2021_SMU_Mustangs_football_team

2021 SMU Mustangs football
2021 SMU Mustangs football
Fenway Bowl, vs. Virginia, Canceled
Conference	American Athletic Conference
Record	8–4 (4–4 AAC)
Head coach	Sonny Dykes (4th season; regular season); Jim Leavitt (interim; bowl game);
Co-offensive coordinator	Garrett Riley (2nd season)
Co-offensive coordinator	A. J. Ricker (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Jim Leavitt (1st season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Gerald J. Ford Stadium
Uniform
	Seasons ← 2020 2022 →

2021 SMU Mustangs football team

American college football season

The 2021 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Mustangs played their home games at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park, Texas, a separate city within the city limits of Dallas, competed as members of the American Athletic Conference (AAC). The Mustangs were led by fourth-year coach Sonny Dykes—on November 29, it was announced that Dykes would leave the program to become the head coach at TCU.^[1] He finished at SMU with an overall record of 30–18.

Quick Facts SMU Mustangs football, Fenway Bowl, vs. Virginia, Canceled ...

More information Conf, Overall ...

After finishing their regular season with an 8–4 record, the Mustangs accepted a bid to play in the Fenway Bowl, where they were due to face the Virginia Cavaliers. On December 26, the Cavaliers withdrew from the game, due to COVID-19 issues; the bowl was subsequently canceled.^[2]

Personnel

More information Players, Coaches ...

