2021 season: games and coaching changes
- National champion
- Georgia
- No. 1 in the last AP poll before the bowls
- Alabama
- Head-coach changes listed
- 34
Your team
The 2021 College Football Playoff, game by game
Marquee games
- Upset of a higher-ranked team
Oregon35
Ohio State28September 11, 2021 - Upset of a ranked team · 2 overtimesNC State27
Clemson21September 25, 2021 - Upset of a ranked team
Texas A&M41
Alabama38October 9, 2021 - SEC ChampionshipAlabama41
Georgia24December 4, 2021 - CFP Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl ClassicAlabama27
Cincinnati6December 31, 2021 - CFP National ChampionshipGeorgia33Alabama18January 10, 2022
Biggest ranked-team losses
Regular season. Ranks are the AP poll of the game’s own week; a loss to an unranked team, or one ranked 5 or more spots lower.
- No. 1 Alabama lost to Texas A&M, unranked, 41-38, Oct 9
- No. 2 Iowa lost to Purdue, unranked, 24-7, Oct 16
- No. 3 Oregon lost to Stanford, unranked, 31-24, Oct 2
- No. 3 Ohio State lost to No. 12 Oregon, 35-28, Sep 11
- No. 4 Oregon lost to No. 24 Utah, 38-7, Nov 20
- No. 4 Oklahoma lost to No. 18 Baylor, 27-14, Nov 13
- No. 5 Michigan State lost to Purdue, unranked, 40-29, Nov 6
- No. 7 Penn State lost to Illinois, unranked, 20-18, Oct 23
Most ranked teams lost in week 5 of 2021: 9, 4 of them in the top 10.
Darker = more ranked teams lost that week. Each cell links to that week’s first game below.
Ranked-team losses by week, as a table
| Week | Dates | Ranked teams that lost | Of those, top 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 28 to Sep 6 | 8 | 2 |
| 2 | Sep 9 to Sep 11 | 5 | 2 |
| 3 | Sep 16 to Sep 18 | 6 | 0 |
| 4 | Sep 23 to Sep 25 | 6 | 2 |
| 5 | Sep 26 to Oct 2 | 9 | 4 |
| 6 | Oct 7 to Oct 9 | 6 | 3 |
| 7 | Oct 12 to Oct 16 | 7 | 1 |
| 8 | Oct 20 to Oct 23 | 5 | 2 |
| 9 | Oct 28 to Oct 30 | 9 | 3 |
| 10 | Nov 2 to Nov 6 | 7 | 2 |
| 11 | Nov 9 to Nov 13 | 6 | 1 |
| 12 | Nov 16 to Nov 20 | 4 | 2 |
| 13 | Nov 23 to Nov 27 | 5 | 2 |
| 14 | Dec 3 to Dec 4 | 7 | 3 |
| 15 | Dec 11 to Dec 11 | 0 | 0 |
The season
The small line under a game is the winner’s chance to win, play by play.
September
- Sep 3
Virginia Tech 17, North Carolina 10Upset of a ranked team - Sep 4
Utah State 26, Washington State 23 - Sep 4Georgia 10, Clemson 3
- Sep 4
Northern Illinois 22, Georgia Tech 21 - Sep 4
Alabama 44, Miami 13 - Sep 4
Cincinnati 49, Miami (OH) 14 - Sep 5
Notre Dame 41, Florida State 38Overtime - Sep 6
UConn and Randy Edsall part waysCoaching change - Sep 11Oregon 35, Ohio State 28Upset of a higher-ranked team
- Sep 11
Stanford 42, USC 28Upset of a ranked team - Sep 11
Arkansas 40, Texas 21Upset of a ranked team - Sep 11
South Carolina 20, East Carolina 17
Show 28 more
- Sep 11
Vanderbilt 24, Colorado State 21 - Sep 11
Texas State 23, Florida International 17Overtime - Sep 11
Iowa 27, Iowa State 17 - Sep 11
Penn State 44, Ball State 13 - Sep 11
BYU 26, Utah 17 - Sep 11
Air Force 23, Navy 3 - Sep 11
New Mexico 34, New Mexico State 25 - Sep 13USC and Clay Helton part waysCoaching change
- Sep 17
Louisville 42, UCF 35 - Sep 17
Maryland 20, Illinois 17 - Sep 18
Fresno State 40, UCLA 37Upset of a ranked team - Sep 18
West Virginia 27, Virginia Tech 21Upset of a ranked team - Sep 18
Colorado State 22, Toledo 6 - Sep 18
SMU 39, Louisiana Tech 37 - Sep 18
Alabama 31, Florida 29 - Sep 24
Syracuse 24, Liberty 21 - Sep 25NC State 27, Clemson 21Upset of a ranked team · 2 overtimes
- Sep 25Arkansas 20, Texas A&M 10Upset of a higher-ranked team
- Sep 25
UTSA 31, Memphis 28 - Sep 25
Baylor 31, Iowa State 29Upset of a ranked team - Sep 25Georgia Tech 45, North Carolina 22Upset of a ranked team
- Sep 25
Bowling Green 14, Minnesota 10 - Sep 25
