# 2021 Stanford Cardinal football team

The 2021 Stanford Cardinal football team represented Stanford University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cardinal were led by eleventh-year head coach David Shaw. They played their home games at Stanford Stadium as members of the North Division of the Pac-12 Conference. They finished the season 3–9, 2–7 in Pac-12 play, to finish last place in the North Division. This was Shaw's worst season ever and Stanford's worst record since the team went 1–11 in the 2006 season.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 4 | 9:00 a.m. | vs. Kansas State* | AT&T StadiumArlington, TX (Allstate Kickoff Classic) | FS1 | L 7–24 | 28,668 |
| September 11 | 7:30 p.m. | at No. 14 USC | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA (rivalry) | FOX | W 42–28 | 56,945 |
| September 18 | 5:00 p.m. | at Vanderbilt* | Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN | ESPNU | W 41–23 | 21,124 |
| September 25 | 3:00 p.m. | No. 24 UCLA | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA | P12N | L 24–35 | 47,236 |
| October 2 | 12:30 p.m. | No. 3 Oregon | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA | ABC | W 31–24 $^{OT}$ | 31,610 |
| October 8 | 7:30 p.m. | at No. 22 Arizona State | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | ESPN | L 10–28 | 46,192 |
| October 16 | 4:30 p.m. | at Washington State | Martin StadiumPullman, WA | ESPNU | L 31–34 | 26,171 |
| October 30 | 7:30 p.m. | Washington | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA | FS1 | L 13–20 | 28,014 |
| November 5 | 7:30 p.m. | Utah | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA | FS1 | L 7–52 | 26,410 |
| November 13 | 2:30 p.m. | at Oregon State | Reser StadiumCorvallis, OR | P12N | L 14–35 | 35,129 |
| November 20 | 4:00 p.m. | California | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA (Big Game) | P12N | L 11–41 | 49,265 |
| November 27 | 5:00 p.m. | No. 6 Notre Dame* | Stanford StadiumStanford, CA (rivalry) | FOX | L 14–45 | 31,571 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 2 released prior to gameAll times are in Pacific time |||||||

## Personnel
### Depth chart

| † | As of October 1, 2021 |
Defense :
* CB
* CB
Offense :
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
* QB
* Special teams

## Game summaries
### Vs. Kansas State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wildcats | 7 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 24 |
| Cardinal | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
at AT&T Stadium • Arlington, TX
* Date: September 4, 2021
* Game time: 9:00 a.m. PDT
* Game weather: Indoors
* Game attendance: 28,668
* Referee: Chris Coyte
* TV announcers (FS1): Aaron Goldsmith (play–by–play) and Mark Helfrich (analyst)
Game information :
First Quarter
KSU – Skylar Thompson 6-yard run (Taiten Winkel kick), 3:06. Kansas State 7–0. Drive: 2 plays, 62 yards, 0:56.
Second Quarter
KSU – Deuce Vaughn 59-yard run (Taiten Winkel kick), 6:17. Kansas State 14–0. Drive: 3 plays, 71 yards, 1:39.
Third Quarter
No scoring plays.
Fourth Quarter
KSU – Taiten Winkel 40-yard field goal, 10:08. Kansas State 17–0. Drive: 9 plays, 44 yards, 4:43.
KSU – Skylar Thompson 13-yard run (Taiten Winkel kick), 7:10. Kansas State 24–0. Drive: 2 plays, 20 yards, 0:46.
STAN – Brycen Tremayne 14-yard pass from Tanner McKee (Joshua Karty kick), 3:16. Kansas State 24–7. Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 3:54.
Top passers
STAN – Tanner McKee – 15/18, 118 yards, TD
KSU – Skylar Thompson – 9/14, 144 yards, int
Top rushers
STAN – Austin Jones – 9 rushes, 25 yards
KSU – Deuce Vaughn – 13 rushes, 124 yards, TD
Top receivers
STAN – Brycen Tremayne – 5 receptions, 62 yards, TD
KSU – Phillip Brooks – 3 receptions, 81 yards :
Kansas State began with a 14-point lead at halftime with performances by quarterback Skylar Thompson and running back Deuce Vaughn. The Wildcats managed to score 24 points before allowing Stanford to put points on the board with just 3:16 left in the game. Stanford head coach David Shaw stated: "This game was not indicative of how hard we've played, how hard we've practiced and how well we practiced. Disappointing to me that we didn't go out there and execute better." Shaw is in his 11th season as Stanford's coach. Stanford started senior Jack West at quarterback and rotated him with sophomore Tanner McKee throughout the game.
The Wichita Eagle reported that the stadium was mostly filled with Kansas State fans and that Kansas State significantly out-performed Stanford. Specifically, the paper published that "the Kansas State football team opened its season with a statement victory on Saturday at AT&T Stadium."