2021 SMU Mustangs football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`1`	Jordan Kerley	So
QB	`2`	Preston Stone	Fr
RB	`4`	Tre Siggers	Sr
WR	`5`	Danny Gray	Sr
WR	`6`	Austin Upshaw	Sr
RB	`7`	Ulysses Bentley IV	So
QB	`8`	Tanner Mordecai	Jr
WR	`9`	Beau Barker	So
WR	`10`	Dylan Goffney	Fr
WR	`11`	Rashee Rice	Jr
QB	`12`	Derek Green	Jr
WR	`13`	Roderick Daniels Jr.	Fr
TE	`14`	Nolan Matthews-Harris	So
QB	`16`	Josh Stupin	Fr
QB	`18`	Jacob Oehrlein	Jr
WR	`20`	Jayleen Record	Fr
WR	`21`	Reggie Roberson Jr.	Sr
RB	`22`	Brandon Epton	Fr
RB	`25`	T.J. McDaniel	So
RB	`26`	Montaye Dawson	Fr
RB	`27`	Zane Minors	Fr
RB	`28`	Blake Bedwell	Fr
WR	`30`	Carter Campbell	Fr
RB	`31`	Tyler Lavine	Jr
WR	`33`	Hudson Shrum	Jr
RB	`39`	Orlando Jones	Sr
WR	`43`	Charles Headen III	Sr
TE	`44`	Sam Morse	Fr
WR	`47`	Nic Heck	So
OL	`51`	Justin Osborne	So
OL	`52`	Marcus Bryant	So
OL	`56`	Branson Hickman	Fr
OL	`57`	Cobe Bryant	Sr
OL	`58`	Tai Brooks	So
OL	`60`	Henry Mossberg	Fr
OL	`61`	Dalton Perdue	Fr
OL	`62`	Marcus Smith	Fr
OL	`64`	Cameron Ervin	So
OL	`67`	Dylan Cordell	Fr
OL	`68`	Jackson Ritz	Fr
OL	`69`	Ben Sparks	Fr
OL	`70`	Thalen Robinson	So
OL	`71`	Jaylon Thomas	Sr
OL	`74`	Tyler Bailey	Fr
OL	`75`	Hayden Howerton	Sr
OL	`76`	Keaton Schulz	Fr
OL	`77`	Alan Ali	Sr
OL	`78`	Beau Morris	Sr
OL	`79`	Danielson Ike	So
TE	`81`	Ben Redding	Sr
WR	`82`	Parker Stone	So
TE	`83`	Simon Gonzalez	So
TE	`86`	Tommy McIntyre	Sr
TE	`88`	Grant Calcaterra	Sr
TE	`89`	Gage Haskin	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
S	`0`	Bryan Massey	So
CB	`1`	Brandon Crossley	Jr
DB	`2`	Cam Jones	Jr
LB	`3`	Delano Robinson	Sr
CB	`4`	Jahari Rogers	Fr
CB	`5`	Ar'mani Johnson	Sr
S	`6`	T.Q. Jackson	So
CB	`7`	Bryce McMorris	Fr
LB	`10`	Ty DeArman	So
S	`11`	Chevin Calloway	Sr
S	`12`	Isaiah Nwokobia	Fr
S	`13`	Roderick Roberson Jr.	So
LB	`14`	Richard Moore	Sr
LB	`15`	Keke Burns	So
S	`16`	Trevor Denbow	Sr
S	`18`	Chace Cromartie	Jr
DB	`20`	Ra-Sun Kazadi	Jr
S	`21`	Donald Clay	So
DB	`22`	Karl Taylor	Fr
LB	`23`	Shaine Hailey	Sr
LB	`24`	Jimmy Phillips Jr.	Sr
LB	`25`	Izaiah Kelly	Fr
CB	`26`	Sam Westfall	Jr
LB	`27`	Ben Furgal	So
LB	`30`	Brian Holloway	Sr
LB	`31`	Preston Ellison	Sr
LB	`32`	Toby Ndukwe	Sr
DT	`33`	Junior Aho	Jr
CB	`34`	John Porter	Jr
LB	`35`	Nick Lerew	Jr
DB	`36`	Jadarius Thursby	Fr
LB	`38`	Carter Link	Fr
DT	`39`	Darren Brown	Jr
DE	`40`	Elijah Chatman	Jr
LB	`41`	Isaac Slade-Matautia	Jr
LB	`42`	Deuce Palmer	So
CB	`43`	Cross Kittrell	Fr
DL	`44`	Kadarius Smith	Sr
DE	`45`	Jayden Jones	Fr
LB	`46`	Trent Strong	Fr
DT	`47`	Stone Eby	Fr
LB	`48`	Will Benton	So
DE	`49`	Parker Forque	Fr
LB	`50`	Trevion Sneed	Fr
DE	`51`	Warren Walls	So
LB	`53`	Garrett Madison	So
DE	`54`	Christopher Reese	Sr
LB	`55`	Gary Wiley	Sr
LB	`56`	Jack Young	So
DT	`57`	Mike Williams	Sr
LB	`59`	Will Goldberg	So
DE	`86`	Je'lin Samuels	Fr
DE	`89`	Alex Sickafoose	So
DE	`90`	Nelson Paul	Jr
DT	`91`	Terrance Newman	Sr
DL	`92`	Stephon Wright	Jr
DE	`93`	Bobby Duncam	Fr
DL	`94`	Erin Smith	Fr
DE	`95`	Will Jones	Sr
DE	`96`	DeVere Levelston	Jr
LB	`97`	Turner Coxe	Sr
DL	`98`	Jay Bell	Sr
DE	`99`	Harrison Loveless	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LS	`46`	Spencer Luce	Jr
LS	`48`	Will Benton	So
LS	`49`	Cole Voyles	Jr
LS	`89`	Gage Haskin	Fr
P	`91`	Matt Fraanje	Fr
K	`92`	Blake Mazza	Sr
K, P	`93`	Brendan Hall	Fr

Head coach

Sonny Dykes (Texas Tech)

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Jim Leavitt (Missouri) Defensive coordinator
Garrett Riley (Texas Tech) Offensive coordinator/QB
A. J. Ricker (Missouri) Co-offensive coordinator/OL
Ra'Shaad Samples (Houston) Assistant head coach/Running backs
David Gru (Louisiana Tech) Wide receivers
Trey Haverty (Texas Tech) Safeties
Josh Martin (Tarleton State) Tight ends
Stefan McClure (California) Cornerbacks
Kenny Perry (Houston) Special teams coordinator
Chidera Uzo–Diribe (Colorado) Defensive line

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: September 17, 2021

Game summaries

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[1] [1]
"TCU announces SMU's Dykes as new coach after campus arrival". Fort Worth Business Press. November 30, 2021. Retrieved December 5, 2021.

