2021 Southern Miss
3–9 (2–6 Conference USA), coached by Will Hall. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Grambling 37–0Sep 11
By 37 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to South Alabama 7–31Sep 4
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4 | at South Alabama | L 7–31 | 47% |
| Sep 11 | vs Grambling | W 37–0 | 76% |
| Sep 18 | vs Troy | L 9–21 | 47% |
| Sep 25 | at 1Alabama | L 14–63 | 7% |
| Oct 2 | at Rice | L 19–24 | 44% |
| Oct 9 | vs UTEP | L 13–26 | 51% |
| Oct 16 | vs UAB | L 0–34 | 27% |
| Oct 30 | at Middle Tennessee | L 10–35 | 28% |
| Nov 6 | vs North Texas | L 14–38 | 53% |
| Nov 13 | at 15UTSA | L 17–27 | 9% |
| Nov 19 | at Louisiana Tech | W 35–19 | 25% |
| Nov 27 | vs Florida International | W 37–17 | 72% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat Florida International 37–17; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 12th in the Conference USA.
In program history: The 67th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 90 on file).
- Record
- 3–9
- Conference
- 2–6 tied for 12th in Conference USA
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 212–335
- Coach
- Will Hall
- Elo
- 1345 −95 this season
- SP+ rating
- -14.2 No. 116 of 130; offense No. 128, defense No. 89
- SRS
- −16.2 No. 122 of 130 in FBS
- Returning
- 48% of last season’s EPA, No. 107 of 128
- Recruiting class
- No. 124 roster talent No. 85 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Sam Gregg
- Defensive coordinator
- Austin Armstrong
- Offense
- Multiple
- Defense
- 3–3–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.07 | 34% | 1.30 | 128th of 130 |
| Defense | 0.18 | 42% | 1.40 | 86th of 130 |
| Opponent-adjusted | -0.02 off 0.18 def | 35% off 44% def | — | 132nd off 99th 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 | 2.7 | own 30 | 24% allowed |
| Defense | 2.8 | own 29 | 18% caused |
CORE rating -19.4, 118th of 130 (offense -16.6, defense 2.8).
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 yards | Jake Lange QB | 843 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Jake Lange QB | 5 TD |
| Rushing yards | Frank Gore Jr. RB | 801 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Frank Gore Jr. RB | 5 TD |
| Receiving yards | Jason Brownlee WR | 643 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Jason Brownlee WR | 8 TD |
| Tackles | Malik Shorts DB | 89 tkl |
| Sacks | Joshua Carr Jr. LB | 4 sacks |
| Interceptions | Eric Scott DB | 2 INT |
Top recruits in the 2021 class
| Ty Keyes QB | ★★★ | No. 583 |
| Jay Jones CB | ★★★ | No. 894 |
| Chandler Pittman ATH | ★★★ | No. 1325 |
| Zay Franks WR | ★★★ | No. 1439 |
| Brendan Toles CB | ★★★ | No. 1471 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2021 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.875 |
| Receivers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.824 |
| Offensive line | 1 | 2.0 | 0.797 |
| Defensive backs | 2 | 3.0 | 0.850 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 3.0 | 0.824 |
| Whole class | 9 | 2.9 | 0.833 |
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 117
The 2021 roster117 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 66 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 7
The 2021 portal Briason Mays OL | ★★★ | from  West Virginia |
 Tee Webb QB | ★★★ | from  Louisville |
 DaShawn Crawford DL | ★★★ | from  Virginia Tech |
 Everitt Cunningham WDE | ★★★ | from  Memphis |
 Jay Stanley S | ★★★ | from  Ole Miss |
| Lakevias Daniel CB | ★★★ | from Ole Miss |
 Montra Edwards DL | ★★★ | from  Missouri |
Transfers out 14
 Jack Abraham QB | ★★★ | to  Mississippi State |
| Freddie Hartz DL | ★★★ | returned to  Southern Miss |
| Jacques Turner DL | ★★★ | to Louisville |
| Marquis McCoy WR | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Shannon Carswell DL | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Steven Anderson RB | ★★★ | to  Tulsa |
| Trivenskey Mosley RB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Tyler Kennedy WR | ★★★ | returned to Southern Miss |
| WyDale Flott CB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Garrett Crawford DE | ★★ | to  SE Louisiana |
| Kevin Perkins RB | ★★ | no new school on file |
| Shannon Showers S | ★★ | to  West Florida |
And 2 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2021 Conference USA standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| UTSA | 7–1 | 12–2 | |
 Western Kentucky | 7–1 | 9–5 | |
| UAB | 6–2 | 9–4 | |
 Marshall | 5–3 | 7–6 | |
| North Texas | 5–3 | 6–7 | |
 Old Dominion | 5–3 | 6–7 | |
| Middle Tennessee | 4–4 | 7–6 | |
| UTEP | 4–4 | 7–6 | |
 Charlotte | 3–5 | 5–7 | |
 Florida Atlantic | 3–5 | 5–7 | |
| Rice | 3–5 | 4–8 | |
| Southern Miss | 2–6 | 3–9 | |
| Louisiana Tech | 2–6 | 3–9 | |
| Florida International | 0–8 | 1–11 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.