Vikings finish season on three game win streak with an average margin of victory of 31 points
 
After an abbreviated 2020 season, the Augustana Vikings football team began their 2021 campaign on a high note, earning a 31-21 non-conference road victory over Rhodes. The team saw their bye come early in the year, facing a week off before they welcomed in Millikin for Family Weekend. Like seemingly every time the two teams play, it came down to the wire, with the Big Blue securing the overtime victory by a score of 27-21. The result made it the fifth time in the last six meetings between the two programs that the game was decided by a single possession.

Augie split their next two games, which featured a loss at No. 1 ranked North Central before defeating North Park at home on Homecoming to push their record to 2-2 overall. From there, the Vikings endured a bit of a rough stretch, dropping three straight contests. They were defeated by another top five team in Wheaton on the road, before falling to third-place Washington-St. Louis. Carroll also knocked off Augustana in overtime to cap off the three-game losing streak.

The Vikings bounced back in dominating fashion to close the season, beginning with a blowout road win over Carthage. A 21-0 halftime lead and a balanced attack helped Augie break their losing skid and jumpstart their 3-0 end to the year. On senior day, Augustana defeated Elmhurst by a score of 48-7, scoring 41 unanswered after ending the first quarter with a tied 7-7 score.

The three-game winning streak was highlighted by a season-finale road win over Illinois Wesleyan, breaking a five-game losing skid to the Titans. During the streak, the Vikings had put up over 20 points just once against Illinois Wesleyan, but this time around dominated on both sides of the ball on their way to a 38-14 rout of their rivals. As a team, Augie out-gained IWU 398-304, led by Cole Bhardwaj's 233-yard performance. The sophomore ended his 2021 campaign with three touchdowns and no interceptions, completing 18-33 passes. He finished the year with multiple spots in the top ten in the Augie record book, despite playing just seven games. He now holds the No. 8 spot in completion percentage and No. 5 spot in pass yards per game for a single season.

Bobby Inserra finished 12th in the CCIW in 2021 in total receiving yards and was top in the league in punt return average. Kicker Sydney Maroon was second in the CCIW in field goal percentage.

On defense, Tim Swaney was second in the conference in tackles, while teammate Chase Tatum ranked third in tackles for loss. The Augie defense also boasted two conference leaders on that side of the ball, with Tatum heading the way in sacks and Nick Harper the top guy in interceptions. As a team, Augustana ranked fourth in the conference in total defense, allowing 26 points per outing.

Four Vikings - Tatum, Harper, Swaney, Inserra - were named to the CCIW's all-conference team.
 
2021 AUGUSTANA FOOTBALL SUPERLATIVES 
 
INDIVIDUAL AWARD WINNERS 
All-CCIW: Chase Tatum, DL (1st); Nick Harper, DB (2nd); Tim Swaney, LB (2nd); Bobby Inserra, RS (2nd)
CCIW Player of the Week: Brody Blackford
CCIW Academic All-Conference: Kevin Akins, Joe Amiano, Brody Blackford, Derek Butts, Kyle Cacioppo, Vincent D'Orazio, Braden Dietz, Casey Erickson, Ian Gorken, Daniel Higgins, Michael Hudson, Rukkus Hunkins, Austin Ioeger, Jack Kaczmarek, Jacob Lenschow, Brayden Macdonald, James Macklin, David Mason III, Matthew McCarthy, Matt Payton, Logan Pierard, Ben Radel, Mikey Scarpinato, Daniel Skold, Jaren Smith, Aykeem Spivey, Tim Swaney, David Vaynerman, John Vohasek, Spencer Warfield