2023 Colorado State

5–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Mountain West Conference), coached by Jay Norvell.

Schedule and results

Colorado State in 2023, game by game: lost vs. Washington State 24–50; lost at No. 18 Colorado 35–43; won at Middle Tennessee 31–23; won vs. Utah Tech 41–20; lost at Utah State 24–44; won vs. Boise State 31–30; lost at UNLV 23–25; lost vs. No. 19 Air Force 13–30; lost at Wyoming 15–24; won vs. San Diego State 22–19; won vs. Nevada 30–20; lost at Hawai’i 24–27+21−26Lost 24–50 vs. Washington State-26Washington StateLost 35–43 at No. 18 Colorado-8No. 18 ColoradoWon 31–23 at Middle Tennessee+8Middle TennesseeWon 41–20 vs. Utah Tech+21Utah TechLost 24–44 at Utah State-20Utah StateWon 31–30 vs. Boise State+1Boise StateLost 23–25 at UNLV-2UNLVLost 13–30 vs. No. 19 Air Force-17No. 19 Air ForceLost 15–24 at Wyoming-9WyomingWon 22–19 vs. San Diego State+3San Diego StateWon 30–20 vs. Nevada+10NevadaLost 24–27 at Hawai’i-3Hawai’i
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Hawai’i 27–⁠24; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 87th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 8th in Mountain West Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
313–⁠355
Coach
Jay Norvell
Elo
1384 −18 this season
SP+ rating
-8.9 No. 98 of 133; offense No. 90, defense No. 100, special teams No. 31
SRS
−9.0 No. 104 of 133 in FBS
Returning
92% of last season’s EPA, No. 5 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 70 roster talent No. 108 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Matt Mumme
Defensive coordinator
Freddie Banks
Offense
Air raid
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense85th of 133
  • Defense93rd of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted102nd of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted102nd of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0641%1.1985th of 133
Defense0.1644%1.1893rd of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.04 off
0.16 def
40% off
45% def
—102nd off
102nd 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
Offense3.7own 2615% allowed
Defense3.4own 3016% caused

CORE rating -13.0, 109th of 133 (offense -6.3, defense 6.7).

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 yardsBrayden Fowler-Nicolosi QB3,460 yds
Passing touchdownsBrayden Fowler-Nicolosi QB22 TD
Rushing yardsVann Schield RB389 yds
Rushing touchdownsVann Schield RB3 TD
Receiving yardsTory Horton WR1,136 yds
Receiving touchdownsTory Horton WR8 TD
TacklesJack Howell DB98 tkl
SacksMohamed Kamara DL11 sacks
InterceptionsHenry Blackburn DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Damian Henderson II RB★★★No. 474
Kennedy McDowell DE★★★No. 882
Justin Marshall WR★★★No. 990
Lavon Brown WR★★★No. 1106
Christian Martin OT★★★No. 1481

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.844
Running backs13.00.888
Receivers93.00.841
Offensive line43.00.824
Defensive line33.00.847
Linebackers13.00.844
Defensive backs23.00.843
Athletes and specialists23.00.830
Whole class233.00.840

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.

Drafted in 2024

The 2024 draft
Rd 5Mohamed Kamara DEMiami Dolphins

Roster 114

The 2023 roster

114 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 10

The 2023 portal

Transfers out 20

Tywan Francis S★★★to Temple
David Bailey RB★★★to Texas A&M
Melquan Stovall WR★★★to Arizona State
Devin Phillips DL★★★to Kansas
Tanner Arkin TE★★★to Illinois
D’Andre Greeley CB★★★to Buffalo
Tavian Brown LB★★to Georgia State
A’Jon Vivens RB★★★no new school on file
Alex Berrouet RB★★★no new school on file
Bam Amina LB★★★to UNLV
Ches Jackson OT★★★to Ohio
Damir Abdullah WR★★★no new school on file

And 8 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2023 Mountain West Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UNLV6–⁠29–⁠5
Boise State6–⁠28–⁠6
San José State6–⁠27–⁠6
Air Force5–⁠39–⁠4
Wyoming5–⁠39–⁠4
Fresno State4–⁠49–⁠4
Utah State4–⁠46–⁠7
Colorado State3–⁠55–⁠7
Hawai’i3–⁠55–⁠8
San Diego State2–⁠64–⁠8
New Mexico2–⁠64–⁠8
Nevada2–⁠62–⁠10

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