CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2023 Eastern Michigan

6–⁠7 (4–⁠4 Mid-American Conference), coached by Chris Creighton.

Schedule and results

Eastern Michigan in 2023, game by game: won vs. Howard 33–23; lost at Minnesota 6–25; won vs. Massachusetts 19–17; lost at Jacksonville State 0–21; lost at Central Michigan 23–26; won vs. Ball State 24–10; won vs. Kent State 28–14; lost at Northern Illinois 13–20; lost vs. Western Michigan 21–45; lost at Toledo 23–49; won vs. Akron 30–27; won at Buffalo 24–11; lost vs. South Alabama 10–59+14−49Won 33–23 vs. Howard+10HowardLost 6–25 at Minnesota-19MinnesotaWon 19–17 vs. Massachusetts+2MassachusettsLost 0–21 at Jacksonville State-21Jacksonville St…Lost 23–26 at Central Michigan-3Central MichiganWon 24–10 vs. Ball State+14Ball StateWon 28–14 vs. Kent State+14Kent StateLost 13–20 at Northern Illinois-7Northern Illino…Lost 21–45 vs. Western Michigan-24Western MichiganLost 23–49 at Toledo-26ToledoWon 30–27 vs. Akron+3AkronWon 24–11 at Buffalo+13BuffaloLost 10–59 vs. South Alabama-49South Alabama
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsHowardW 33–⁠2384%
Sep 9atMinnesotaL 6–⁠2533%
Sep 16vsMassachusettsW 19–⁠1783%
Sep 23atJacksonville StateL 0–⁠2152%
Sep 30atCentral MichiganL 23–⁠2644%
Oct 7vsBall StateW 24–⁠1070%
Oct 14vsKent StateW 28–⁠1471%
Oct 21atNorthern IllinoisL 13–⁠2053%
Oct 28vsWestern MichiganL 21–⁠4568%
Nov 8atToledoL 23–⁠4920%
Nov 14vsAkronW 30–⁠2776%
Nov 21atBuffaloW 24–⁠1145%
Dec 23Bowls & playoffvsSouth Alabama68 Ventures BowlL 10–⁠5945%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to South Alabama 59–⁠10 in the 68 Ventures Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 6th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 12th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 64 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠4 6th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
254–⁠347
Coach
Chris Creighton
Elo
1419 −103 this season
SP+ rating
-12.3 No. 109 of 133; offense No. 130, defense No. 67, special teams No. 18
SRS
−17.8 No. 129 of 133 in FBS
Returning
50% of last season’s EPA, No. 68 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 87 roster talent No. 116 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mike Piatkowski
Defensive coordinator
Ben Needham
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense119th of 133
  • Defense68th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted128th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted98th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0335%1.13119th of 133
Defense0.1144%1.1868th of 133
Opponent-adjusted-0.03 off
0.16 def		35% off
46% def		—128th off
98th 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
Offense3.2own 3121% allowed
Defense3.5own 3316% caused

CORE rating -19.4, 127th of 133 (offense -15.0, defense 4.4).

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 yardsAustin Smith QB1,775 yds
Passing touchdownsAustin Smith QB9 TD
Rushing yardsSamson Evans RB635 yds
Rushing touchdownsSamson Evans RB12 TD
Receiving yardsTanner Knue WR479 yds
Receiving touchdownsTanner Knue WR3 TD
TacklesJoseph Sparacio LB139 tkl
SacksMikah Coleman DL4 sacks
InterceptionsBennett Walker DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Kellen McDonough OT★★★No. 725
Messiah Blair DE★★★No. 1128
Terrance Saunders OT★★★No. 1271
Makhail Wood WR★★★No. 1365
Joseph Walker Jr. WR★★★No. 1453

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs13.00.845
Receivers52.80.827
Offensive line33.00.849
Defensive line43.00.826
Linebackers12.00.786
Defensive backs32.70.818
Whole class172.80.828

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 115

The 2023 roster

115 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 68 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 5

The 2023 portal
Chris Mayo OL★★★from West Virginia
Javon Swinton WR★★★from Indiana
Owen Snively OL★★★from Colorado State
Terry Lockett WR★★★from Michigan State
Dan Sunderman OL★★from Central Missouri

Transfers out 10

Marcellus Johnson OT★★★★to Missouri
Darius Lassiter WR★★★to BYU
Brycen Huddleston LB★★★no new school on file
Cole Rusk TE★★★no new school on file
Darius Boone RB★★★no new school on file
Dennis Smith WR★★★no new school on file
I’Shawn Stewart WR★★★no new school on file
Isaiah Watson CB★★★no new school on file
Aaron Jackson QB★★to Robert Morris
Corry Thomas CB★★no 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.