### At No. 14 USC

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinal | 7 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 42 |
| No. 14 Trojans | 0 | 10 | 3 | 15 | 28 |
at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA
* Date: September 11, 2021
* Game time: 7:30 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 73 °F (23 °C)
* Game attendance: 56,945
* Referee: Michael Mothershed
* TV announcers (Fox): Tim Brando (play–by–play) and Spencer Tillman (analyst)
* Reference
Game information :
First Quarter
STAN – Nathaniel Peat 87-yard run (Joshua Karty kick), 9:04. Stanford 7–0. Drive: 1 play, 87 yards, 0:12.
Second Quarter
USC – Keaontay Ingram 2-yard run (Alex Stadthaus kick), 13:28. Tied 7–7. Drive: 15 plays, 95 yards, 5:26.
STAN – Elijah Higgins 3-yard pass from Tanner McKee (Joshua Karty kick), 8:34. Stanford 14–7. Drive: 9 plays, 73 yards, 4:54.
USC – Alex Stadthaus 24-yard field goal, 1:56. Stanford 14–10. Drive: 15 plays, 68 yards, 6:38.
STAN – Brycen Tremayne 6-yard pass from Tanner McKee (Joshua Karty kick), 0:09. Stanford 21–10. Drive: 4 plays, 66 yards, 1:47.
Third Quarter
USC – Alex Stadthaus 33-yard field goal, 9:14. Stanford 21–13. Drive: 12 plays, 59 yards, 5:46.
STAN – Kyu Blu Kelly 31-yard interception return (Joshua Karty kick), 5:02. Stanford 28–13. Drive: 3 plays, 5 yards, 1:21.
STAN – Tanner McKee 1-yard run (Joshua Karty kick), 0:25. Stanford 35–13. Drive: 5 plays, 55 yards, 2:15.
Fourth Quarter
STAN – Isaiah Sanders 2-yard run (Joshua Karty kick), 9:16. Stanford 42–13. Drive: 10 plays, 67 yards, 5:44.
USC – Drake London 11-yard pass from Kedon Slovis (Alex Stadthaus kick), 5:54. Stanford 42–20. Drive: 9 plays, 74 yards, 3:22.
USC – Darwin Barlow 4-yard run (Kedon Slovis–Gary Bryant Jr. pass), 0:46. Stanford 42–28. Drive: 10 plays, 69 yards, 2:39.
Top passers
STAN – Tanner McKee – 16/23, 234 yards, 2 TD
USC – Kedon Slovis – 27/42, 223 yards, TD, int
Top rushers
STAN – Nathaniel Peat – 6 rushes, 115 yards, TD
USC – Vavae Malepeai – 15 rushes, 94 yards
Top receivers
STAN – Elijah Higgins – 5 receptions, 67 yards, TD
USC – Drake London – 4 receptions, 68 yards, TD :
In Tanner McKee's first start as Stanford quarterback, the Cardinal pulled off a surprising rout of USC in the Coliseum, leading by as many as 29 points in the 4th quarter. Following the game, USC head coach Clay Helton was fired and replaced by Donte Williams as interim head coach.

