2021 North Alabama Lions football team
American college football season
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The 2021 North Alabama Lions football team represented the University of North Alabama during the 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Lions played their home games at the Braly Municipal Stadium in Florence, Alabama. The team was coached by fifth-year head coach Chris Willis.
ConferenceBig South Conference
Record3–8 (3–4 Big South)
Headcoach
- Chris Willis (5th season)
OffensivecoordinatorZach Lisko (2nd season)
| 2021 North Alabama Lions football | |
|---|---|
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| Conference | Big South Conference |
| Record | 3–8 (3–4 Big South) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Zach Lisko (2nd season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Steadman Campbell (4th season) |
| Home stadium | Braly Municipal Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 11 Kennesaw State $^ | 7 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monmouth | 6 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Carolina A&T | 3 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Alabama | 3 | – | 4 | 3 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charleston Southern | 3 | – | 4 | 4 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hampton | 3 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Robert Morris | 3 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Campbell | 2 | – | 5 | 3 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gardner–Webb | 2 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
North Alabama announced its 2021 football schedule on April 21, 2021.[1] The 2021 schedule consists of five home and six away games in the regular season.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 4 | 6:00 p.m. | No. 15 Southeastern Louisiana* | ESPN3 | L 28–49 | 3,433[3] | |
| September 11 | 7:00 p.m. | Chattanooga* |
| ESPN+/WHDF | L 0–20 | 10,281 |
| September 18 | 6:00 p.m. | at No. 10 Jacksonville State* | ESPN+ | L 24–27 | 20,992 | |
| September 25 | 3:00 p.m. | at Nicholls* | ESPN+ | L 14–31 | 7,314 | |
| October 2 | 6:00 p.m. | Campbell |
| ESPN+ | L 31–48 | 6,533 |
| October 9 | 12:00 p.m. | at North Carolina A&T | ESPN+/Nexstar | L 34-38 | 6,824 | |
| October 16 | 6:00 p.m. | Robert Morris |
| ESPN+ | W 42–31 | 8,123 |
| October 23 | 2:00 p.m. | Charleston Southern |
| ESPN3 | W 45-22 | 5,647 |
| November 6 | 12:00 p.m. | at Monmouth | ESPN3 | L 33-45 | 2,231 | |
| November 13 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 10 Kennesaw State |
| ESPN+ | L 24-28 | 7,023 |
| November 20 | 12:00 p.m. | at Hampton | ESPN+ | W 35-27 | 1,500 | |
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- North Alabama's game against Southeastern Louisiana was originally scheduled to be played as an away game, in Hammond, Louisiana, but the game was moved to Florence on August 31, 2021, due to safety concerns related to Hurricane Ida.[2]
Game summaries
No. 15 Southeastern Louisiana
Southeastern Louisiana at North Alabama
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • No. 15 SLU Lions | 7 | 7 | 13 | 22 | 49 |
| UNA Lions | 0 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
- Date: September 4, 2021
- Location: Braly Municipal Stadium
Florence, AL[2] - Game start: 6:00 p.m. CDT
- Elapsed time: 3 hours and 36 minutes
- Game attendance: 3,433
- Game weather: • Weather: TBD • Wind: TBD
- Referee: Drew Myers
- TV announcers (ESPN3):
| 1 | 0:43 | SLU | Nolan Givan 4-yard pass from Cole Kelley (Mateo Rengifo kick) (7 plays, 67 yards, 3:24) | SLU 7–0 |
| 2 | 13:03 | UNA | Corson Swan 29-yard pass from Jaylen Gipson (Sam Contorno kick) (1 play, 29 yards, 0:13) | TIED 7–7 |
| 6:12 | SLU | Cephus Johnson III 13-yard pass from Cole Kelley (Mateo Rengifo kick) (17 plays, 68 yards, 6:51) | SLU 14–7 | |
| 1:39 | UNA | Kennebrew Tak. 40-yard pass from Jaylen Gipson (Easterling Gra. kick) (8 plays, 75 yards, 4:33) | TIED 14–14 | |
| 3 | 11:40 | SLU | Austi Mitchell 1-yard pass from Cole Kelley (Mateo Rengifo kick failed) (7 plays, 61 yards, 3:20) | SLU 20–14 |
| 9:37 | UNA | Takairee Kennebrew 47-yard pass from Jaylen Gipson (Easterling Gra. kick) (4 plays, 75 yards, 2:03) | UNA 21–20 | |
| 6:37 | SLU | Taron Jones 3-yard run (Mateo Rengifo kick) (7 plays, 75 yards, 3:00) | SLU 27–21 | |
| 4 | 13:07 | SLU | Cole Kelley 9-yard run (Nolan Givan pass) (13 plays, 99 yards, 6:29) | SLU 35–21 |
| 12:38 | SLU | Ferland Jordan 41-yard interception (Mateo Rengifo kick) | SLU 42–21 | |
| 10:21 | UNA | Takairee Kennebrew 24-yard pass from Jaylen Gipson (Easterling Gra. kick) (8 plays, 75 yards, 2:17) | SLU 42–28 | |
| 0:44 | SLU | Cephus Johnson III 15-yard run (Mateo Rengifo kick) (6 plays, 79 yards, 3:38) | SLU 49–28 | |
| Statistics | Southeastern Louisiana | North Alabama |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 30 | 23 |
| Total yards | 495 | 404 |
| Rushing yards | 232 | 54 |
| Passing yards | 263 | 350 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 36:49 | 23:11 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southeastern Louisiana | Passing | Cole Kelley | 30/41, 263 yards, 3 TD |
| Rushing | Taron Jones | 11 carries, 85 yards, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | CJ Turner | 3 receptions, 52 yards | |
| North Alabama | Passing | Jaylen Gipson | 23/46, 350 yards, 4 TD, 1 INT |
| Rushing | Jaylen Gipson | 7 carries, 22 yards | |
| Receiving | Takairee Kennebrew | 7 receptions, 132 yards, 3 TD |
