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2021 Wake Forest

11–⁠3 (7–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Dave Clawson, finished No. 15 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Wake Forest in 2021, game by game: won vs. Old Dominion 42–10; won vs. Norfolk State 41–16; won vs. Florida State 35–14; won at Virginia 37–17; won vs. Louisville 37–34; won at Syracuse 40–37; won at Army 70–56; won vs. Duke 45–7; lost at North Carolina 55–58; won vs. No. 21 NC State 45–42; lost at Clemson 27–48; won at Boston College 41–10; lost vs. No. 17 Pittsburgh 21–45; won vs. Rutgers 38–10+38−24Won 42–10 vs. Old Dominion+32Old DominionWon 41–16 vs. Norfolk State+25Norfolk StateWon 35–14 vs. Florida State+21Florida StateWon 37–17 at Virginia+20VirginiaWon 37–34 vs. Louisville+3LouisvilleWon 40–37 at Syracuse+3SyracuseWon 70–56 at Army+14ArmyWon 45–7 vs. Duke+38DukeLost 55–58 at North Carolina-3North CarolinaWon 45–42 vs. No. 21 NC State+3No. 21 NC StateLost 27–48 at Clemson-21ClemsonWon 41–10 at Boston College+31Boston CollegeLost 21–45 vs. No. 17 Pittsburgh-24No. 17 PittsburghWon 38–10 vs. Rutgers+28Rutgers
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsOld DominionW 42–⁠1079%
Sep 11vsNorfolk StateW 41–⁠1685%
Sep 18vsFlorida StateW 35–⁠1471%
Sep 24atVirginiaW 37–⁠1744%
Oct 2vsLouisvilleW 37–⁠3464%
Oct 9atSyracuseW 40–⁠3763%
Oct 23atArmyW 70–⁠5649%
Oct 30vsDukeW 45–⁠783%
Nov 6atNorth CarolinaL 55–⁠5856%
Nov 13vs21NC StateW 45–⁠4256%
Nov 20atClemsonL 27–⁠4835%
Nov 27atBoston CollegeW 41–⁠1057%
Dec 4vs17PittsburghACC Championship GameL 21–⁠4543%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsRutgersGator BowlW 38–⁠1076%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Rutgers 38–⁠10 in the Gator Bowl; No. 15 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 119 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 24
  2. Wk 6: 19
  3. Wk 7: 16
  4. Wk 8: 16
  5. Wk 9: 13
  6. Wk 10: 10
  7. Wk 11: 13
  8. Wk 12: 13
  9. Wk 13: 21
  10. Wk 14: 18
  11. Wk 15: 20
  12. Final: 15

ACC Atlantic champions7–⁠2 in the conference

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠2 2nd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 15 peak No. 10
Points
574–⁠404
Coach
Dave Clawson
Elo
1632 +125 this season
SP+ rating
10.1 No. 39 of 130; offense No. 10, defense No. 92
SRS
11.3 No. 20 of 130 in FBS
Returning
92% of last season’s EPA, No. 20 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 66 roster talent No. 62 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Warren Ruggiero
Defensive coordinator
Lyle Hemphill
Offense
Slow mesh
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense35th of 130
  • Defense64th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted29th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted68th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2144%1.3335th of 130
Defense0.1446%1.1864th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.20 off
0.13 def		45% off
45% def		—29th off
68th 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
Offense4.7own 3115% allowed
Defense3.7own 2918% caused

CORE rating -1.5, 75th of 130 (offense 1.9, 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 yardsSam Hartman QB4,228 yds
Passing touchdownsSam Hartman QB39 TD
Rushing yardsChristian Beal-Smith RB604 yds
Rushing touchdownsSam Hartman QB11 TD
Receiving yardsA.T. Perry WR1,293 yds
Receiving touchdownsA.T. Perry WR15 TD
TacklesRyan Smenda Jr. LB83 tkl
SacksLuiji Vilain DL9 sacks
InterceptionsTraveon Redd DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Santino Marucci QB★★★No. 861
Jaydon Collins OT★★★No. 894
Will Towns RB★★★No. 1017
Dylan Hazen LB★★★No. 1031
Quincy Bryant CB★★★No. 1031

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.849
Running backs13.00.856
Receivers62.80.826
Offensive line33.00.855
Defensive line23.00.844
Linebackers13.00.856
Defensive backs43.00.843
Athletes and specialists13.00.802
Whole class202.90.840

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 4Zach Tom OGGreen Bay Packers
Rd 6Ja’Sir Taylor CBLos Angeles Chargers

Roster 130

The 2021 roster

130 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2021 line; 66 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 6

The 2021 portal
Casey Washington WR★★★from Illinois
Luiji Vilain DE★★★from Michigan
Christian Turner RB★★★from Michigan
K.J. Trujillo CB★★★from Colorado
Kevin Pointer DL★★★from UL Monroe
Malik Mustapha CBfrom Richmond

Transfers out 11

Ken Walker III RB★★★to Michigan State
Shamar McCollum WDE★★★to Georgia State
Nolan Groulx WR★★★no new school on file
Trey Rucker S★★★to Oklahoma State
Isaiah Essissima CB★★★to Nevada
Isaiah Isaac CB★★★no new school on file
Ja’Cquez Williams LB★★★to UL Monroe
Kendrell Flowers RB★★★no new school on file
Malik Puryear DE★★★no new school on file
Michael Allen DE★★★to Western Kentucky
Peyton Woulard S★★★no new school on file

2021 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Pittsburgh7–⁠111–⁠313
Wake Forest7–⁠211–⁠315
Clemson6–⁠210–⁠314
NC State6–⁠29–⁠320
Miami5–⁠37–⁠5
Virginia4–⁠46–⁠6
Virginia Tech4–⁠46–⁠7
Louisville4–⁠46–⁠7
Florida State4–⁠45–⁠7
North Carolina4–⁠56–⁠7
Boston College2–⁠66–⁠6
Syracuse2–⁠65–⁠7
Georgia Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
Duke0–⁠83–⁠9

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