### At Vanderbilt

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinal | 14 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 41 |
| Commodores | 7 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 23 |
at Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, TN
* Date: September 18, 2021
* Game time: 5:00 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: Cloudy,
* Game attendance: 21,124
* Referee: Steve Marlowe
* TV announcers (ESPNU): Clay Matvick (play–by–play), Rocky Boiman (analyst) and Tiffany Blackmon (sideline)
* Reference
Game information :
First Quarter
STAN – Tanner McKee 7-yard run (Joshua Karty kick), 12:37. Stanford 7–0. Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 2:23.
VAN – Re'Mahn Davis 1-yard run (Joseph Bulovas kick), 7:35. Tied 7–7. Drive: 14 plays, 75 yards, 5:02.
STAN – Nathaniel Peat 21-yard run (Joshua Karty kick), 2:52. Stanford 14–7. Drive: 9 plays, 68 yards, 4:36.
Second Quarter
VAN – Devin Boddie Jr. 3-yard pass from Ken Seals (Joseph Bulovas kick), 4:19. Tied 14–14. Drive: 14 plays, 98 yards, 7:16.
STAN – Joshua Karty 46-yard field goal, 1:53. Stanford 17–14. Drive: 5 plays, 26 yards, 2:17.
STAN – Brycen Tremayne 5-yard pass from Tanner McKee (Joshua Karty kick), 0:40. Stanford 24–14. Drive: 2 plays, 31 yards, 0:42.
STAN – Joshua Karty 35-yard field goal, 0:00. Stanford 27–14. Drive: 1 play, 0 yards, 0:00.
Third Quarter
STAN – Jay Symonds 5-yard pass from Tanner McKee (Joshua Karty kick), 11:18. Stanford 34–14. Drive: 4 plays, 55 yards, 1:31.
VAN – Joseph Bulovas 34-yard field goal, 8:26. Stanford 34–17. Drive: 9 plays, 59 yards, 2:52.
Fourth Quarter
STAN – E. J. Smith 1-yard run (Joshua Karty kick), 1:44. Stanford 41–17. Drive: 8 plays, 86 yards, 5:08.
VAN – Cam Johnson 26-yard pass from Mike Wright, 0:00. Stanford 41–23. Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 1:44.
Top passers
STAN – Tanner McKee – 19/29, 218 yards, 2 TD
VAN – Ken Seals – 16/37, 120 yards, TD, int
Top rushers
STAN – Austin Jones – 7 rushes, 80 yards
VAN – Rocko Griffin – 19 rushes, 107 yards
Top receivers
STAN – Brycen Tremayne – 5 receptions, 54 yards, TD
VAN – Chris Pierce Jr. – 6 receptions, 52 yards :

