CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2021 UTSA

12–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Conference USA), coached by Jeff Traylor.

Schedule and results

UTSA in 2021, game by game: won at Illinois 37–30; won vs. Lamar 54–0; won vs. Middle Tennessee 27–13; won at Memphis 31–28; won vs. UNLV 24–17; won at Western Kentucky 52–46; won vs. Rice 45–0; won at Louisiana Tech 45–16; won at UTEP 44–23; won vs. Southern Miss 27–17; won vs. UAB 34–31; lost at North Texas 23–45; won vs. Western Kentucky 49–41; lost vs. San Diego State 24–38+54−22Won 37–30 at Illinois+7IllinoisWon 54–0 vs. Lamar+54LamarWon 27–13 vs. Middle Tennessee+14Middle TennesseeWon 31–28 at Memphis+3MemphisWon 24–17 vs. UNLV+7UNLVWon 52–46 at Western Kentucky+6Western KentuckyWon 45–0 vs. Rice+45RiceWon 45–16 at Louisiana Tech+29Louisiana TechWon 44–23 at UTEP+21UTEPWon 27–17 vs. Southern Miss+10Southern MissWon 34–31 vs. UAB+3UABLost 23–45 at North Texas-22North TexasWon 49–41 vs. Western Kentucky+8Western KentuckyLost 24–38 vs. San Diego State-14San Diego State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4atIllinoisW 37–⁠3042%
Sep 11vsLamarW 54–⁠087%
Sep 18vsMiddle TennesseeW 27–⁠1365%
Sep 25atMemphisW 31–⁠2827%
Oct 2vsUNLVW 24–⁠1782%
Oct 9atWestern KentuckyW 52–⁠4654%
Oct 16vsRiceW 45–⁠078%
Oct 23atLouisiana TechW 45–⁠1660%
Nov 6atUTEPW 44–⁠2360%
Nov 13vsSouthern MissW 27–⁠1791%
Nov 20vsUABW 34–⁠3162%
Nov 27atNorth TexasL 23–⁠4571%
Dec 3vsWestern KentuckyConference USA Championship GameW 49–⁠4154%
Dec 21Bowls & playoffvsSan Diego StateFrisco BowlL 24–⁠3851%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to San Diego State 38–⁠24 in the Frisco Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Conference USA champions.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 16 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 8: 24
  2. Wk 9: 23
  3. Wk 10: 16
  4. Wk 11: 15
  5. Wk 12: 15
  6. Wk 13: 15
  7. Wk 15: 24

Conference USA champions7–⁠1 in the conference, won the Conference USA Championship Game

Record
12–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked peak No. 15
Points
516–⁠345
Coach
Jeff Traylor
Elo
1583 +124 this season
SP+ rating
6.5 No. 58 of 130; offense No. 42, defense No. 76
SRS
3.7 No. 52 of 130 in FBS
Returning
95% of last season’s EPA, No. 14 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 78 roster talent No. 78 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Barry Lunney Jr.
Defensive coordinators
Rod Wright and Jess Loepp
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense32nd of 130
  • Defense80th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted34th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted88th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2145%1.2732nd of 130
Defense0.1542%1.3580th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.20 off
0.16 def		44% off
43% def		—34th off
88th 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 3114% allowed
Defense3.9own 2818% caused

CORE rating 3.6, 59th of 130 (offense 7.0, defense 3.4).

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 yardsFrank Harris QB3,177 yds
Passing touchdownsFrank Harris QB27 TD
Rushing yardsSincere McCormick RB1,479 yds
Rushing touchdownsSincere McCormick RB15 TD
Receiving yardsZakhari Franklin WR1,027 yds
Receiving touchdownsZakhari Franklin WR12 TD
TacklesRashad Wisdom S87 tkl
SacksClarence Hicks LB10.5 sacks
InterceptionsAntonio Parks S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Kamron Scott OL★★★No. 1031
JaCorey Hyder LB★★★No. 1031
De’Anthony Lewis RB★★★No. 1099
Eddie Lee Marburger QB★★★No. 1439
Ronnie Garza OT★★★No. 1589

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.841
Running backs23.00.842
Receivers13.00.824
Offensive line53.00.826
Defensive line13.00.806
Linebackers23.00.836
Defensive backs13.00.832
Whole class133.00.830

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 4Spencer Burford OTSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 5Tariq Woolen CBSeattle Seahawks

Roster 118

The 2021 roster

118 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 67 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 9

The 2021 portal
Lamonte McDougle DL★★★from Washington State
Brandon Brown DL★★★from Tulane
Cameron Wilkins LB★★★from Missouri
Clifford Chattman CB★★★from Texas A&M
Kennedy Lewis WR★★★from Texas
Ronald Triplette DE★★★from Kansas State
Tre’von Bradley WR★★★from Houston
Denzel Feaster LB★★from Kansas
Dru Prox LBfrom Kansas

Transfers out 6

Brennon Dingle WR★★★no new school on file
Dedrick Wilson WR★★★no new school on file
Noah Mitchell LB★★★no new school on file
Solomon Wise LB★★★to Alcorn State
Suddin Sapien QB★★★to Texas–Permian Basin
Vance Vallair CB★★★no new school on file

2021 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UTSA7–⁠112–⁠2
Western Kentucky7–⁠19–⁠5
UAB6–⁠29–⁠4
Marshall5–⁠37–⁠6
North Texas5–⁠36–⁠7
Old Dominion5–⁠36–⁠7
Middle Tennessee4–⁠47–⁠6
UTEP4–⁠47–⁠6
Charlotte3–⁠55–⁠7
Florida Atlantic3–⁠55–⁠7
Rice3–⁠54–⁠8
Southern Miss2–⁠63–⁠9
Louisiana Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
Florida International0–⁠81–⁠11

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