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2021 Vanderbilt

2–⁠10 (0–⁠8 Southeastern Conference), coached by Clark Lea.

Schedule and results

Vanderbilt in 2021, game by game: lost vs. East Tennessee State 3–23; won at Colorado State 24–21; lost vs. Stanford 23–41; lost vs. No. 2 Georgia 0–62; won vs. UConn 30–28; lost at No. 20 Florida 0–42; lost at South Carolina 20–21; lost vs. Mississippi State 6–45; lost vs. Missouri 28–37; lost vs. Kentucky 17–34; lost at No. 10 Ole Miss 17–31; lost at Tennessee 21–45+7−62Lost 3–23 vs. East Tennessee State-20East Tennessee …Won 24–21 at Colorado State+3Colorado StateLost 23–41 vs. Stanford-18StanfordLost 0–62 vs. No. 2 Georgia-62No. 2 GeorgiaWon 30–28 vs. UConn+2UConnLost 0–42 at No. 20 Florida-42No. 20 FloridaLost 20–21 at South Carolina-1South CarolinaLost 6–45 vs. Mississippi State-39Mississippi Sta…Lost 28–37 vs. Missouri-9MissouriLost 17–34 vs. Kentucky-17KentuckyLost 17–31 at No. 10 Ole Miss-14No. 10 Ole MissLost 21–45 at Tennessee-24Tennessee
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsEast Tennessee StateL 3–⁠2367%
Sep 11atColorado StateW 24–⁠2129%
Sep 18vsStanfordL 23–⁠4131%
Sep 25vs2GeorgiaL 0–⁠6211%
Oct 2vsUConnW 30–⁠2865%
Oct 9at20FloridaL 0–⁠4210%
Oct 16atSouth CarolinaL 20–⁠2125%
Oct 23vsMississippi StateL 6–⁠4529%
Oct 30vsMissouriL 28–⁠3734%
Nov 13vsKentuckyL 17–⁠3419%
Nov 20at10Ole MissL 17–⁠317%
Nov 27atTennesseeL 21–⁠4512%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Tennessee 45–⁠21; unranked in the final AP poll; 14th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The worst season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

Record
2–⁠10
Conference
0–⁠8 14th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
189–⁠430
Coach
Clark Lea
Elo
1249 −104 this season
SP+ rating
-19.4 No. 122 of 130; offense No. 124, defense No. 115
SRS
−13.5 No. 114 of 130 in FBS
Returning
106% of last season’s EPA, No. 3 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 49 roster talent No. 57 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
David Raih
Defensive coordinator
Jesse Minter
Offense
Pro spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense119th of 130
  • Defense120th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted120th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted123rd of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0133%1.40119th of 130
Defense0.2950%1.25120th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.25 def		35% off
47% def		—120th off
123rd 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
Offense2.9own 2516% allowed
Defense4.2own 3214% caused

CORE rating -18.0, 115th of 130 (offense -9.4, defense 8.6).

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 yardsKen Seals QB1,181 yds
Passing touchdownsMike Wright QB8 TD
Rushing yardsRocko Griffin RB517 yds
Rushing touchdownsRocko Griffin RB4 TD
Receiving yardsChris Pierce WR654 yds
Receiving touchdownsCam Johnson WR4 TD
TacklesEthan Barr LB85 tkl
SacksBrayden DeVault-Smith LB2 sacks
InterceptionsDashaun Jerkins S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Marcus Bradley DL★★★★No. 195
Quincy Skinner Jr. WR★★★No. 520
Devin Lee DL★★★No. 670
John Howse IV CB★★★No. 805
Terion Sugick DL★★★No. 876

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs23.00.835
Receivers33.00.854
Offensive line43.00.845
Defensive line63.20.865
Linebackers23.00.852
Defensive backs53.00.848
Athletes and specialists13.00.832
Whole class233.00.851

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 103

The 2021 roster

103 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 5

The 2021 portal
Ray Davis RB★★★from Temple
Junior Uzebu OT★★★from West Virginia
Joseph Bulovas K★★★from Alabama
Wilson Long QB★★★from TCU
Jack Cardillo Kfrom Indiana

Transfers out 21

Donovan Kaufman S★★★to Auburn
Tae Daley S★★★to Virginia Tech
Grant Miller OL★★★to Baylor
Colin Anderson LB★★★no new school on file
Danny Clark QB★★★no new school on file
Dimitri Moore LB★★★to Missouri State
Dontye Carriere-Williams CB★★★to Texas State
Elijah Hamilton CB★★★to Louisiana Tech
Frank Coppet S★★★no new school on file
Griffin Lampton LB★★★no new school on file
J.R. Tran-Reno RB★★★to Samford
Jamauri Wakefield RB★★★no new school on file

And 9 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2021 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia8–⁠014–⁠11
Alabama7–⁠113–⁠22
Ole Miss6–⁠210–⁠311
Kentucky5–⁠310–⁠318
Arkansas4–⁠49–⁠421
Texas A&M4–⁠48–⁠4
Tennessee4–⁠47–⁠6
Mississippi State4–⁠47–⁠6
South Carolina3–⁠57–⁠6
LSU3–⁠56–⁠7
Auburn3–⁠56–⁠7
Missouri3–⁠56–⁠7
Florida2–⁠66–⁠7
Vanderbilt0–⁠82–⁠10

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