### No. 24 UCLA

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 24 Bruins | 14 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 35 |
| Cardinal | 0 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 24 |
at Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA
* Date: September 25, 2021
* Game time: 3:00 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C) Sunny
* Game attendance: 47,236
* Referee: Mark Duddy
* TV announcers (P12N): Ted Robinson (play–by–play) and Yogi Roth (analyst)
* Reference
Game information :
First Quarter
UCLA – Dorian Thompson-Robinson 1-yard run (Nicholas Barr-Mira kick), 12:12. UCLA 7–0. Drive: 4 plays, 13 yards, 2:16.
UCLA – Zach Charbonnet 5-yard run (Nicholas Barr-Mira kick), 0:15. UCLA 14–0. Drive: 17 plays, 88 yards, 8:00.
Second Quarter
STAN – Brycen Tremayne 19-yard pass from Tanner McKee (Joshua Karty kick), 4:31. UCLA 14–7. Drive: 7 plays, 70 yards, 4:05.
UCLA – Dorian Thompson-Robinson 2-yard run (Nicholas Barr-Mira kick), 0:23. UCLA 21–7. Drive: 7 plays, 55 yards, 1:17.
Third Quarter
STAN – Elijah Higgins 56-yard pass from Tanner McKee (Joshua Karty kick), 5:30. UCLA 21–14. Drive: 1 play, 56 yards, 0:10.
Fourth Quarter
STAN – Bryce Farrell 52-yard pass from Tanner McKee (Joshua Karty kick), 13:06. Tied 21–21. Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards, 2:16.
UCLA – Kyle Philips 75-yard pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson (Nicholas Barr-Mira kick), 12:56. UCLA 28–21. Drive: 1 play, 75 yards, 0:10.
STAN – Joshua Karty 45-yard field goal, 9:10. UCLA 28–24. Drive: 7 plays, 45 yards, 3:06.
UCLA – Kyle Philips 5-yard pass from Dorian Thompson-Robinson (Nicholas Barr-Mira kick), 2:30. UCLA 35–24. Drive: 13 plays, 75 yards, 6:40.
Top passers
UCLA – Dorian Thompson-Robinson – 18/29, 251 yards, 2 TD
STAN – Tanner McKee – 19/32, 293 yards, 3 TD
Top rushers
UCLA – Zach Charbonnet – 23 rushes, 118 yards, TD
STAN – Tanner McKee – 8 rushes, 42 yards
Top receivers
UCLA – Kyle Philips – 5 receptions, 120 yards, 2 TD
STAN – Elijah Higgins – 5 receptions, 103 yards, TD :

### No. 3 Oregon

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| No. 3 Ducks | 0 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 24 |
| Cardinal | 10 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
at Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA
* Date: October 2, 2021
* Game time: 12:30 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: 80 °F (27 °C) Sunny
* Game attendance: 31,610
* Referee: Matthew Richards
* TV announcers (ABC): Dave Flemming (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (analyst), Stormy Buonantony (sideline)
* Reference
Game information :
First Quarter
STAN – Joshua Karty 25-yard field goal, 10:30. Stanford 3–0. Drive: 11 plays, 50 yards, 4:30.
STAN – Brycen Tremayne 18-yard pass from Tanner McKee (Joshua Karty kick), 6:25. Stanford 10–0. Drive: 2 plays, 43 yards, 0:40.
Second Quarter
ORE – Anthony Brown 3-yard run (Camden Lewis kick), 14:34. Stanford 10–7. Drive: 8 plays, 55 yards, 2:31.
STAN – Isaiah Sanders 2-yard run (Joshua Karty kick), 8:02. Stanford 17–7. Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 6:32.
Third Quarter
ORE – C. J. Verdell 1-yard run (Camden Lewis kick), 8:32. Stanford 17–14. Drive: 8 plays, 48 yards, 3:48.
ORE – Camden Lewis 22-yard field goal, 0:53. Tied 17–17. Drive: 12 plays, 34 yards, 6:16.
Fourth Quarter
ORE – Anthony Brown 5-yard run (Camden Lewis kick), 9:32. Oregon 24–17. Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards, 2:11.
STAN – Elijah Higgins 2-yard pass from Tanner McKee (Joshua Karty kick), 0:00. Tied 24–24. Drive: 11 plays, 86 yards, 0:00.
First Overtime
STAN – John Humphreys 14-yard pass from Tanner McKee (Joshua Karty kick). Stanford 31–24. Drive: 6 plays, 25 yards.
Top passers
ORE – Anthony Brown – 14/26, 186 yards, int
STAN – Tanner McKee – 20/36, 230 yards, 3 TD
Top rushers
ORE – Travis Dye – 19 rushes, 96 yards
STAN – Nathaniel Peat – 15 rushes, 78 yards
Top receivers
ORE – Mycah Pittman – 1 reception, 66 yards
STAN – Elijah Higgins – 6 receptions, 62 yards, TD :

