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2021 Temple

3–⁠9 (1–⁠7 American Athletic Conference), coached by Rod Carey.

Schedule and results

Temple in 2021, game by game: lost at Rutgers 14–61; won at Akron 45–24; lost vs. Boston College 3–28; won vs. Wagner 41–7; won vs. Memphis 34–31; lost at No. 5 Cincinnati 3–52; lost at South Florida 14–34; lost vs. UCF 7–49; lost at East Carolina 3–45; lost vs. No. 17 Houston 8–37; lost at Tulsa 10–44; lost vs. Navy 14–38+34−49Lost 14–61 at Rutgers-47RutgersWon 45–24 at Akron+21AkronLost 3–28 vs. Boston College-25Boston CollegeWon 41–7 vs. Wagner+34WagnerWon 34–31 vs. Memphis+3MemphisLost 3–52 at No. 5 Cincinnati-49No. 5 CincinnatiLost 14–34 at South Florida-20South FloridaLost 7–49 vs. UCF-42UCFLost 3–45 at East Carolina-42East CarolinaLost 8–37 vs. No. 17 Houston-29No. 17 HoustonLost 10–44 at Tulsa-34TulsaLost 14–38 vs. Navy-24Navy
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4atRutgersL 14–⁠6144%
Sep 11atAkronW 45–⁠2452%
Sep 18vsBoston CollegeL 3–⁠2841%
Sep 25vsWagnerW 41–⁠784%
Oct 2vsMemphisW 34–⁠3131%
Oct 8at5CincinnatiL 3–⁠5211%
Oct 23atSouth FloridaL 14–⁠3450%
Oct 30vsUCFL 7–⁠4930%
Nov 6atEast CarolinaL 3–⁠4527%
Nov 13vs17HoustonL 8–⁠3722%
Nov 20atTulsaL 10–⁠4423%
Nov 27vsNavyL 14–⁠3848%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Navy 38–⁠14; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 74th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 92 on file).

Record
3–⁠9
Conference
1–⁠7 tied for 9th in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
196–⁠450
Coach
Rod Carey
Elo
1292 −137 this season
SP+ rating
-19.1 No. 121 of 130; offense No. 123, defense No. 111
SRS
−20.9 No. 126 of 130 in FBS
Returning
45% of last season’s EPA, No. 113 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 105 roster talent No. 79 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mike Uremovich
Defensive coordinator
Jeff Knowles
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense125th of 130
  • Defense110th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted130th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted118th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0335%1.24125th of 130
Defense0.2549%1.21110th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.01 off
0.25 def		36% off
49% def		—130th off
118th 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
Offense2.8own 2716% allowed
Defense5.0own 3416% caused

CORE rating -22.7, 121st of 130 (offense -10.8, defense 12.0).

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 yardsD’Wan Mathis WR1,223 yds
Passing touchdownsD’Wan Mathis WR6 TD
Rushing yardsEdward Saydee RB330 yds
Rushing touchdownsEdward Saydee RB3 TD
Receiving yardsRandle Jones WR476 yds
Receiving touchdownsRandle Jones WR3 TD
TacklesAmir Tyler S69 tkl
SacksDarian Varner DE3 sacks
InterceptionsJalen Ware S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Corey Cuascut-Palmer WR★★★No. 1183
Jordan Laudato DL★★★No. 1310
Justin Lynch QB★★★No. 1491
Jaden Coffen ATH★★★No. 1654
Coleman Jeffcoat WR★★★No. 1654

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.839
Receivers33.00.838
Offensive line23.00.824
Defensive line23.00.825
Linebackers13.00.816
Defensive backs23.00.814
Athletes and specialists13.00.833
Whole class123.00.827

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 108

The 2021 roster

108 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 67 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 11

The 2021 portal
Amad Anderson Jr. WR★★★from Purdue
D’Wan Mathis QB★★★from Georgia
Iverson Clement RB★★★from Florida
Xach Gill DL★★★from North Carolina
Cameron Ruiz CB★★★from Northwestern
Jerquavion Mahone DL★★★from Kentucky
Lancine Turay DL★★★from North Carolina
Ra’Von Bonner RB★★★from Illinois
Will Rodgers III DE★★★from Washington State
Keyshawn Paul CB★★from UConn
Luke Foster OLfrom Presbyterian

Transfers out 18

Arnold Ebiketie DL★★★to Penn State
Ray Davis RB★★★to Vanderbilt
Anthony Russo QB★★★to Michigan State
Vincent Picozzi OL★★★to Colorado State
Ifeanyi Maijeh DT★★★to Rutgers
David Nwaogwugwu OT★★★to Rutgers
Isaiah Graham-Mobley ILB★★★to Boston College
Aaron Jarman TE★★★to East Carolina
Griffin Sestili OL★★★to Western Carolina
Kennique Bonner-Steward QB★★★to Independence C.C.
Khris Banks DT★★★to Boston College
Mahmud Dioubate LB★★★no new school on file

And 6 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2021 American Athletic Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Cincinnati8–⁠013–⁠14
Houston8–⁠012–⁠217
UCF5–⁠39–⁠4
East Carolina5–⁠37–⁠5
Tulsa5–⁠37–⁠6
SMU4–⁠48–⁠4
Memphis3–⁠56–⁠6
Navy3–⁠54–⁠8
Temple1–⁠73–⁠9
Tulane1–⁠72–⁠10
South Florida1–⁠72–⁠10

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