# 2021 Shepherd Rams football team

The 2021 Shepherd Rams football team represented Shepherd University during the 2021 NCAA Division II football season. The 2021 season was the second for the Rams as a member of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference after joining the conference in 2019. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 season was canceled. The team was led by 4th year head coach Ernie McCook, and played their home games at Ram Stadium in Shepherdstown, WV.
On December 17, Junior QB Tyson Bagent won the Harlon Hill Trophy, as most valuable player in NCAA Division II for the 2021 season.

## Playoffs

Shepherd advanced to the NCAA Division II Football Championship as the #2 seed in Super Region 1. In the first round, they hosted Findlay, winning 38–31.
In the second round against Notre Dame (OH), the Rams won 38–34, on a Tyson Bagent 23 yard touchdown pass with two seconds remaining.
In the quarterfinal round against Kutztown, Bagent threw a 42 yard touchdown pass as time expired, resulting in a 30–28 win for Shepherd.
Shepherd went on to lose in the semi-finals, 7–55, against Ferris State.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 7:00 p.m. | at Ohio Dominican* | No. 15 | Panther StadiumColumbus, OH | | W 35–30 | 918 |
| September 11 | 12:00 p.m. | at Gannon* | No. 13 | McConnell Family StadiumErie, PA | | W 56–26 | 1,137 |
| September 18 | 2:00 p.m. | at No. 14 IUP* | No. 11 | Miller StadiumIndiana, PA | | W 37–21 | 6,367 |
| September 25 | 12:00 p.m. | Kutztown | No. 10 | Ram StadiumShepherdstown, WV | | L 29–37 | 5,371 |
| October 2 | 12:00 p.m. | Shippensburg | No. 21 | Ram StadiumShepherdstown, WV | | W 59–27 | 5,291 |
| October 9 | 1:00 p.m. | at Lock Haven | No. T–16 | Hubert Jack StadiumLock Haven, PA | | W 75–21 | 723 |
| October 16 | 2:00 p.m. | at Millersville | No. 15 | Biemesderfer StadiumMillersville, PA | | W 38–13 | 2,210 |
| October 23 | 12:00 p.m. | West Chester | No. 11 | Ram StadiumShepherdstown, WV | | W 42–38 | 5,911 |
| October 30 | 2:00 p.m. | at Bloomsburg | No. 12 | Robert B. Redman StadiumBloomsburg, PA | | W 62–18 | 2,124 |
| November 6 | 12:00 p.m. | East Stroudsburg | No. 11 | Ram StadiumShepherdstown, WV | | W 55–7 | 4,261 |
| November 13 | 12:00 p.m. | Clarion* | No. 8 | Ram StadiumShepherdstown, WV (Senior Day) | | W 55–0 | 4,259 |
| November 20 | 12:00 p.m. | Findlay* | No. 8 | Ram StadiumShepherdstown, WV (NCAA Division II First Round) | | W 38–31 | 4,503 |
| November 27 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 6 Notre Dame (OH)* | No. 8 | Ram StadiumShepherdstown, WV (NCAA Division II Second Round) | | W 38–34 | 4,857 |
| December 4 | 12:05 p.m. | at No. 12 Kutztown* | No. 8 | Andre Reed StadiumKutztown, PA (NCAA Division II Quarterfinal) | PSAC TV | W 30–28 | 3,393 |
| December 11 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 1 Ferris State* | No. 8 | Top Taggart FieldBig Rapids, MI (NCAA Division II Semifinal) | ESPN+ | L 7–55 | 2,473 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AFCA Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Final |
| AFCA DII | 15 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 16-T | 15 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 5 |
| D2Football.com | 19 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 22 | | | | | | | |