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2021 Syracuse

5–⁠7 (2–⁠6 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Dino Babers.

Schedule and results

Syracuse in 2021, game by game: won at Ohio 29–9; lost vs. Rutgers 7–17; won vs. UAlbany 62–24; won vs. Liberty 24–21; lost at Florida State 30–33; lost vs. No. 19 Wake Forest 37–40; lost vs. Clemson 14–17; won at Virginia Tech 41–36; won vs. Boston College 21–6; lost at Louisville 3–41; lost at No. 25 NC State 17–41; lost vs. No. 20 Pittsburgh 14–31+38−38Won 29–9 at Ohio+20OhioLost 7–17 vs. Rutgers-10RutgersWon 62–24 vs. UAlbany+38UAlbanyWon 24–21 vs. Liberty+3LibertyLost 30–33 at Florida State-3Florida StateLost 37–40 vs. No. 19 Wake Forest-3No. 19 Wake ForestLost 14–17 vs. Clemson-3ClemsonWon 41–36 at Virginia Tech+5Virginia TechWon 21–6 vs. Boston College+15Boston CollegeLost 3–41 at Louisville-38LouisvilleLost 17–41 at No. 25 NC State-24No. 25 NC StateLost 14–31 vs. No. 20 Pittsburgh-17No. 20 Pittsburgh
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4atOhioW 29–⁠926%
Sep 11vsRutgersL 7–⁠1758%
Sep 18vsUAlbanyW 62–⁠2477%
Sep 24vsLibertyW 24–⁠2133%
Oct 2atFlorida StateL 30–⁠3351%
Oct 9vs19Wake ForestL 37–⁠4037%
Oct 15vsClemsonL 14–⁠1724%
Oct 23atVirginia TechW 41–⁠3630%
Oct 30vsBoston CollegeW 21–⁠650%
Nov 13atLouisvilleL 3–⁠4139%
Nov 20at25NC StateL 17–⁠4122%
Nov 27vs20PittsburghL 14–⁠3126%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Pittsburgh 31–⁠14; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 11th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 106th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 11th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
299–⁠316
Coach
Dino Babers
Elo
1427 +26 this season
SP+ rating
0.3 No. 79 of 130; offense No. 81, defense No. 54
SRS
0.2 No. 69 of 130 in FBS
Returning
85% of last season’s EPA, No. 43 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 57 roster talent No. 69 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Sterlin Gilbert
Defensive coordinator
Tony White
Offense
Veer and shoot
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense56th of 130
  • Defense72nd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted52nd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted78th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1641%1.2356th of 130
Defense0.1543%1.2072nd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
0.15 def		43% off
43% def		—52nd off
78th 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
Offense3.7own 2717% allowed
Defense4.0own 3217% caused

CORE rating -1.1, 74th of 130 (offense 1.8, defense 2.9).

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 yardsGarrett Shrader QB1,445 yds
Passing touchdownsGarrett Shrader QB9 TD
Rushing yardsSean Tucker RB1,496 yds
Rushing touchdownsGarrett Shrader QB14 TD
Receiving yardsCourtney Jackson WR389 yds
Receiving touchdownsCourtney Jackson WR3 TD
TacklesMikel Jones LB109 tkl
SacksCody Roscoe DL7.5 sacks
InterceptionsDarian Chestnut DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Duce Chestnut CB★★★No. 413
Enrique Cruz Jr. OT★★★No. 525
Umari Hatcher WR★★★No. 881
Justin Lamson QB★★★No. 937
Oronde Gadsden II WR★★★No. 1017

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.859
Running backs13.00.851
Receivers53.00.847
Offensive line53.00.843
Defensive line43.00.839
Linebackers23.00.848
Defensive backs23.00.871
Whole class203.00.848

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 96

The 2021 roster

96 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 54 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 3

The 2021 portal
Garrett Shrader DUAL★★★from Mississippi State
Cody Shear OL★★★from Arizona State
Jason Simmons Jr. LB★★★from New Mexico State

Transfers out 16

Qadir White OT★★★no new school on file
Aaron Hackett TE★★★to Kent State
Cam Jonas S★★★no new school on file
Cameron Jordan WR★★★no new school on file
Cooper Dawson OT★★★to Charleston Southern
David Summers QB★★★no new school on file
Ed Hendrix WR★★★no new school on file
Jason Munoz DL★★★no new school on file
Jawhar Jordan RB★★★to Louisville
Kevin Lemieux DL★★★no new school on file
Markenzy Pierre RB★★★no new school on file
Nykeim Johnson WR★★★to Kent State

And 4 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2021 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Pittsburgh7–⁠111–⁠313
Wake Forest7–⁠211–⁠315
Clemson6–⁠210–⁠314
NC State6–⁠29–⁠320
Miami5–⁠37–⁠5
Virginia4–⁠46–⁠6
Virginia Tech4–⁠46–⁠7
Louisville4–⁠46–⁠7
Florida State4–⁠45–⁠7
North Carolina4–⁠56–⁠7
Boston College2–⁠66–⁠6
Syracuse2–⁠65–⁠7
Georgia Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
Duke0–⁠83–⁠9

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