CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2021 Texas A&M

8–⁠4 (4–⁠4 Southeastern Conference), coached by Jimbo Fisher.

Schedule and results

Texas A&M in 2021, game by game: won vs. Kent State 41–10; won vs. Colorado 10–7; won vs. New Mexico 34–0; lost vs. No. 16 Arkansas 10–20; lost vs. Mississippi State 22–26; won vs. No. 1 Alabama 41–38; won at Missouri 35–14; won vs. South Carolina 44–14; won vs. No. 12 Auburn 20–3; lost at No. 12 Ole Miss 19–29; won vs. Prairie View A&M 52–3; lost at LSU 24–27+49−10Won 41–10 vs. Kent State+31Kent StateWon 10–7 vs. Colorado+3ColoradoWon 34–0 vs. New Mexico+34New MexicoLost 10–20 vs. No. 16 Arkansas-10No. 16 ArkansasLost 22–26 vs. Mississippi State-4Mississippi Sta…Won 41–38 vs. No. 1 Alabama+3No. 1 AlabamaWon 35–14 at Missouri+21MissouriWon 44–14 vs. South Carolina+30South CarolinaWon 20–3 vs. No. 12 Auburn+17No. 12 AuburnLost 19–29 at No. 12 Ole Miss-10No. 12 Ole MissWon 52–3 vs. Prairie View A&M+49Prairie View A&MLost 24–27 at LSU-3LSU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsKent StateW 41–⁠1078%
Sep 11vsColoradoW 10–⁠774%
Sep 18vsNew MexicoW 34–⁠087%
Sep 25vs16ArkansasL 10–⁠2071%
Oct 2vsMississippi StateL 22–⁠2677%
Oct 9vs1AlabamaW 41–⁠3832%
Oct 16atMissouriW 35–⁠1467%
Oct 23vsSouth CarolinaW 44–⁠1483%
Nov 6vs12AuburnW 20–⁠364%
Nov 13at12Ole MissL 19–⁠2953%
Nov 20vsPrairie View A&MW 52–⁠387%
Nov 27atLSUL 24–⁠2760%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to LSU 27–⁠24; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 25th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 6
  2. Wk 2: 5
  3. Wk 3: 7
  4. Wk 4: 7
  5. Wk 5: 15
  6. Wk 7: 21
  7. Wk 8: 17
  8. Wk 9: 14
  9. Wk 10: 13
  10. Wk 11: 11
  11. Wk 12: 16
  12. Wk 13: 14
  13. Wk 14: 24
  14. Wk 15: 23

2 consensus All-AmericansKenyon Green, OL; DeMarvin Leal, DL

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 5th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 5
Points
352–⁠191
Coach
Jimbo Fisher
Elo
1666 +0 this season
SP+ rating
21.1 No. 6 of 130; offense No. 35, defense No. 7
SRS
11.8 No. 18 of 130 in FBS
Returning
63% of last season’s EPA, No. 84 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 7 roster talent No. 7 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Darrell Dickey
Defensive coordinator
Mike Elko
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense86th of 130
  • Defense4th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted85th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted4th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0943%1.2186th of 130
Defense-0.0437%1.174th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.11 off
-0.03 def		43% off
36% def		—85th off
4th 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
Offense3.9own 2817% allowed
Defense2.2own 2719% caused

CORE rating 15.3, 13th of 130 (offense -4.6, defense -19.9).

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 yardsZach Calzada QB2,185 yds
Passing touchdownsZach Calzada QB17 TD
Rushing yardsIsaiah Spiller RB1,011 yds
Rushing touchdownsDevon Achane RB9 TD
Receiving yardsJalen Wydermyer TE515 yds
Receiving touchdownsAinias Smith WR6 TD
TacklesAaron Hansford LB89 tkl
SacksDeMarvin Leal DL8.5 sacks
InterceptionsJaylon Jones DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Shemar Turner DL★★★★★No. 22
Tunmise Adeleye DL★★★★No. 39
L.J. Johnson Jr. RB★★★★No. 46
Bryce Foster OL★★★★No. 66
Shad Banks Jr. WR★★★★No. 112
Marcus Burris Jr. DL★★★★No. 132
Reuben Fatheree II OT★★★★No. 138
Eli Stowers QB★★★★No. 171

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.927
Running backs24.00.946
Receivers33.30.901
Offensive line53.60.918
Defensive line64.00.939
Defensive backs43.80.901
Athletes and specialists14.00.906
Whole class223.80.921

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 1Kenyon Green OGHouston Texans
Rd 3DeMarvin Leal DEPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 4Micheal Clemons DENew York Jets
Rd 4Isaiah Spiller RBLos Angeles Chargers

Roster 119

The 2021 roster

119 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 1

The 2021 portal
Jahmir Johnson OT★★★from Tennessee

Transfers out 19

Dylan Wright WR★★★to Minnesota
Shadrach Banks WR★★★to TCU
Elijah Blades CB★★★to Florida
Jeremiah Martin WDE★★★to Washington
Kam Brown WR★★★to UCLA
James Foster DUAL★★★to Charlotte
Derrick Tucker S★★★★to Tennessee State
Ke’Shun Brown LB★★★★to South Alabama
Travon Fuller CB★★★★no new school on file
Camron Buckley WR★★★to Indiana
Clifford Chattman CB★★★to UTSA
Connor Blumrick PRO★★★to Virginia Tech

And 7 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-SEC

2 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2021 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2021 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia8–⁠014–⁠11
Alabama7–⁠113–⁠22
Ole Miss6–⁠210–⁠311
Kentucky5–⁠310–⁠318
Arkansas4–⁠49–⁠421
Texas A&M4–⁠48–⁠4
Tennessee4–⁠47–⁠6
Mississippi State4–⁠47–⁠6
South Carolina3–⁠57–⁠6
LSU3–⁠56–⁠7
Auburn3–⁠56–⁠7
Missouri3–⁠56–⁠7
Florida2–⁠66–⁠7
Vanderbilt0–⁠82–⁠10

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