[2] [2]
Adelson, Andrea (December 26, 2021). "Military, Fenway Bowls Canceled Because of COVID-19 Issues". ESPN. Retrieved December 26, 2021.

[3] [3]
"Cincinnati Chosen as Favorite in American Preseason Media Poll". theAmerican.org. Retrieved August 4, 2021.

[4] [4]
"2021 SMU Mustangs Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved February 20, 2021.

[5] [5]
"2021 Football Schedule". SMUMustangs.com. Retrieved July 13, 2021.

[Depth_chart-6] [6]
"2021 SMU Mustangs Football Depth Chart". Ourlads.com. Retrieved October 2, 2021.

[7] [7]
"Abilene Christian Wildcats vs SMU Mustangs". Odds Shark. Retrieved September 17, 2021.

[8] [8]
"North Texas Mean Green vs SMU Mustangs". Odds Shark. Retrieved September 17, 2021.

[9] [9]
"SMU Mustangs vs Louisiana Tech Bulldogs". Odds Shark. Retrieved September 17, 2021.

[10] [10]
"SMU Mustangs vs TCU Horned Frogs". Odds Shark. Retrieved September 20, 2021.

[11] [11]
"South Florida Bulls vs SMU Mustangs". Odds Shark. Retrieved October 1, 2021.

[12] [12]
"SMU Mustangs vs Navy Midshipmen". Odds Shark. Retrieved October 5, 2021.

[13] [13]
"Tulane Green Wave vs. SMU Mustangs". Odds Shark. Retrieved October 20, 2021.

[14] [14]
"SMU's Mordecai, UCF's Davis, Memphis' Doyle Take Weekly Football Honors". American Athletic Conference. September 6, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2022.

[15] [15]
"SMU's Mordecai, Cincinnati's Pace, Memphis' Austin Take Weekly Football Awards". American Athletic Conference. September 20, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2022.

[16] [16]
"SMU's Mordecai, Houston's Mutin, Jones Take Weekly Football Honors". American Athletic Conference. October 25, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2022.

[17] [17]
"SMU's Mordecai, Tulsa's Wright, East Carolina's Daffer are Weekly Football Honorees". American Athletic Conference. November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2022.

[18] [18]
"Cincinnati's Ford, UCF's Bethune, SMU's Massey Earn Weekly Football Honors". American Athletic Conference. October 11, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2022.

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Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
Media poll
1	Cincinnati	262 (22)
2	UCF	241 (2)
3	SMU	188
4	Houston	181
5	Memphis	168
6	Tulsa	153
7	Tulane	132
T–8	East Carolina	85
T–8	Navy	85
10	Temple	46
11	South Florida	43

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	6:00 p.m.	Abilene Christian*		Gerald J. Ford Stadium University Park, TX	ESPN+	W 56–9	23,373
September 11	6:00 p.m.	North Texas*		Gerald J. Ford Stadium University Park, TX (Safeway Bowl)	ESPN+	W 35–12	29,121
September 18	2:30 p.m.	at Louisiana Tech*		Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA	CBSSN	W 39–37	15,326
September 25	11:00 a.m.	at TCU*		Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX (Battle for the Iron Skillet)	FS1	W 42–34	46,672
October 2	3:00 p.m.	South Florida		Gerald J. Ford Stadium University Park, TX	ESPNU	W 41–17	23,355
October 9	2:30 p.m.	at Navy	No. 24	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD (Gansz Trophy)	CBSSN	W 31–24	28,563
October 21	6:30 p.m.	Tulane	No. 21	Gerald J. Ford Stadium University Park, TX	ESPN	W 55–26	22,843
October 30	6:00 p.m.	at Houston	No. 19	TDECU Stadium Houston, TX	ESPN2	L 37–44	25,676
November 6	11:00 a.m.	at Memphis		Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	ESPNU	L 25–28	30,191
November 13	11:00 a.m.	UCF		Gerald J. Ford Stadium University Park, TX	ESPNU	W 55–28	23,175
November 20	2:30 p.m.	at No. 5 Cincinnati		Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH	ESPN	L 14–48	37,978
November 27	3:00 p.m.	Tulsa		Gerald J. Ford Stadium University Park, TX	ESPN2	L 31–34	17,158
December 29	10:00 a.m.	vs. Virginia*		Fenway Park Boston, MA (Fenway Bowl)	ESPN	Canceled
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after November 2) - Released prior to game All times are in Central time

