra TE | Philadelphia Eagles |
Roster 125
The 2021 roster125 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 14
The 2021 portal Tanner Mordecai DUAL | ★★★ | from  Oklahoma |
 Grant Calcaterra TE | ★★★ | from Oklahoma |
 Isaac Slade-Matautia LB | ★★★ | from  Oregon |
 Charles Woods CB | ★★★ | from  Illinois State |
| Tre Siggers RB | ★★★ | from  North Texas |
 Thalen Robinson OT | ★★★ | from  Missouri |
 Jahari Rogers CB | ★★★★ | from  Florida |
 Stephon Wright DL | ★★★★ | from  Arizona State |
| Jordan Kerley WR | ★★★ | from Arizona State |
 Justin Osborne OT | ★★★ | from  Auburn |
| Nolan Matthews TE | ★★★ | from Arizona State |
 Simon Gonzalez TE | ★★★ | from  Texas Tech |
And 2 more, lower-rated or unrated.
Transfers out 9
 Kedrick James TE | ★★★★ | no new school on file |
| Carson Welch QB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Demetri Jordan OL | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Eric Sutton CB | ★★★ | to  Texas State |
| TaMerik Williams RB | ★★★ | to  North Dakota State |
| William Brown WR | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Justin Guy-Robinson CB | ★★ | no new school on file |
| Terry Keys III CB | ★★ | no new school on file |
| Terrance Gipson DUAL | to Blinn College |
2021 American Athletic Conference standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati | 8–0 | 13–1 | 4 |
| Houston | 8–0 | 12–2 | 17 |
| UCF | 5–3 | 9–4 | |
 East Carolina | 5–3 | 7–5 | |
| Tulsa | 5–3 | 7–6 | |
| SMU | 4–4 | 8–4 | |
| Memphis | 3–5 | 6–6 | |
| Navy | 3–5 | 4–8 | |
 Temple | 1–7 | 3–9 | |
| Tulane | 1–7 | 2–10 | |
| South Florida | 1–7 | 2–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.