CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2021 Stanford

3–⁠9 (2–⁠7 Pac-12), coached by David Shaw.

Schedule and results

Stanford in 2021, game by game: lost vs. Kansas State 7–24; won at No. 14 USC 42–28; won at Vanderbilt 41–23; lost vs. No. 24 UCLA 24–35; won vs. No. 3 Oregon 31–24; lost at No. 22 Arizona State 10–28; lost at Washington State 31–34; lost vs. Washington 13–20; lost vs. Utah 7–52; lost at Oregon State 14–35; lost vs. California 11–41; lost vs. No. 5 Notre Dame 14–45+18−45Lost 7–24 vs. Kansas State-17Kansas StateWon 42–28 at No. 14 USC+14No. 14 USCWon 41–23 at Vanderbilt+18VanderbiltLost 24–35 vs. No. 24 UCLA-11No. 24 UCLAWon 31–24 vs. No. 3 Oregon+7No. 3 OregonLost 10–28 at No. 22 Arizona State-18No. 22 Arizona StateLost 31–34 at Washington State-3Washington StateLost 13–20 vs. Washington-7WashingtonLost 7–52 vs. Utah-45UtahLost 14–35 at Oregon State-21Oregon StateLost 11–41 vs. California-30CaliforniaLost 14–45 vs. No. 5 Notre Dame-31No. 5 Notre Dame
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsKansas StateL 7–⁠2453%
Sep 11at14USCW 42–⁠2826%
Sep 18atVanderbiltW 41–⁠2369%
Sep 25vs24UCLAL 24–⁠3558%
Oct 2vs3OregonW 31–⁠2438%
Oct 8at22Arizona StateL 10–⁠2834%
Oct 16atWashington StateL 31–⁠3445%
Oct 30vsWashingtonL 13–⁠2054%
Nov 5vsUtahL 7–⁠5237%
Nov 13atOregon StateL 14–⁠3537%
Nov 20vsCaliforniaL 11–⁠4155%
Nov 27vs5Notre DameL 14–⁠4515%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Notre Dame 45–⁠14; unranked in the final AP poll; 11th in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 95th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 109 on file).

Wuerffel TrophyIsaiah Sanders, QB

Record
3–⁠9
Conference
2–⁠7 11th in Pac-12
AP final
Unranked
Points
245–⁠389
Coach
David Shaw
Elo
1389 −124 this season
SP+ rating
-10.2 No. 105 of 130; offense No. 104, defense No. 107
SRS
−5.8 No. 94 of 130 in FBS
Returning
40% of last season’s EPA, No. 115 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 51 roster talent No. 24 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Tavita Pritchard
Defensive coordinator
Lance Anderson
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense88th of 130
  • Defense114th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted83rd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted109th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0839%1.3588th of 130
Defense0.2750%1.20114th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.11 off
0.22 def		40% off
47% def		—83rd off
109th 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
Offense3.2own 3020% allowed
Defense4.0own 2813% caused

CORE rating -10.9, 103rd of 130 (offense -6.9, defense 4.0).

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 yardsTanner McKee QB2,327 yds
Passing touchdownsTanner McKee QB15 TD
Rushing yardsNathaniel Peat RB404 yds
Rushing touchdownsTanner McKee QB4 TD
Receiving yardsBen Yurosek TE653 yds
Receiving touchdownsBrycen Tremayne WR5 TD
TacklesLevani Damuni LB86 tkl
SacksStephen Herron DL3 sacks
InterceptionsJonathan McGill S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Wilfredo Aybar DE★★★★No. 154
Aaron Armitage DL★★★★No. 213
Ari Patu QB★★★No. 405
Austin Uke OT★★★No. 476
Mitch Leigber S★★★No. 493

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.889
Running backs13.00.849
Receivers23.00.863
Offensive line43.00.852
Defensive line53.40.875
Linebackers13.00.870
Defensive backs43.00.870
Athletes and specialists13.00.823
Whole class193.10.864

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 5Thomas Booker DTHouston Texans

Roster 107

The 2021 roster

107 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 62 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 0

The 2021 portal

No transfers in.

Transfers out 2

Stuart Head S★★★to App State
Dylan Boles DL★★to Northern Iowa

2021 Pac-12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Utah8–⁠110–⁠412
Oregon7–⁠210–⁠422
UCLA6–⁠38–⁠4
Arizona State6–⁠38–⁠5
Washington State6–⁠37–⁠6
Oregon State5–⁠47–⁠6
California4–⁠55–⁠7
USC3–⁠64–⁠8
Washington3–⁠64–⁠8
Colorado3–⁠64–⁠8
Stanford2–⁠73–⁠9
Arizona1–⁠81–⁠11

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