### At No. 22 Arizona State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinal | 7 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
| No. 22 Sun Devils | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
at Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ
* Date: October 8, 2021
* Game time: 7:30 p.m. PST
* Game weather: 86 °F (30 °C), Cloudy, Wind: W 20mph
* Game attendance: 46,192
* Referee: Steven Strimling
* TV announcers (ESPN): Jason Benetti (play-by-play), Andre Ware (analyst) and Paul Carcaterra (sideline)
* Reference
Game information :
First quarter
ASU – Jayden Daniels 51-yard run (Cristian Zendejas kick), 7:12. Arizona State 7–0. Drive: 9 plays, 87 yards, 4:20.
STAN – Elijah Higgins 6-yard pass from Tanner McKee (Emmet Kenney kick), 4:09. Tied 7–7. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:03.
ASU – Rachaad White 5-yard run (Cristian Zendejas kick), 1:05. Arizona State 14–7. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:04.
Second quarter
ASU – Elijhah Badger 22-yard run (Cristian Zendejas kick), 10:24. Arizona State 21–7. Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 2:14.
Third quarter
STAN – Ryan Sanborn 32-yard field goal, 7:32. Arizona State 21–10. Drive: 9 plays, 46 yards, 4:26.
ASU – DeAndre Pierce 27-yard interception return (Cristian Zendejas kick), 2:38. Arizona State 28–10. Drive: 3 plays, 8 yards, 1:18.
Fourth quarter
No scoring plays.
Top passers
STAN – Tanner McKee – 27/45, 356 yards, TD, 3 int
ASU – Jayden Daniels – 14/23, 175 yards
Top rushers
STAN – Nathaniel Peat – 7 rushes, 32 yards
ASU – Rachaad White – 13 rushes, 96 yards, TD
Top receivers
STAN – Benjamin Yurosek – 6 receptions, 118 yards
ASU – Curtis Hodges – 4 receptions, 76 yards :

### At Washington State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinal | 13 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 31 |
| Cougars | 0 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 34 |
at Martin Stadium • Pullman, WA
* Date: October 16, 2021
* Game time: 4:30 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 68 °F (20 °C)
* Game attendance: 26,171
* Referee: Micheal Mothershed
* TV announcers (ESPNU): Kevin Brown, Hutson Mason
* Reference
Game information :
First quarter
STAN – Benjamin Yurosek 45-yard pass from Tanner McKee (Joshua Karty kick), 11:10. Stanford 7–0. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:50.
STAN – Joshua Karty 51-yard field goal, 4:45. Stanford 10–0. Drive: 5 plays, 15 yards, 1:10.
STAN – Joshua Karty 32-yard field goal, 0:13. Stanford 13–0. Drive: 8 plays, 33 yards, 3:36.
Second quarter
WSU – Travell Harris 32-yard pass from Jayden de Laura (Dean Janikowski kick), 13:24. Stanford 13–7. Drive: 3 plays, 70 yards, 1:49.
WSU – Calvin Jackson Jr. 31-yard pass from Jayden de Laura (kick blocked), 9:21. Tied 13–13. Drive: 6 plays, 70 yards, 2:58.
WSU – De'Zhaun Stribling 10-yard pass from Jayden de Laura (Dean Janikowski kick), 3:07. Washington State 20–13. Drive: 1 play, 10 yards, 0:07.
STAN – Joshua Karty 31-yard field goal, 0:39. Washington State 20–16. Drive: 8 plays, 62 yards, 2:28.
Third quarter
WSU – Max Borghi 2-yard run (Dean Janikowski kick), 4:34. Washington State 27–16. Drive: 7 plays, 66 yards, 3:29.
Fourth quarter
STAN – Tanner McKee 1-yard run (Tanner McKee run), 14:06. Washington State 27–24. Drive: 9 plays, 74 yards, 5:28.
STAN – Austin Jones 8-yard pass from Tanner McKee (Joshua Karty kick), 7:32. Stanford 31–27. Drive: 11 plays, 85 yards, 5:28.
WSU – Max Borghi 2-yard run (Dean Janikowski kick), 1:30. Washington State 34–31. Drive: 6 plays, 70 yards, 1:56.
Top passers
STAN – Tanner McKee – 23/32, 273 yards, 2 TD
WSU – Jayden de Laura – 17/30, 289 yards, 3 TD
Top rushers
STAN – Nathaniel Peat – 10 rushes, 27 yards
WSU – Max Borghi – 17 rushes, 89 yards, 2 TD
Top receivers
STAN – Benjamin Yurosek – 5 receptions, 99 yards, TD
WSU – Lincoln Victor – 2 receptions, 73 yards :

