# 2021 West Florida Argonauts football team

The 2021 West Florida Argonauts football team represented the University of West Florida as a member of the Gulf South Conference (GSC) during the 2021 NCAA Division II football season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Pete Shinnick. The Argonauts played their home games at Admiral Fetterman Field in Pensacola, Florida.

## Previous season

The Argonauts finished the 2019 season 13–2, 7–1 in Gulf South Conference (GSC) play, to finish second in the conference standings. The 2019 team, won the 2019 NCAA Division II Football Championship by defeating Minnesota State, 48–40 in the 2019 NCAA Division II Football Championship Game.
On August 12, 2020, Gulf South Conference postponed fall competition in 2020 for several sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A few months later in November, the conference announced that there would be no spring conference competition in football. Teams that opted-in to compete would have to schedule on their own. The Argonauts did not compete in the 2020 season and opted out of spring competition.

## Schedule

West Florida announced their 2021 football schedule on March 24, 2021.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 4 | 12:00 p.m. | at McNeese State* | No. 1 | Cowboy StadiumLake Charles, LA | ESPN+ | W 42–36 | 8,665 |
| September 11 | 6:00 p.m. | Southwest Baptist* | No. 1 | Pen Air FieldPensacola, FL | FloSports | W 63–14 | 5,463 |
| September 18 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 21 Texas A&M–Commerce* | No. 1 | Memorial StadiumCommerce, TX | | W 35–17 | 8,269 |
| September 25 | 6:00 p.m. | Fort Lauderdale* | No. 1 | Admiral Fetterman FieldPensacola, FL | FloSports | Cancelled | |
| October 2 | 6:00 p.m. | at Delta State | No. 1 | McCool StadiumCleveland, MS | FloSports | W 39–33 | 4,657 |
| October 9 | 6:00 p.m. | at North Greenville | No. 1 | Younts StadiumTigerville, SC | FloSports | W 52–10 | 2,134 |
| October 16 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 12 West Georgia | No. 1 | Admiral Fetterman FieldPensacola, FL | FloSports | L 26–30 | 7,053 |
| October 23 | 4:00 p.m. | Shorter | No. 6 | Admiral Fetterman FieldPensacola, FL | FloSports | W 45–23 | 5,040 |
| October 30 | 6:00 p.m. | at Mississippi College | No. 5 | Robinson-Hale StadiumClinton, MS | FloSports | W 63–28 | 4,238 |
| November 6 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 23 West Alabama | No. 4 | Tiger StadiumLivingston, AL | FloSports | W 47–7 | 1,633 |
| November 13 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 2 Valdosta State | No. 3 | Admiral Fetterman FieldPensacola, FL | FloSports | W 61–42 | 7,193 |
| November 20 | 1:00 p.m. | Newberry* | No. 2 | Admiral Fetterman FieldPensacola, FL (NCAA Division II First Round) | UWF Sports Network | L 30–33 | 4,086 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AFCA Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | 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 | Final |
| AFCA | 1 (28) | 1 (28) | 1 (29) | 1 (30) | 1 (30) | 1 (30) | 1 (30) | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 12 |