CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2021 Tulsa

7–⁠6 (5–⁠3 American Athletic Conference), coached by Philip Montgomery.

Schedule and results

Tulsa in 2021, game by game: lost vs. UC Davis 17–19; lost at Oklahoma State 23–28; lost at No. 9 Ohio State 20–41; won vs. Arkansas State 41–34; lost vs. Houston 10–45; won vs. Memphis 35–29; won at South Florida 32–31; lost vs. Navy 17–20; lost at No. 2 Cincinnati 20–28; won at Tulane 20–13; won vs. Temple 44–10; won at SMU 34–31; won vs. Old Dominion 30–17+34−35Lost 17–19 vs. UC Davis-2UC DavisLost 23–28 at Oklahoma State-5Oklahoma StateLost 20–41 at No. 9 Ohio State-21No. 9 Ohio StateWon 41–34 vs. Arkansas State+7Arkansas StateLost 10–45 vs. Houston-35HoustonWon 35–29 vs. Memphis+6MemphisWon 32–31 at South Florida+1South FloridaLost 17–20 vs. Navy-3NavyLost 20–28 at No. 2 Cincinnati-8No. 2 CincinnatiWon 20–13 at Tulane+7TulaneWon 44–10 vs. Temple+34TempleWon 34–31 at SMU+3SMUWon 30–17 vs. Old Dominion+13Old Dominion
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsUC DavisL 17–⁠1982%
Sep 11atOklahoma StateL 23–⁠2833%
Sep 18at9Ohio StateL 20–⁠4119%
Sep 25vsArkansas StateW 41–⁠3466%
Oct 1vsHoustonL 10–⁠4557%
Oct 9vsMemphisW 35–⁠2941%
Oct 16atSouth FloridaW 32–⁠3159%
Oct 29vsNavyL 17–⁠2072%
Nov 6at2CincinnatiL 20–⁠2812%
Nov 13atTulaneW 20–⁠1351%
Nov 20vsTempleW 44–⁠1077%
Nov 27atSMUW 34–⁠3128%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffvsOld DominionMyrtle Beach BowlW 30–⁠1763%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Old Dominion 30–⁠17 in the Myrtle Beach Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 30th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 111 on file).

Record
7–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 3rd in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
343–⁠346
Coach
Philip Montgomery
Elo
1546 +8 this season
SP+ rating
5.8 No. 61 of 130; offense No. 67, defense No. 48
SRS
−0.7 No. 75 of 130 in FBS
Returning
74% of last season’s EPA, No. 66 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 126 roster talent No. 84 in FBS
Defensive coordinator
Joe Gillespie
Offense
Veer and shoot
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense81st of 130
  • Defense51st of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted76th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted57th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1144%1.2581st of 130
Defense0.1140%1.2951st of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.12 off
0.12 def		44% off
41% def		—76th off
57th 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
Offense3.3own 2817% allowed
Defense3.4own 2917% caused

CORE rating 4.0, 57th of 130 (offense -0.4, defense -4.4).

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 yardsDavis Brin QB3,254 yds
Passing touchdownsDavis Brin QB18 TD
Rushing yardsShamari Brooks RB1,029 yds
Rushing touchdownsShamari Brooks RB7 TD
Receiving yardsJosh Johnson WR1,114 yds
Receiving touchdownsJosh Johnson WR6 TD
TacklesJustin Wright LB82 tkl
SacksAnthony Goodlow DE6 sacks
InterceptionsTieNeal Martin S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Braylon Braxton QB★★★No. 969
Bill Jackson RB★★★No. 992
Scottie Alexander WR★★★No. 1325
Marquis Shoulders RB★★★No. 1535
Owen Ostroski DL★★★No. 1957

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.858
Running backs23.00.847
Receivers13.00.846
Defensive line22.50.799
Linebackers13.00.815
Defensive backs13.00.815
Whole class82.90.828

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 1Tyler Smith OTDallas Cowboys
Rd 7Chris Paul OGWashington Commanders

Roster 99

The 2021 roster

99 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 62 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 6

The 2021 portal
Bryce Bray OL★★★from Oklahoma State
Ezra Naylor WR★★★from Kansas
Jon-Michael Terry OLB★★★from Oklahoma
Kenney Solomon WR★★★from Tennessee
Steven Anderson RB★★★from Southern Miss
Will Farniok OL★★★from Nebraska

Transfers out 7

Akayleb Evans CB★★★to Missouri
Allie Green IV CB★★★to Missouri
Jacob Kainer TE★★★to Sam Houston
Lamar Mullins S★★★no new school on file
Chris Lovick RB★★returned to Tulsa
Mike Garrett Jr. CB★★to Abilene Christian
Ryan Nixon S★★to San José State

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.