### Washington

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Huskies | 0 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 20 |
| Cardinal | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 13 |
at Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA
* Date: October 30, 2021
* Game time: 7:30 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: Cloudy, 58 °F (14 °C)
* Game attendance: 28,014
* Referee: Mark Duddy
* TV: FS1
* Reference
Game information :
First quarter
STAN – Joshua Karty 35-yard field goal, 7:56. Stanford 3–0. Drive: 13 plays, 58 yards, 7:04.
Second quarter
UW – Peyton Henry 24-yard field goal, 14:07. Tied 3–3. Drive: 12 plays, 57 yards, 5:39.
UW – Peyton Henry 37-yard field goal, 6:39. Washington 6–3. Drive: 8 plays, 50 yards, 4:37.
UW – Peyton Henry 32-yard field goal, 0:00. Washington 9–3. Drive: 13 plays, 81 yards, 3:00.
Third quarter
UW – Peyton Henry 35-yard field goal, 5:17. Washington 12–3. Drive: 6 plays, 18 yards, 2:37.
Fourth quarter
STAN – Tanner McKee 1-yard run (Joshua Karty kick), 12:52. Washington 12–10. Drive: 16 plays, 75 yards, 7:25.
STAN – Joshua Karty 43-yard field goal, 7:05. Stanford 13–12. Drive: 7 plays, 29 yards, 3:25.
UW – Jalen McMillan 20-yard pass from Dylan Morris (Giles Jackson run), 0:21. Washington 20–13. Drive: 8 plays, 67 yards, 2:30.
Top passers
UW – Dylan Morris – 17/25, 146 yards, TD
STAN – Tanner McKee – 21/32, 194 yards, 2 int
Top rushers
UW – Sean McGrew – 19 rushes, 114 yards
STAN – Austin Jones – 16 rushes, 62 yards
Top receivers
UW – Jalen McMillan – 6 receptions, 84 yards, TD
STAN – Benjamin Yurosek – 6 receptions, 93 yards :

### Utah

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Utes | 14 | 24 | 0 | 14 | 52 |
| Cardinal | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
at Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA
* Date: November 5, 2021
* Game time: 7:30 p.m. PST
* Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C) Cloudy
* Game attendance: 26,410
* Referee: Francisco Villar
* TV announcers (FS1): Alex Faust, Petros Papadakis
* Reference
Game information :
First quarter
UTAH – Tavion Thomas 10-yard run (Jadon Redding kick), 10:57. Utah 7–0. Drive: 9 plays, 65 yards, 4:03.
UTAH – Tavion Thomas 5-yard run (Jadon Redding kick), 6:15. Utah 14–0. Drive: 6 plays, 68 yards, 2:33.
Second quarter
UTAH – Tavion Thomas 58-yard run (Jadon Redding kick), 14:31. Utah 21–0. Drive: 1 play, 58 yards, 0:12.
UTAH – Tavion Thomas 11-yard run (Jadon Redding kick), 6:37. Utah 28–0. Drive: 10 plays, 90 yards, 4:17.
UTAH – TJ Pledger 96-yard run (Jadon Redding kick), 3:10. Utah 35–0. Drive: 1 play, 96 yards, 0:16.
UTAH – Jadon Redding 29-yard field goal, 0:00. Utah 38–0. Drive: 9 plays, 52 yards, 1:07.
Third quarter
STAN – Isaiah Sanders 4-yard run (Joshua Karty kick), 10:14. Utah 38–7. Drive: 9 plays, 56 yards, 4:46.
Fourth quarter
UTAH – Devin Lloyd 2-yard interception return (Jadon Redding kick), 12:11. Utah 45–7.
UTAH – Micah Bernard 11-yard run (Jadon Redding kick), 1:48. Utah 52–7. Drive: 9 plays, 65 yards, 5:18.
Top passers
UTAH – Cameron Rising – 13/22, 140 yards
STAN – Jack West – 12/18, 59 yards, int
Top rushers
UTAH – Tavion Thomas – 20 rushes, 177 yards, 4 TD
STAN – E. J. Smith – 7 rushes, 53 yards
Top receivers
UTAH – Micah Bernard – 2 receptions, 32 yards
STAN – Benjamin Yurosek – 4 receptions, 42 yards :

