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2023 Ball State

4–⁠8 (3–⁠5 Mid-American Conference), coached by Mike Neu.

Schedule and results

Ball State in 2023, game by game: lost at Kentucky 14–44; lost at No. 1 Georgia 3–45; won vs. Indiana State 45–7; lost vs. Georgia Southern 3–40; lost at Western Michigan 24–42; lost at Eastern Michigan 10–24; lost vs. Toledo 6–13; won vs. Central Michigan 24–17; lost at Bowling Green 21–24; won at Northern Illinois 20–17; won vs. Kent State 34–3; lost vs. Miami (OH) 15–17+38−42Lost 14–44 at Kentucky-30KentuckyLost 3–45 at No. 1 Georgia-42No. 1 GeorgiaWon 45–7 vs. Indiana State+38Indiana StateLost 3–40 vs. Georgia Southern-37Georgia SouthernLost 24–42 at Western Michigan-18Western MichiganLost 10–24 at Eastern Michigan-14Eastern MichiganLost 6–13 vs. Toledo-7ToledoWon 24–17 vs. Central Michigan+7Central MichiganLost 21–24 at Bowling Green-3Bowling GreenWon 20–17 at Northern Illinois+3Northern Illino…Won 34–3 vs. Kent State+31Kent StateLost 15–17 vs. Miami (OH)-2Miami (OH)
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2atKentuckyL 14–⁠4430%
Sep 9at1GeorgiaL 3–⁠4510%
Sep 16vsIndiana StateW 45–⁠786%
Sep 23vsGeorgia SouthernL 3–⁠4052%
Sep 30atWestern MichiganL 24–⁠4239%
Oct 7atEastern MichiganL 10–⁠2430%
Oct 14vsToledoL 6–⁠1329%
Oct 21vsCentral MichiganW 24–⁠1743%
Nov 1atBowling GreenL 21–⁠2431%
Nov 7atNorthern IllinoisW 20–⁠1734%
Nov 18vsKent StateW 34–⁠369%
Nov 25vsMiami (OH)L 15–⁠1731%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Miami (OH) 17–⁠15; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 34th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 7th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
219–⁠293
Coach
Mike Neu
Elo
1400 −54 this season
SP+ rating
-14.9 No. 118 of 133; offense No. 131, defense No. 64, special teams No. 96
SRS
−12.7 No. 113 of 133 in FBS
Returning
26% of last season’s EPA, No. 114 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 108 roster talent No. 111 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Kevin Lynch and Jared Elliott
Defensive coordinator
Tyler Stockton
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense104th of 133
  • Defense82nd of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted116th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted89th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0138%1.09104th of 133
Defense0.1443%1.1782nd of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.01 off
0.14 def		37% off
44% def		—116th off
89th 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
Offense3.3own 2917% allowed
Defense3.8own 3116% caused

CORE rating -13.1, 110th of 133 (offense -10.3, defense 2.8).

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 yardsLayne Hatcher QB583 yds
Passing touchdownsLayne Hatcher QB4 TD
Rushing yardsMarquez Cooper RB1,043 yds
Rushing touchdownsKiael Kelly QB7 TD
Receiving yardsQian Magwood WR358 yds
Receiving touchdownsTanner Koziol TE3 TD
TacklesKeionte Newson LB80 tkl
SacksSidney Houston Jr. LB8 sacks
InterceptionsTyler Potts DB2 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Christian Davis RB★★★No. 1453
Preston Ross TE★★★No. 1710
Kadin Semonza QB★★★No. 1814
R.J. Mukes III ATH★★★No. 1905
T.J. Horton CB★★★No. 2025

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.824
Running backs13.00.850
Receivers32.70.816
Offensive line42.80.811
Defensive line13.00.820
Linebackers13.00.814
Defensive backs33.00.825
Athletes and specialists13.00.831
Whole class162.90.821

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 118

The 2023 roster

118 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 61 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 10

The 2023 portal
Ty Robinson WR★★★from Colorado
D.D. Snyder S★★★from Illinois
Layne Hatcher QB★★★from Texas State
Luke Wiginton OT★★★from Indiana
Marquez Cooper RB★★★from Kent State
Charlie Spegal RB★★from Indiana
Tucker Dunn LS★★from Colgate
Aljareek Malry Sfrom VMI
Jon Mucciolo OLfrom Sacred Heart
Mikhari Sibblis DLfrom Lehigh

Transfers out 10

Carson Steele RB★★★★to UCLA
John Paddock QB★★★to Illinois
Chayce Bishop WR★★★no new school on file
Donovan Marcus RB★★★no new school on file
Joshua Tarango DL★★★no new school on file
Justen Ramsey DT★★★to Indiana State
Kaden Cobb QB★★★no new school on file
Karl Odrick Jr. DL★★★no new school on file
Shoka Griffin II RB★★no new school on file
Cam Gillentine QBno new school on file

2023 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Toledo8–⁠011–⁠3
Miami (OH)7–⁠111–⁠3
Ohio6–⁠210–⁠3
Bowling Green5–⁠37–⁠6
Northern Illinois5–⁠37–⁠6
Eastern Michigan4–⁠46–⁠7
Central Michigan3–⁠55–⁠7
Western Michigan3–⁠54–⁠8
Ball State3–⁠54–⁠8
Buffalo3–⁠53–⁠9
Akron1–⁠72–⁠10
Kent State0–⁠81–⁠11

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