UL Monroe 29, Troy 16 - Sep 25
Oklahoma 16, West Virginia 13 - Sep 25
Michigan State 23, Nebraska 20Overtime - Sep 25
Boston College 41, Missouri 34Overtime - Sep 25
SMU 42, TCU 34 - Sep 26
Georgia Southern and Chad Lunsford part waysCoaching change
October
- Oct 2Stanford 31, Oregon 24Upset of a ranked team · Overtime
- Oct 2Georgia 37, Arkansas 0
- Oct 2Cincinnati 24, Notre Dame 13
- Oct 2
Kentucky 20, Florida 13Upset of a ranked team - Oct 2
Mississippi State 26, Texas A&M 22Upset of a ranked team - Oct 2Navy 34, UCF 30
- Oct 2
Wake Forest 37, Louisville 34 - Oct 2Vanderbilt 30, UConn 28
- Oct 2Florida State 33, Syracuse 30
- Oct 2
Texas Tech 23, West Virginia 20 - Oct 2
Oregon State 27, Washington 24 - Oct 2
Alabama 42, Ole Miss 21
Show 41 more
- Oct 9Texas A&M 41, Alabama 38Upset of a ranked team
- Oct 9Iowa 23, Penn State 20
- Oct 9
Boise State 26, BYU 17Upset of a ranked team - Oct 9Oklahoma 55, Texas 48
- Oct 9Florida State 35, North Carolina 25
- Oct 9
Akron 35, Bowling Green 20 - Oct 9Notre Dame 32, Virginia Tech 29
- Oct 9Wake Forest 40, Syracuse 37Overtime
- Oct 9
Virginia 34, Louisville 33 - Oct 9UCF 20, East Carolina 16
- Oct 9Northern Illinois 22, Toledo 20
- Oct 9
Georgia 34, Auburn 10 - Oct 16
Purdue 24, Iowa 7Upset of a ranked team - Oct 16Georgia 30, Kentucky 13
- Oct 16UL Monroe 31, Liberty 28
- Oct 16
Buffalo 27, Ohio 26 - Oct 18Washington State and Nick Rolovich part waysCoaching change
- Oct 20
App State 30, Coastal Carolina 27Upset of a ranked team - Oct 23
Iowa State 24, Oklahoma State 21Upset of a ranked team - Oct 23Illinois 20, Penn State 18Upset of a ranked team · 9 overtimes
- Oct 23
Rice 30, UAB 24 - Oct 23
New Mexico 14, Wyoming 3 - Oct 23Syracuse 41, Virginia Tech 36
- Oct 23
Houston 31, East Carolina 24Overtime - Oct 23
Wake Forest 70, Army 56 - Oct 23
Ole Miss 31, LSU 17 - Oct 23
Alabama 52, Tennessee 24 - Oct 23Notre Dame 31, USC 16
- Oct 25Texas Tech and Matt Wells part waysCoaching change
- Oct 29
Nevada 51, UNLV 20 - Oct 30
Michigan State 37, Michigan 33 - Oct 30
Wisconsin 27, Iowa 7Upset of a ranked team - Oct 30Auburn 31, Ole Miss 20
- Oct 30Mississippi State 31, Kentucky 17Upset of a ranked team
- Oct 30
Washington State 34, Arizona State 21 - Oct 30Houston 44, SMU 37
- Oct 30
Old Dominion 23, Louisiana Tech 20 - Oct 30
Georgia State 21, Georgia Southern 14 - Oct 30Georgia 34, Florida 7
- Oct 30Ohio State 33, Penn State 24
- Oct 31TCU and Gary Patterson part waysCoaching change
November
- Nov 2Ohio 35, Miami (OH) 33
- Nov 3
Central Michigan 42, Western Michigan 30 - Nov 4Akron and Tom Arth part waysCoaching change
- Nov 6Purdue 40, Michigan State 29Upset of a ranked team
- Nov 6North Carolina 58, Wake Forest 55Upset of a ranked team
- Nov 6TCU 30, Baylor 28Upset of a ranked team
- Nov 6
Colorado 37, Oregon State 34Overtime - Nov 6Army 21, Air Force 14Overtime
- Nov 6South Carolina 40, Florida 17
- Nov 6Illinois 14, Minnesota 6
- Nov 6Arkansas 31, Mississippi State 28
- Nov 6
Charlotte 31, Rice 24Overtime
Show 71 more
- Nov 6
Nevada 27, San José State 24 - Nov 6Alabama 20, LSU 14
- Nov 6Texas A&M 20, Auburn 3
- Nov 6Boise State 40, Fresno State 14Upset of a ranked team
- Nov 6
Marshall 28, Florida Atlantic 13 - Nov 6
Kansas State 35, Kansas 10 - Nov 6
Western Kentucky 48, Middle Tennessee 21 - Nov 6Wyoming 31, Colorado State 17
- Nov 6Oregon 26, Washington 16
- Nov 7
Massachusetts and Walt Bell part waysCoaching change - Nov 10Northern Illinois 30, Ball State 29
- Nov 10Toledo 49, Bowling Green 17
- Nov 11
Pittsburgh 30, North Carolina 23Overtime - Nov 13Arkansas 16, LSU 13Overtime
- Nov 13Florida State 31, Miami 28
- Nov 13Kansas 57, Texas 56Overtime
- Nov 13