Statistics	ACU	SMU
First downs	14	27
Total yards	332	490
Rushing yards	119	171
Passing yards	213	319
Turnovers	4	1
Time of possession	28:22	31:38

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Abilene Christian	Passing	Stone Earle	13/28, 160 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Peyton Mansell	2 carries, 33 yards
	Receiving	Kobe Clark	6 receptions, 89 yards, TD
SMU	Passing	Tanner Mordecai	24/30, 317 yards, 7 TD
	Rushing	Ulysses Bentley IV	10 carries, 48 yards
	Receiving	Danny Gray	4 receptions, 72 yards, 2 TD

Statistics	UNT	SMU
First downs	23	20
Total yards	506	536
Rushing yards	122	225
Passing yards	384	311
Turnovers	5	4
Time of possession	36:06	23:54

2021_SMU_Mustangs_football_team

2021 SMU Mustangs football team

Preseason

Media poll

Schedule

Personnel

Depth chart

Game summaries

Abilene Christian

North Texas

At Louisiana Tech

At TCU

South Florida

At Navy

Tulane

At Houston

At Memphis

UCF

At No. 5 Cincinnati

Tulsa

Rankings

Weekly awards

References

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v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 4 Cincinnati y$^	8	–	0	13	–	1
No. 17 Houston y	8	–	0	12	–	2
UCF	5	–	3	9	–	4
East Carolina	5	–	3	7	–	5
Tulsa	5	–	3	7	–	6
SMU	4	–	4	8	–	4
Memphis	3	–	5	6	–	6
Navy	3	–	5	4	–	8
Tulane	1	–	7	2	–	10
South Florida	1	–	7	2	–	10
Temple	1	–	7	3	–	9
Championship: Cincinnati 35, Houston 20
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
North Texas	Passing	Jace Ruder	32/51, 366 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	DeAndre Torrey	16 carries, 71 yards
	Receiving	Roderic Burns	12 receptions, 141 yards
SMU	Passing	Tanner Mordecai	21/33, 311 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Ulysses Bentley IV	10 carries, 141 yards, TD
	Receiving	Rashee Rice	4 receptions, 99 yards, TD

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
South Florida	Passing	Timmy McClain	14/22, 223 yards
	Rushing	Brian Battie	7 rushes, 46 yards
	Receiving	Jimmy Horn Jr.	5 receptions, 102 yards
SMU	Passing	Tanner Mordecai	29/42, 301 yards, 4 TD, INT
	Rushing	Tre Siggers	20 rushes, 86 yards, TD
	Receiving	Danny Gray	7 receptions, 74 yards, 2 TD

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Tulane	Passing	Michael Pratt	11/22, 234 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Tyjae Spears	14 rushes, 85 yards, TD
	Receiving	Jha'Quan Jackson	2 receptions, 93 yards
SMU	Passing	Tanner Mordecai	30/42, 427 yards, 3 TD
	Rushing	Tre Siggers	15 rushes, 81 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Danny Gray	8 receptions, 140 yards

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UCF	Passing	Mikey Keene	18/35, 174 yards, TD
	Rushing	Mark-Antony Richards	8 rushes, 104 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Jaylon Robinson	2 receptions, 50 yards
SMU	Passing	Tanner Mordecai	37/54, 377 yards, 3 TD, INT
	Rushing	Ulysses Bentley IV	14 rushes, 97 yards, TD
	Receiving	Dylan Goffney	10 receptions, 88 yards

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Tulsa	Passing	Davis Brin	18/33, 244 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Shamari Brooks	18 rushes, 71 yards
	Receiving	Josh Johnson	6 receptions, 117 yards, TD
SMU	Passing	Tanner Mordecai	26/46, 298 yards, TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Tyler Lavine	8 rushes, 51 yards, TD
	Receiving	Roderick Daniels Jr.	3 receptions, 96 yards, TD

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	RV	24	23	21	19	23	RV	RV	—	—	—
Coaches	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	23	19	16	24	RV	RV	—	—	—
CFP	Not released									—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released