College Football Stat Leaders

2021 Conference USA College Football Defensive PPA Leaders

Predicted points added allowed per defensive play.

Seasons Covered

2003-2025

Current Leader

UTEP (0.114)

Best Season

Louisville 2004 (-0.137)

Scope

Conference USA • 2021

Browse Metrics

Crawl sibling stat pages without leaving the shared leaderboard template.

Total Yards Per GamePassing Yards Per GameRushing Yards Per GamePoints Per GameOffensive PPADefensive PPATurnover MarginHavoc Rate

What The Numbers Say

Route-specific context pulled from the current leaderboard, winner trend, and historical baseline.

How Defensive PPA Reads

Defensive PPA is a prevention metric, so lower numbers are better because elite defenses consistently erase scoring value and force opponents into less efficient possessions. On this 2021 leaderboard, the visible range runs 0.114 to 0.163, with UTEP setting the pace.

Conference USA Context

Conference USA teams have claimed 100% of the yearly titles in this filtered dataset, and Louisiana Tech is the latest winner at 0.045.

Spread At The Top

The gap from No. 1 UTEP to No. 5 Florida Atlantic is 0.049, which shows how tightly packed the top of this leaderboard is.

Recent Trend And Baseline

The yearly winning mark improved from 0.089 in 2024 to 0.045 in 2025, a swing of 0.044. UTEP's current mark of 0.114 sits below the all-time average leader benchmark of -0.106 held by Cincinnati.

Leaderboard

Top 12 rows for the current route scope.

1UTEPConference USA20210.114
2UABConference USA20210.114
3MarshallConference USA20210.119
4Middle TennesseeConference USA20210.133
5Florida AtlanticConference USA20210.163
6Western KentuckyConference USA20210.168
7North TexasConference USA20210.181
8Southern MissConference USA20210.198
9Louisiana TechConference USA20210.255
10RiceConference USA20210.307
11CharlotteConference USA20210.358
12Florida InternationalConference USA20210.368

Trend Chart

Yearly winning values for the current filter scope.

Yearly Winners

SeasonTeamConferenceValue
2025Louisiana TechConference USA0.045
2024Louisiana TechConference USA0.089
2023Jacksonville StateConference USA0.046
2022Middle TennesseeConference USA0.080
2021UTEPConference USA0.114
2020MarshallConference USA0.038
2019UABConference USA0.018
2018UABConference USA-0.009
2017Middle TennesseeConference USA0.053
2016Southern MissConference USA0.109
2015MarshallConference USA0.002
2014Louisiana TechConference USA0.040
2013Florida AtlanticConference USA-0.007
2012TulsaConference USA-0.012
2011Southern MissConference USA-0.021
2010Southern MissConference USA-0.007
2009TulsaConference USA0.008
2008East CarolinaConference USA-0.032
2007UCFConference USA0.000
2006TulsaConference USA0.004
2005HoustonConference USA-0.010
2004LouisvilleConference USA-0.137
2003CincinnatiConference USA-0.115

Historical Leaderboard

Average across seasons for each team in the current filter scope.

RankTeamSeasonsAverageBest Season
1Cincinnati2004, 2003-0.1062003 (-0.115)
2Louisville2004, 2003-0.0592004 (-0.137)
3TCU2004, 2003-0.0542003 (-0.094)
4Tulsa2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 20050.0242012 (-0.012)
5Army2004, 20030.0302003 (-0.012)
6UCF2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 20050.0402008 (-0.031)
7South Florida2004, 20030.0422003 (-0.036)
8East Carolina2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 20030.0562008 (-0.032)
9Tulane2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 20030.0622003 (-0.024)
10SMU2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 20050.0672012 (0.025)
11Houston2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 20030.0682005 (-0.010)
12Southern Miss2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 20030.0722003 (-0.083)
13Memphis2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 20030.0742003 (0.026)
14Marshall2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 20050.0762015 (0.002)
15UAB2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 20030.0802004 (-0.106)
16Jacksonville State2025, 2024, 20230.1142023 (0.046)
17Louisiana Tech2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 20130.1332014 (0.040)
18Western Kentucky2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 20140.1522022 (0.087)
19UTEP2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 20050.1532005 (0.021)
20Liberty2025, 2024, 20230.1552024 (0.099)
21Florida Atlantic2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 20130.1552013 (-0.007)
22Middle Tennessee2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 20130.1562017 (0.053)
23Sam Houston2025, 2024, 20230.1662024 (0.094)
24Florida International2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 20130.1782014 (0.040)
25Rice2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 20050.1852011 (0.035)

Frequently Asked Questions

Who leads the Conference USA defensive ppa leaderboard in 2021?

UTEP ranks first at 0.114 in 2021.

Which Conference USA program has the best long-term defensive ppa profile?

Cincinnati owns the strongest all-time average at -0.106 across 2 tracked seasons in this conference scope.

How does the Conference USA race compare with the recent trend?

Louisiana Tech is the most recent yearly winner in this conference scope, so the route combines the current leaderboard with a recent trend line instead of showing only one season snapshot.