North Texas 20, UTEP 17 - Nov 13Texas Tech 41, Iowa State 38
- Nov 13
Tulsa 20, Tulane 13Overtime - Nov 13Ole Miss 29, Texas A&M 19
- Nov 13Iowa 27, Minnesota 22
- Nov 13Georgia State 42, Coastal Carolina 40Upset of a ranked team
- Nov 14Washington and Jimmy Lake part waysCoaching change
- Nov 16Virginia Tech and Justin Fuente part waysCoaching change
- Nov 17Northern Illinois 33, Buffalo 27Overtime
- Nov 19
Southern Miss 35, Louisiana Tech 19 - Nov 20Utah 38, Oregon 7Upset of a higher-ranked team
- Nov 20Ohio State 56, Michigan State 7
- Nov 20Clemson 48, Wake Forest 27Upset of a ranked team
- Nov 20UTSA 34, UAB 31
- Nov 20Missouri 24, Florida 23Overtime
- Nov 20TCU 31, Kansas 28
- Nov 20East Carolina 38, Navy 35
- Nov 20
Louisiana 42, Liberty 14 - Nov 20
Kent State 38, Akron 0 - Nov 20UCLA 62, USC 33
- Nov 20
California 41, Stanford 11 - Nov 21Florida and Dan Mullen part waysCoaching change
- Nov 21Troy and Chip Lindsey part waysCoaching change
- Massachusetts hires Don BrownCoaching change
- Nov 25Ole Miss 31, Mississippi State 21
- Nov 26Iowa 28, Nebraska 21
- Nov 26NC State 34, North Carolina 30
- Nov 26
UCF 17, South Florida 13 - Nov 26
Central Michigan 31, Eastern Michigan 10 - Nov 26Washington State 40, Washington 13
- New Mexico State hires Jerry KillCoaching change
- Nov 27Michigan 42, Ohio State 27
- Nov 27Alabama 24, Auburn 224 overtimes
- Nov 27LSU 27, Texas A&M 24Upset of a ranked team
- Nov 27North Texas 45, UTSA 23
- Nov 27Oklahoma State 37, Oklahoma 33
- Nov 27Minnesota 23, Wisconsin 13Upset of a ranked team
- Nov 27Florida 24, Florida State 21
- Nov 27Virginia Tech 29, Virginia 24
- Nov 27Georgia 45, Georgia Tech 0
- Nov 27App State 27, Georgia Southern 3
- Nov 27
Illinois 47, Northwestern 14 - Nov 27
Purdue 44, Indiana 7 - Nov 27Oregon 38, Oregon State 29
- Nov 27
Arizona State 38, Arizona 15 - Nov 27Kentucky 52, Louisville 21
- Nov 27Clemson 30, South Carolina 0
- USC hires Lincoln RileyCoaching change
- Florida hires Billy NapierCoaching change
- TCU hires Sonny DykesCoaching change
- Washington hires Kalen DeBoerCoaching change
- Louisiana Tech hires Sonny CumbieCoaching change
- LSU hires Brian KellyCoaching change
- SMU hires Rhett LashleeCoaching change
- Virginia Tech hires Brent PryCoaching change
December
- Troy hires Jon SumrallCoaching change
- Akron hires Joe MoorheadCoaching change
- Oklahoma hires Brent VenablesCoaching change
- Miami hires Mario CristobalCoaching change
- Colorado State hires Jay NorvellCoaching change
- Fresno State hires Jeff TedfordCoaching change
Duke hires Mike ElkoCoaching change- Virginia hires Tony ElliottCoaching change
- Nevada hires Ken WilsonCoaching change
- Dec 11Navy 17, Army 13
- Oregon hires Dan LanningCoaching change
Temple hires Stan DraytonCoaching change
January
Hawai'i hires Timmy ChangBowls and playoff
December
- Dec 3Utah 38, Oregon 10Pac-12 Championship
- Dec 4Alabama 41, Georgia 24SEC Championship
- Dec 4Michigan 42, Iowa 3Big Ten Championship
- Dec 4Baylor 21, Oklahoma State 16Big 12 Championship
- Dec 4Pittsburgh 45, Wake Forest 21ACC Championship
- Dec 4Cincinnati 35, Houston 20American Athletic Championship
- Dec 18UAB 31, BYU 28Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl
- Dec 22Army 24, Missouri 22Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl
- Dec 29Oklahoma 47, Oregon 32Valero Alamo Bowl
- Dec 30Michigan State 31, Pittsburgh 21Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl
- Dec 30Purdue 48, Tennessee 45TransPerfect Music City Bowl
- Dec 31Alabama 27, Cincinnati 6CFP Semifinal at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
- Dec 31Georgia 34, Michigan 11CFP Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl