2021 Texas Tech
7–6 (3–6 Big 12), coached by Matt Wells, then Sonny Cumbie (interim, remainder of season). Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Florida International 54–21Sep 18
By 33 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingBeat Stephen F. Austin 28–22Sep 11
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 4 | vs Houston | W 38–21 | 45% |
| Sep 11 | vs Stephen F. Austin | W 28–22 | 76% |
| Sep 18 | vs Florida International | W 54–21 | 70% |
| Sep 25 | at Texas | L 35–70 | 29% |
| Oct 2 | at West Virginia | W 23–20 | 36% |
| Oct 9 | vs TCU | L 31–52 | 55% |
| Oct 16 | at Kansas | W 41–14 | 67% |
| Oct 23 | vs Kansas State | L 24–25 | 56% |
| Oct 30 | at 4Oklahoma | L 21–52 | 14% |
| Nov 13 | vs Iowa State | W 41–38 | 34% |
| Nov 20 | vs 9Oklahoma State | L 0–23 | 31% |
| Nov 27 | at 9Baylor | L 24–27 | 21% |
| Dec 28Bowls & playoff | vs Mississippi StateLiberty Bowl | W 34–7 | 37% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat Mississippi State 34–7 in the Liberty Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Big 12.
In program history: The 55th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 101 on file).
- Record
- 7–6
- Conference
- 3–6 tied for 7th in Big 12
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 394–392
- Coach
- Matt Wells, then Sonny Cumbie (interim, remainder of season)
- Elo
- 1522 +68 this season
- SP+ rating
- 9.8 No. 40 of 130; offense No. 28, defense No. 69
- SRS
- 2.7 No. 59 of 130 in FBS
- Returning
- 63% of last season’s EPA, No. 84 of 128
- Recruiting class
- No. 64 roster talent No. 59 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Sonny Cumbie
- Defensive coordinators
- Keith Patterson and Derek Jones
- Captains
- Colin Schooler, Riko Jeffers, Josh Burger, DaMarcus Fields, Marquis Waters, McLane Mannix, Dawson Deaton, Tony Bradford, Tyler Shough, Jaylon Hutchings, Erik Ezukanma, SaRodorick Thompson and Caleb Rogers
- Offense
- Spread
- Defense
- 3–3–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.19 | 47% | 1.29 | 42nd of 130 |
| Defense | 0.24 | 45% | 1.35 | 107th of 130 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.18 off 0.19 def | 47% off 43% def | — | 42nd off 104th 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 | 4.4 | own 27 | 17% allowed |
| Defense | 4.3 | own 29 | 15% caused |
CORE rating 2.9, 63rd of 130 (offense 5.3, defense 2.4).
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 | Henry Colombi QB | 1,291 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Donovan Smith QB | 7 TD |
| Rushing yards | Tahj Brooks RB | 568 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | SaRodorick Thompson RB | 10 TD |
| Receiving yards | Erik Ezukanma WR | 705 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Erik Ezukanma WR | 4 TD |
| Tackles | Colin Schooler LB | 107 tkl |
| Sacks | Tyree Wilson LB | 7 sacks |
| Interceptions | Dadrion Taylor DB | 3 INT |
Top recruits in the 2021 class
| Behren Morton QB | ★★★★ | No. 149 |
| Jerand Bradley WR | ★★★ | No. 420 |
| Cam’Ron Valdez RB | ★★★ | No. 473 |
| E’maurion Banks DL | ★★★ | No. 629 |
| Jed Castles TE | ★★★ | No. 693 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2021 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 4.0 | 0.936 |
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.883 |
| Receivers | 4 | 3.0 | 0.856 |
| Offensive line | 3 | 3.0 | 0.850 |
| Defensive line | 3 | 3.0 | 0.854 |
| Defensive backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.826 |
| Whole class | 13 | 3.1 | 0.860 |
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 4 | Erik Ezukanma WR | Miami Dolphins |
| Rd 7 | Dawson Deaton C | Cleveland Browns |
Roster 104
The 2021 roster104 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 61 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 11
The 2021 portal Marquis Waters S | ★★★ | from  Duke |
 Tyler Shough PRO | ★★★ | from  Oregon |
| T.J. Storment OT | ★★★ | from  TCU |
 Jesiah Pierre LB | ★★★ | from  Florida |
 Malik Dunlap CB | ★★★ | from  NC State |
 Rayshad Williams CB | ★★★ | from  UCLA |
 Colin Schooler LB | ★★★ | from  Arizona |
 Kyron Cumby RB | ★★★ | from  Illinois |
 Reggie Pearson S | ★★★ | from  Wisconsin |
 Robert Wooten DE | ★★★ | from  Virginia Tech |
 Kaylon Geiger WR | ★★ | from  Troy |
Transfers out 16
 Ja’Lynn Polk WR | ★★★ | to  Houston |
 Alan Bowman QB | ★★★ | to  Michigan |
| Nick McCann DT | ★★★ | to  Texas State |
| Alex Hogan CB | ★★★ | to Houston |
| Caden Leggett WR | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Chance Cover LB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Dequanteous Watts CB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| John Davis Jr. CB | ★★★ | to  North Texas |
| KeSean Carter WR | ★★★ | to Houston |
| Ryan Frank CB | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Simon Gonzalez TE | ★★★ | to  SMU |
| Will Farrar OT | ★★★ | to  Boise State |
And 4 more, lower-rated or unrated.
All-Big 12
1 first team, 5 second teamFirst team
- Jonathan GaribayKCoaches-1; Media-1
Second team
- Dawson DeatonCCoaches-2
- Erik EzukanmaWRCoaches-2
- Colin SchoolerLBCoaches-2; Media-2
- DaMarcus FieldsDBCoaches-2; Media-2
- Austin McNamaraPCoaches-2; Media-2
From Wikipedia’s 2021 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
2021 Big 12 standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma State | 8–1 | 12–2 | 7 |
| Baylor | 7–2 | 12–2 | 5 |
| Oklahoma | 7–2 | 11–2 | 10 |
| Iowa State | 5–4 | 7–6 | |
| Kansas State | 4–5 | 8–5 | |
| West Virginia | 4–5 | 6–7 | |
| Texas Tech | 3–6 | 7–6 | |
| Texas | 3–6 | 5–7 | |
| TCU | 3–6 | 5–7 | |
| Kansas | 1–8 | 2–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.