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2021 Tulane

2–⁠10 (1–⁠7 American Athletic Conference), coached by Willie Fritz.

Schedule and results

Tulane in 2021, game by game: lost at No. 2 Oklahoma 35–40; won vs. Morgan State 69–20; lost at No. 17 Ole Miss 21–61; lost vs. UAB 21–28; lost at East Carolina 29–52; lost vs. Houston 22–40; lost at No. 21 SMU 26–55; lost vs. No. 2 Cincinnati 12–31; lost at UCF 10–14; lost vs. Tulsa 13–20; won vs. South Florida 45–14; lost at Memphis 28–33+49−40Lost 35–40 at No. 2 Oklahoma-5No. 2 OklahomaWon 69–20 vs. Morgan State+49Morgan StateLost 21–61 at No. 17 Ole Miss-40No. 17 Ole MissLost 21–28 vs. UAB-7UABLost 29–52 at East Carolina-23East CarolinaLost 22–40 vs. Houston-18HoustonLost 26–55 at No. 21 SMU-29No. 21 SMULost 12–31 vs. No. 2 Cincinnati-19No. 2 CincinnatiLost 10–14 at UCF-4UCFLost 13–20 vs. Tulsa-7TulsaWon 45–14 vs. South Florida+31South FloridaLost 28–33 at Memphis-5Memphis
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4at2OklahomaL 35–⁠4024%
Sep 11vsMorgan StateGame moved to Birmingham, ALW 69–⁠2091%
Sep 18at17Ole MissL 21–⁠6140%
Sep 25vsUABL 21–⁠2848%
Oct 2atEast CarolinaL 29–⁠5245%
Oct 7vsHoustonL 22–⁠4044%
Oct 21at21SMUL 26–⁠5520%
Oct 30vs2CincinnatiL 12–⁠3117%
Nov 6atUCFL 10–⁠1419%
Nov 13vsTulsaL 13–⁠2049%
Nov 20vsSouth FloridaW 45–⁠1462%
Nov 27atMemphisL 28–⁠3327%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Memphis 33–⁠28; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 78th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

Record
2–⁠10
Conference
1–⁠7 tied for 9th in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
331–⁠408
Coach
Willie Fritz
Elo
1407 −135 this season
SP+ rating
-3.9 No. 89 of 130; offense No. 74, defense No. 99
SRS
−5.5 No. 92 of 130 in FBS
Returning
88% of last season’s EPA, No. 35 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 77 roster talent No. 87 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Chip Long
Defensive coordinator
Chris Hampton
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense101st of 130
  • Defense93rd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted94th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted75th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0538%1.41101st of 130
Defense0.1943%1.3393rd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.09 off
0.14 def		39% off
41% def		—94th off
75th 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
Offense4.1own 2921% allowed
Defense3.8own 3217% caused

CORE rating -6.1, 91st of 130 (offense -8.5, 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 yardsMichael Pratt QB2,381 yds
Passing touchdownsMichael Pratt QB21 TD
Rushing yardsTyjae Spears RB863 yds
Rushing touchdownsTyjae Spears RB9 TD
Receiving yardsTyrick James TE429 yds
Receiving touchdownsTyrick James TE4 TD
TacklesDorian Williams LB73 tkl
SacksDarius Hodges DL5 sacks
InterceptionsMacon Clark S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

T.J. Huggins WR★★★No. 785
Keith Cooper Jr. DE★★★No. 881
Iverson Celestine RB★★★No. 969
Michael Lunz LB★★★No. 1099
Kolby Phillips CB★★★No. 1250

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.847
Running backs13.00.858
Receivers43.00.840
Offensive line13.00.828
Defensive line23.00.847
Linebackers23.00.842
Defensive backs33.00.838
Athletes and specialists23.00.829
Whole class163.00.840

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 124

The 2021 roster

124 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 70 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 5

The 2021 portal
Derrion Rakestraw CB★★★from Colorado
Devin Brumfield RB★★★from Utah
Lance Robinson CB★★★from Kansas State
Tyler Lamm TE★★from UL Monroe
Joseph Dorceus DLfrom Memphis

Transfers out 11

Kyle Meyers CB★★★★no new school on file
Amare Jones RB★★★to Georgia Southern
Brandon Brown DL★★★to UTSA
Davon Wright DL★★★returned to Tulane
Jeffery Johnson DL★★★returned to Tulane
Keon Howard QB★★★no new school on file
Keshon Williams TE★★★no new school on file
Ton’Quez Ball CB★★★no new school on file
Tyler Judson S★★★no new school on file
Stephon Huderson RB★★to McNeese
Willie Langham CB★★returned to Tulane

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.