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2023 App State

9–⁠5 (6–⁠2 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Shawn Clark.

Schedule and results

App State in 2023, game by game: won vs. Gardner-Webb 45–24; lost at No. 17 North Carolina 34–40; won vs. East Carolina 43–28; lost at Wyoming 19–22; won at UL Monroe 41–40; lost vs. Coastal Carolina 24–27; lost at Old Dominion 21–28; won vs. Southern Miss 48–38; won vs. Marshall 31–9; won at Georgia State 42–14; won at No. 18 James Madison 26–23; won vs. Georgia Southern 55–27; lost at Troy 23–49; won vs. Miami (OH) 13–9+28−26Won 45–24 vs. Gardner-Webb+21Gardner-WebbLost 34–40 at No. 17 North Carolina-6No. 17 North CarolinaWon 43–28 vs. East Carolina+15East CarolinaLost 19–22 at Wyoming-3WyomingWon 41–40 at UL Monroe+1UL MonroeLost 24–27 vs. Coastal Carolina-3Coastal CarolinaLost 21–28 at Old Dominion-7Old DominionWon 48–38 vs. Southern Miss+10Southern MissWon 31–9 vs. Marshall+22MarshallWon 42–14 at Georgia State+28Georgia StateWon 26–23 at No. 18 James Madison+3No. 18 James MadisonWon 55–27 vs. Georgia Southern+28Georgia SouthernLost 23–49 at Troy-26TroyWon 13–9 vs. Miami (OH)+4Miami (OH)
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsGardner-WebbW 45–⁠2479%
Sep 9at17North CarolinaL 34–⁠4038%
Sep 16vsEast CarolinaW 43–⁠2861%
Sep 23atWyomingL 19–⁠2250%
Sep 30atUL MonroeW 41–⁠4060%
Oct 10vsCoastal CarolinaL 24–⁠2764%
Oct 21atOld DominionL 21–⁠2855%
Oct 28vsSouthern MissW 48–⁠3875%
Nov 4vsMarshallW 31–⁠957%
Nov 11atGeorgia StateW 42–⁠1442%
Nov 18at18James MadisonW 26–⁠2326%
Nov 25vsGeorgia SouthernW 55–⁠2772%
Dec 2atTroySun Belt ChampionshipL 23–⁠4929%
Dec 16Bowls & playoffvsMiami (OH)Cure BowlW 13–⁠944%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Miami (OH) 13–⁠9 in the Cure Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Sun Belt Conference.

In program history: The 7th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 58 on file).

Record
9–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 3rd in Sun Belt Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
465–⁠378
Coach
Shawn Clark
Elo
1612 +86 this season
SP+ rating
3.8 No. 52 of 133; offense No. 24, defense No. 95, special teams No. 43
SRS
0.9 No. 60 of 133 in FBS
Returning
47% of last season’s EPA, No. 72 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 80 roster talent No. 84 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Frank Ponce
Defensive coordinator
Scot Sloan
Offense
Pro tempo
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense43rd of 133
  • Defense61st of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted33rd of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted77th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1645%1.3143rd of 133
Defense0.0942%1.2861st of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.17 off
0.12 def		45% off
44% def		—33rd off
77th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.8own 2916% allowed
Defense3.1own 2818% caused

CORE rating 0.9, 57th of 133 (offense 5.4, defense 4.5).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJoey Aguilar QB3,754 yds
Passing touchdownsJoey Aguilar QB33 TD
Rushing yardsNate Noel RB825 yds
Rushing touchdownsKanye Roberts RB7 TD
Receiving yardsKaedin Robinson WR905 yds
Receiving touchdownsKaedin Robinson WR10 TD
TacklesAndrew Parker LB109 tkl
SacksNate Johnson DE7.5 sacks
InterceptionsJordan Favors DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Grant Tucker ATH★★★No. 482
D.J. Porter CB★★★No. 1097
Chris Lawson Jr. WR★★★No. 1522
Nate Johnson DE★★★No. 1541
Jayden Bethea LB★★★No. 1636

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.822
Running backs13.00.819
Receivers23.00.827
Offensive line13.00.838
Defensive line23.00.829
Linebackers33.00.840
Defensive backs33.00.835
Athletes and specialists23.00.851
Whole class153.00.834

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 114

The 2023 roster

114 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 58 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 13

The 2023 portal
Griffin Scroggs OL★★★from Georgia
Michael Fletcher DE★★★★from Michigan State
E.J. Jackson CB★★★from Marshall
Jarrett Paul S★★★from Kansas
Shawn Collins DL★★★from Rutgers
Thomas Davis DE★★★from Miami
Thornton Gentry OT★★★from NC State
Christian Ford WR★★from Mississippi State
Jack Murphy OT★★from Marshall
Logan Ridolph OT★★from Missouri State
Maquel Haywood RB★★from Navy
Tyrek Funderburk CB★★from Richmond

And 1 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 14

Troy Everett OL★★★to Oklahoma
Jalen McLeod LB★★★to Auburn
Da’Shawn Brown WR★★★to Alabama A&M
Brady McBride QB★★★no new school on file
Christian Wells WR★★★to Massachusetts
Colston Powers OT★★★no new school on file
D.C. Tabscott QB★★★to New Mexico
Jamar Rucks DL★★★to Kennesaw State
Jonathan Streeter CB★★★to Campbell
Jourdan Heilig LB★★★no new school on file
KeSean Brown LB★★★to Marshall
Luke Smith DL★★★to East Tennessee State

And 2 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2023 Sun Belt Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
James Madison7–⁠111–⁠2
Troy7–⁠111–⁠3
App State6–⁠29–⁠5
Coastal Carolina5–⁠38–⁠5
Old Dominion5–⁠36–⁠7
Texas State4–⁠48–⁠5
South Alabama4–⁠47–⁠6
Arkansas State4–⁠46–⁠7
Georgia State3–⁠57–⁠6
Georgia Southern3–⁠56–⁠7
Marshall3–⁠56–⁠7
Louisiana3–⁠56–⁠7
Southern Miss2–⁠63–⁠9
UL Monroe0–⁠82–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.