### At Oregon State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinal | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Beavers | 7 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
at Reser Stadium • Corvallis, OR
* Date: November 13, 2021
* Game time: 2:40 pm
* Game weather: 59 °F (15 °C) Sunny, Wind: 5 mph SE
* Game attendance: 35,129
* Referee: Mike McCabe
* TV announcers (P12N): JB Long, Max Browne

### California

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Golden Bears | 0 | 14 | 13 | 14 | 41 |
| Cardinal | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 11 |
at Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA
* Date: November 20, 2021
* Game time: 4:00 p.m.
* Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C), Sunny
* Game attendance: 49,265
* Referee: Steve Strimling
* TV announcers (P12N): Ted Robinson (play-by-play), Yogi Roth (analyst)

### No. 6 Notre Dame

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 6 Fighting Irish | 7 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 45 |
| Cardinal | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
at Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA
* Date: November 27, 2021
* Game time: 5:10 p.m.
* Game attendance: 31,571
* Referee: Gary Patterson
* TV announcers (FOX): Joe Davis (play-by-play), Brock Huard (analyst)
Game information :
First quarter
ND – Braden Lenzy 16-yard pass from Jack Coan (Jonathan Doerer kick), 9:39. Notre Dame 7–0. Drive: 5 plays, 74 yards, 3:00.
Second quarter
ND – George Takacs 2-yard pass from Jack Coan (Jonathan Doerer kick), 14:30. Notre Dame 14–0. Drive: 9 plays, 69 yards, 3:40.
ND – Jonathan Doerer 36-yard field goal, 11:27. Notre Dame 17–0. Drive: 4 plays, 5 yards, 2:23.
ND – Kyren Williams 1-yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick), 4:47. Notre Dame 24–0. Drive: 12 plays, 75 yards, 1:35.
Third quarter
STAN – Austin Jones 5-yard run (Joshua Karty kick), 13:06. Notre Dame 24–7. Drive: 2 plays, 13 yards, 0:39.
ND – Jack Coan 1-yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick), 11:31. Notre Dame 31–7. Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:35.
Fourth quarter
ND – Tyler Buchner 33-yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick), 14:33. Notre Dame 38–7. Drive: 3 plays, 72 yards, 0:35.
STAN – Benjamin Yurosek 49-yard pass from Tanner McKee (Joshua Karty kick), 11:44. Notre Dame 38–14. Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:49.
ND – Kyren Williams 12-yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick), 0:58. Notre Dame 45–14. Drive: 9 plays, 77 yards, 5:26.
Top passers
ND – Jack Coan – 26/35, 345 yards, 2 TD, INT
STAN – Tanner McKee – 20/25, 172 yards, TD
Top rushers
ND – Kyren Williams – 19 carries, 74 yards, 2 TD
STAN – Austin Jones – 9 carries, 35 yards, TD
Top receivers
ND – Kevin Austin Jr. – 6 carries, 125 yards
STAN – Benjamin Yurosek – 5 receptions, 87 yards, TD :

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | RV | RV | — | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Coaches | RV | RV | — | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| CFP | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |

## Players drafted into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL club |
| 5 | 150 | Thomas Booker | DT | Houston Texans |