2023 East Carolina
2–10 (1–7 American Athletic Conference), coached by Mike Houston. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Gardner-Webb 44–0Sep 23
By 44 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to Tulsa 27–29Nov 25
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | at 2Michigan | L 3–30 | 22% |
| Sep 9 | vs Marshall | L 13–31 | 52% |
| Sep 16 | at App State | L 28–43 | 39% |
| Sep 23 | vs Gardner-Webb | W 44–0 | 75% |
| Sep 30 | at Rice | L 17–24 | 57% |
| Oct 12 | vs SMU | L 10–31 | 48% |
| Oct 21 | vs Charlotte | L 7–10 | 75% |
| Oct 28 | at UTSA | L 27–41 | 20% |
| Nov 4 | vs 21Tulane | L 10–13 | 25% |
| Nov 11 | at Florida Atlantic | W 22–7 | 34% |
| Nov 18 | at Navy | L 0–10 | 44% |
| Nov 25 | vs Tulsa | L 27–29 | 68% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Tulsa 29–27; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 13th in the American Athletic Conference.
In program history: The 47th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 70 on file).
- Record
- 2–10
- Conference
- 1–7 tied for 13th in American Athletic Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 208–269
- Coach
- Mike Houston
- Elo
- 1405 −138 this season
- SP+ rating
- -12.8 No. 111 of 133; offense No. 124, defense No. 81, special teams No. 70
- SRS
- −9.5 No. 106 of 133 in FBS
- Returning
- 9% of last season’s EPA, No. 128 of 131
- Recruiting class
- No. 65 roster talent No. 77 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Donnie Kirkpatrick
- Defensive coordinator
- Blake Harrell
- Offense
- Spread
- Defense
- 3–4 or 4–2–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.11 | 33% | 1.18 | 133rd of 133 |
| Defense | 0.10 | 35% | 1.56 | 65th of 133 |
| Opponent-adjusted | -0.04 off 0.13 def | 35% off 37% def | — | 133rd off 81st 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 2.6 | own 31 | 19% allowed |
| Defense | 2.8 | own 31 | 20% caused |
CORE rating -18.3, 123rd of 133 (offense -18.8, defense -0.5).
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 yards | Alex Flinn QB | 1,558 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Alex Flinn QB | 6 TD |
| Rushing yards | Rahjai Harris RB | 485 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Rahjai Harris RB | 5 TD |
| Receiving yards | Chase Sowell WR | 622 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Jaylen Johnson WR | 2 TD |
| Tackles | Julius Wood DB | 87 tkl |
| Sacks | D’Anta Johnson DL | 4 sacks |
| Interceptions | Julius Wood DB | 2 INT |
Top recruits in the 2023 class
| Antione Jackson S | ★★★★ | No. 243 |
| Nate Branch WR | ★★★ | No. 521 |
| Javious Bond ATH | ★★★ | No. 650 |
| Malik Leverett WR | ★★★ | No. 879 |
| Rico Watkins ATH | ★★★ | No. 1271 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2023 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.850 |
| Receivers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.862 |
| Offensive line | 3 | 3.0 | 0.825 |
| Defensive line | 2 | 3.0 | 0.844 |
| Linebackers | 2 | 3.0 | 0.834 |
| Defensive backs | 5 | 3.2 | 0.849 |
| Athletes and specialists | 4 | 3.0 | 0.857 |
| Whole class | 20 | 3.0 | 0.847 |
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 122
The 2023 roster122 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 64 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 17
The 2023 portal B.J. Davis LB | ★★★ | from  South Carolina State |
 Omar Rogers S | ★★★ | from  Elon |
 Gerald Green RB | ★★★ | from  Georgia Southern |
 Dontavius Nash S | ★★★ | from  North Carolina |
 Jonathan Jones CB | ★★★ | from  Campbell |
 Ryan King WR | ★★★ | from  Georgia Tech |
| Tymir Brown CB | ★★★ | from North Carolina |
 Tyquan King ILB | ★★★ | from  North Carolina A&T |
 Chase Sowell WR | ★★★ | from  Colorado |
| Raneiria Dillworth LB | ★★★ | from North Carolina |
 Dustyn Hall OL | ★★★ | from  Duke |
 Kelan Robinson WR | ★★★ | from  Kansas |
And 5 more, lower-rated or unrated.
Transfers out 25
 Avery Jones OL | ★★★★ | to  Auburn |
| Malik Fleming CB | ★★★ | to  Houston |
| Jireh Wilson S | ★★★ | to  UCF |
| Juan Powell CB | ★★★ | to  Coastal Carolina |
| Rick D’Abreu DL | ★★★ | to  TCU |
| Robert Kennedy S | ★★★ | to  NC State |
| Andre Pegues WR | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| D’Angelo McKinnie TE | ★★★ | to  Stony Brook |
| Demetrius Mauney S | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Elijah Robinson DE | ★★★ | to  Hawai’i |
| Immanuel Hickman DE | ★★★ | to  South Florida |
| Nemo Squire RB | ★★★ | to  Gardner-Webb |
And 13 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2023 American Athletic Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| SMU | 8–0 | 11–3 | 22 |
| Tulane | 8–0 | 11–3 | |
| UTSA | 7–1 | 9–4 | |
 Memphis | 6–2 | 10–3 | |
 South Florida | 4–4 | 7–6 | |
| Rice | 4–4 | 6–7 | |
| Navy | 4–4 | 5–7 | |
 North Texas | 3–5 | 5–7 | |
 UAB | 3–5 | 4–8 | |
| Florida Atlantic | 3–5 | 4–8 | |
| Tulsa | 2–6 | 4–8 | |
| Charlotte | 2–6 | 3–9 | |
 Temple | 1–7 | 3–9 | |
| East Carolina | 1–7 | 2–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.