CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2021 UCLA

8–⁠4 (6–⁠3 Pac-12), coached by Chip Kelly.

Schedule and results

UCLA in 2021, game by game: won vs. Hawai’i 44–10; won vs. No. 16 LSU 38–27; lost vs. Fresno State 37–40; won at Stanford 35–24; lost vs. Arizona State 23–42; won at Arizona 34–16; won at Washington 24–17; lost vs. No. 10 Oregon 31–34; lost at Utah 24–44; won vs. Colorado 44–20; won at USC 62–33; won vs. California 42–14+34−20Won 44–10 vs. Hawai’i+34Hawai’iWon 38–27 vs. No. 16 LSU+11No. 16 LSULost 37–40 vs. Fresno State-3Fresno StateWon 35–24 at Stanford+11StanfordLost 23–42 vs. Arizona State-19Arizona StateWon 34–16 at Arizona+18ArizonaWon 24–17 at Washington+7WashingtonLost 31–34 vs. No. 10 Oregon-3No. 10 OregonLost 24–44 at Utah-20UtahWon 44–20 vs. Colorado+24ColoradoWon 62–33 at USC+29USCWon 42–14 vs. California+28California
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vsHawai’iW 44–⁠1055%
Sep 4vs16LSUW 38–⁠2747%
Sep 18vsFresno StateL 37–⁠4066%
Sep 25atStanfordW 35–⁠2442%
Oct 2vsArizona StateL 23–⁠4258%
Oct 9atArizonaW 34–⁠1668%
Oct 16atWashingtonW 24–⁠1743%
Oct 23vs10OregonL 31–⁠3450%
Oct 30atUtahL 24–⁠4435%
Nov 13vsColoradoW 44–⁠2074%
Nov 20atUSCW 62–⁠3348%
Nov 27vsCaliforniaW 42–⁠1471%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat California 42–⁠14; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Pac-12.

In program history: The 37th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 102 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 2: 16
  2. Wk 3: 13
  3. Wk 4: 24
  4. Wk 5: 20
Record
8–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Pac-12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 13
Points
438–⁠321
Coach
Chip Kelly
Elo
1612 +111 this season
SP+ rating
9.4 No. 41 of 130; offense No. 12, defense No. 76
SRS
8.5 No. 30 of 130 in FBS
Returning
85% of last season’s EPA, No. 41 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 29 roster talent No. 23 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Justin Frye
Defensive coordinator
Jerry Azzinaro
Offense
Spread option
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense12th of 130
  • Defense56th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted12th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted63rd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2547%1.3012th of 130
Defense0.1244%1.2456th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.24 off
0.13 def		47% off
43% def		—12th off
63rd 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 3114% allowed
Defense3.6own 3017% caused

CORE rating 12.0, 26th of 130 (offense 10.9, defense -1.1).

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 yardsDorian Thompson-Robinson QB2,409 yds
Passing touchdownsDorian Thompson-Robinson QB21 TD
Rushing yardsZach Charbonnet RB1,137 yds
Rushing touchdownsZach Charbonnet RB13 TD
Receiving yardsKyle Philips WR739 yds
Receiving touchdownsKyle Philips WR10 TD
TacklesQwuantrezz Knight DB65 tkl
SacksBo Calvert LB4 sacks
InterceptionsJay Shaw CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Tiaoalii Savea DL★★★★No. 226
Quintin Somerville DL★★★★No. 230
Devin Kirkwood ATH★★★★No. 253
Thomas Cole OT★★★★No. 393
Christian Burkhalter DE★★★No. 422

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.872
Running backs13.00.884
Receivers33.00.875
Offensive line43.30.872
Defensive line63.30.879
Defensive backs13.00.888
Athletes and specialists23.50.893
Whole class183.20.879

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 3Greg Dulcich TEDenver Broncos
Rd 3Sean Rhyan OGGreen Bay Packers
Rd 5Otito Ogbonnia DTLos Angeles Chargers
Rd 5Kyle Philips WRTennessee Titans
Rd 6Quentin Lake SLos Angeles Rams
Rd 7Brittain Brown RBLas Vegas Raiders

Roster 128

The 2021 roster

128 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 61 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 8

The 2021 portal
Jay Toia DL★★★★from USC
Zach Charbonnet RB★★★★from Michigan
Ethan Garbers PRO★★★from Washington
Cameron Johnson S★★★from North Texas
Devin Aupiu LB★★★from Notre Dame
Jordan Genmark-Heath S★★★from Notre Dame
Ale Kaho ILB★★★from Alabama
Kam Brown WR★★★from Texas A&M

Transfers out 8

Rayshad Williams CB★★★to Texas Tech
Elijah Gates CB★★★★to Fresno State
Charles Njoku WR★★★no new school on file
Evidence Njoku TE★★★no new school on file
Jahmon McClendon RB★★★to SE Louisiana
Jaylen Erwin WR★★★to Houston
Leni Toailoa LB★★★no new school on file
Blake Kirshner QB★★returned to UCLA

2021 Pac-12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Utah8–⁠110–⁠412
Oregon7–⁠210–⁠422
UCLA6–⁠38–⁠4
Arizona State6–⁠38–⁠5
Washington State6–⁠37–⁠6
Oregon State5–⁠47–⁠6
California4–⁠55–⁠7
USC3–⁠64–⁠8
Washington3–⁠64–⁠8
Colorado3–⁠64–⁠8
Stanford2–⁠73–⁠9
Arizona1–⁠81–⁠11

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