CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2021 West Virginia

6–⁠7 (4–⁠5 Big 12), coached by Neal Brown.

Schedule and results

West Virginia in 2021, game by game: lost at Maryland 24–30; won vs. Long Island University 66–0; won vs. No. 15 Virginia Tech 27–21; lost at No. 4 Oklahoma 13–16; lost vs. Texas Tech 20–23; lost at Baylor 20–45; won at TCU 29–17; won vs. No. 22 Iowa State 38–31; lost vs. No. 11 Oklahoma State 3–24; lost at Kansas State 17–34; won vs. Texas 31–23; won at Kansas 34–28; lost vs. Minnesota 6–18+66−25Lost 24–30 at Maryland-6MarylandWon 66–0 vs. Long Island University+66Long Island Uni…Won 27–21 vs. No. 15 Virginia Tech+6No. 15 Virginia TechLost 13–16 at No. 4 Oklahoma-3No. 4 OklahomaLost 20–23 vs. Texas Tech-3Texas TechLost 20–45 at Baylor-25BaylorWon 29–17 at TCU+12TCUWon 38–31 vs. No. 22 Iowa State+7No. 22 Iowa StateLost 3–24 vs. No. 11 Oklahoma State-21No. 11 Oklahoma StateLost 17–34 at Kansas State-17Kansas StateWon 31–23 vs. Texas+8TexasWon 34–28 at Kansas+6KansasLost 6–18 vs. Minnesota-12Minnesota
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4atMarylandL 24–⁠3054%
Sep 11vsLong Island UniversityW 66–⁠089%
Sep 18vs15Virginia TechW 27–⁠2151%
Sep 25at4OklahomaL 13–⁠1622%
Oct 2vsTexas TechL 20–⁠2364%
Oct 9atBaylorL 20–⁠4541%
Oct 23atTCUW 29–⁠1734%
Oct 30vs22Iowa StateW 38–⁠3140%
Nov 6vs11Oklahoma StateL 3–⁠2443%
Nov 13atKansas StateL 17–⁠3438%
Nov 20vsTexasW 31–⁠2351%
Nov 27atKansasW 34–⁠2876%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsMinnesotaGuaranteed Rate BowlL 6–⁠1838%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Minnesota 18–⁠6 in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Big 12.

In program history: The 61st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠5 tied for 5th in Big 12
AP final
Unranked
Points
328–⁠310
Coach
Neal Brown
Elo
1517 −19 this season
SP+ rating
1.8 No. 71 of 130; offense No. 75, defense No. 51
SRS
2.2 No. 62 of 130 in FBS
Returning
91% of last season’s EPA, No. 23 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 40 roster talent No. 56 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Gerad Parker and Chad Scott
Defensive coordinators
Jordan Lesley and ShaDon Brown
Offense
Multiple
Defense
Multiple

How good, play by play

  • Offense75th of 130
  • Defense66th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted72nd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted35th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1343%1.2175th of 130
Defense0.1443%1.1966th of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.14 off
0.10 def		43% off
41% def		—72nd off
35th 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
Offense4.2own 2717% allowed
Defense3.2own 3116% caused

CORE rating 4.7, 51st of 130 (offense 0.6, defense -4.1).

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 yardsJarret Doege QB3,048 yds
Passing touchdownsJarret Doege QB19 TD
Rushing yardsLeddie Brown RB1,065 yds
Rushing touchdownsLeddie Brown RB13 TD
Receiving yardsWinston Wright WR688 yds
Receiving touchdownsSam James WR5 TD
TacklesJosh Chandler LB110 tkl
SacksDante Stills DL7 sacks
InterceptionsCharles Woods CB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Wyatt Milum OT★★★★No. 109
Kaden Prather WR★★★★No. 245
Jaylen Anderson RB★★★★No. 327
Justin Johnson Jr. RB★★★No. 451
Andrew Wilson-Lamp WR★★★No. 461

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

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.873
Running backs23.50.892
Receivers63.20.865
Offensive line33.30.883
Defensive line33.00.855
Linebackers13.00.869
Defensive backs23.00.858
Whole class183.20.869

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 99

The 2021 roster

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

Transfers in 2

The 2021 portal
Doug Nester OG★★★★from Virginia Tech
Darel Middleton DL★★★from Tennessee

Transfers out 23

Tykee Smith S★★★★to Georgia
Dreshun Miller CB★★★to Auburn
Austin Kendall QB★★★to Louisiana Tech
Briason Mays OL★★★to Southern Miss
Junior Uzebu OT★★★to Vanderbilt
David Vincent-Okoli CB★★★★no new school on file
Alec Sinkfield RB★★★to Boston College
Ali Jennings WR★★★to Old Dominion
Blaine Scott OL★★★to Northern Colorado
Bryce Brand DE★★★to Bowling Green
Charlie Benton LB★★★to UAB
Jacob Long CB★★★no new school on file

And 11 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-Big 12

1 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2021 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2021 Big 12 standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma State8–⁠112–⁠27
Baylor7–⁠212–⁠25
Oklahoma7–⁠211–⁠210
Iowa State5–⁠47–⁠6
Kansas State4–⁠58–⁠5
West Virginia4–⁠56–⁠7
Texas Tech3–⁠67–⁠6
Texas3–⁠65–⁠7
TCU3–⁠65–⁠7
Kansas1–⁠82–⁠10

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