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2021 UCF

9–⁠4 (5–⁠3 American Athletic Conference), coached by Gus Malzahn.

Schedule and results

UCF in 2021, game by game: won vs. Boise State 36–31; won vs. Bethune-Cookman 63–14; lost at Louisville 35–42; lost at Navy 30–34; won vs. East Carolina 20–16; lost at No. 3 Cincinnati 21–56; won vs. Memphis 24–7; won at Temple 49–7; won vs. Tulane 14–10; lost at SMU 28–55; won vs. UConn 49–17; won vs. South Florida 17–13; won vs. Florida 29–17+49−35Won 36–31 vs. Boise State+5Boise StateWon 63–14 vs. Bethune-Cookman+49Bethune-CookmanLost 35–42 at Louisville-7LouisvilleLost 30–34 at Navy-4NavyWon 20–16 vs. East Carolina+4East CarolinaLost 21–56 at No. 3 Cincinnati-35No. 3 CincinnatiWon 24–7 vs. Memphis+17MemphisWon 49–7 at Temple+42TempleWon 14–10 vs. Tulane+4TulaneLost 28–55 at SMU-27SMUWon 49–17 vs. UConn+32UConnWon 17–13 vs. South Florida+4South FloridaWon 29–17 vs. Florida+12Florida
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsBoise StateW 36–⁠3159%
Sep 11vsBethune-CookmanW 63–⁠1489%
Sep 17atLouisvilleL 35–⁠4262%
Oct 2atNavyL 30–⁠3470%
Oct 9vsEast CarolinaW 20–⁠1668%
Oct 16at3CincinnatiL 21–⁠5623%
Oct 22vsMemphisW 24–⁠757%
Oct 30atTempleW 49–⁠770%
Nov 6vsTulaneW 14–⁠1081%
Nov 13atSMUL 28–⁠5544%
Nov 20vsUConnW 49–⁠1792%
Nov 26vsSouth FloridaW 17–⁠1386%
Dec 23Bowls & playoffvsFloridaGasparilla BowlW 29–⁠1754%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Florida 29–⁠17 in the Gasparilla Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 9th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 40 on file).

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 3rd in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
415–⁠319
Coach
Gus Malzahn
Elo
1622 +20 this season
SP+ rating
4.8 No. 62 of 130; offense No. 60, defense No. 40
SRS
1.7 No. 63 of 130 in FBS
Returning
63% of last season’s EPA, No. 86 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 55 roster talent No. 49 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
G.J. Kinne and Tim Harris Jr.
Defensive coordinators
Travis Williams and David Gibbs
Offense
Spread option
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense54th of 130
  • Defense34th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted64th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted43rd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1742%1.3054th of 130
Defense0.0941%1.2334th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.15 off
0.11 def		42% off
41% def		—64th off
43rd 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
Offense4.4own 3116% allowed
Defense3.5own 2819% caused

CORE rating 5.0, 49th of 130 (offense -0.2, defense -5.2).

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 yardsMikey Keene QB1,730 yds
Passing touchdownsMikey Keene QB17 TD
Rushing yardsJohnny Richardson RB733 yds
Rushing touchdownsIsaiah Bowser RB9 TD
Receiving yardsRyan O’Keefe WR812 yds
Receiving touchdownsBrandon Edward Johnson WR11 TD
TacklesTatum Bethune LB108 tkl
SacksBig Kat Bryant DE6 sacks
InterceptionsDivaad Wilson DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Titus Mokiao-Atimalala ATH★★★★No. 312
Anthony Hundley DL★★★No. 613
Mikey Keene QB★★★No. 819
Cole Joyce LB★★★No. 917
Ethan Mort OT★★★No. 1017

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.864
Running backs13.00.842
Receivers23.00.848
Offensive line23.00.853
Defensive line43.00.849
Linebackers23.00.851
Defensive backs23.00.846
Athletes and specialists14.00.900
Whole class153.10.853

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 6Kalia Davis DTSan Francisco 49ers

Roster 108

The 2021 roster

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

Transfers in 10

The 2021 portal
Jordan Johnson WR★★★from Notre Dame
Nate Craig-Myers WR★★★from Colorado State
Marco Domio CB★★★★from Auburn
Mark-Antony Richards RB★★★★from Auburn
Andrew Brito QB★★★from Massachusetts
Brandon Edward Johnson WR★★★from Tennessee
Isaiah Bowser RB★★★from Northwestern
Jarvis Ware CB★★★from Missouri
R.J. Harvey DUAL★★★from Virginia
Ricky Barber DL★★★from Western Kentucky

Transfers out 17

McKenzie Milton DUAL★★★★to Florida State
Brandon Moore CB★★★to Florida State
Randy Charlton DL★★★to Mississippi State
Big Kat Bryant DE★★★to Oklahoma
Kenny Turnier WDE★★★to TCU
Darriel Mack QB★★★to Old Dominion
Antwan Collier CB★★★no new school on file
Chad Brown S★★★to Nevada
Cornelius Forrest Jr. TE★★★no new school on file
Eric Mitchell LB★★★no new school on file
Ja’Cyais Credle WR★★★to Georgia State
Jae’vien Gill DL★★★to Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C.

And 5 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2021 American Athletic Conference standings

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.