CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2023 Florida

5–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Southeastern Conference), coached by Billy Napier.

Schedule and results

Florida in 2023, game by game: lost at No. 14 Utah 11–24; won vs. McNeese 49–7; won vs. No. 11 Tennessee 29–16; won vs. Charlotte 22–7; lost at Kentucky 14–33; won vs. Vanderbilt 38–14; won at South Carolina 41–39; lost vs. No. 1 Georgia 20–43; lost vs. Arkansas 36–39; lost at No. 18 LSU 35–52; lost at No. 11 Missouri 31–33; lost vs. No. 5 Florida State 15–24+42−23Lost 11–24 at No. 14 Utah-13No. 14 UtahWon 49–7 vs. McNeese+42McNeeseWon 29–16 vs. No. 11 Tennessee+13No. 11 TennesseeWon 22–7 vs. Charlotte+15CharlotteLost 14–33 at Kentucky-19KentuckyWon 38–14 vs. Vanderbilt+24VanderbiltWon 41–39 at South Carolina+2South CarolinaLost 20–43 vs. No. 1 Georgia-23No. 1 GeorgiaLost 36–39 vs. Arkansas-3ArkansasLost 35–52 at No. 18 LSU-17No. 18 LSULost 31–33 at No. 11 Missouri-2No. 11 MissouriLost 15–24 vs. No. 5 Florida State-9No. 5 Florida State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31at14UtahL 11–⁠2427%
Sep 9vsMcNeeseW 49–⁠787%
Sep 16vs11TennesseeW 29–⁠1636%
Sep 23vsCharlotteW 22–⁠780%
Sep 30atKentuckyL 14–⁠3335%
Oct 7vsVanderbiltW 38–⁠1475%
Oct 14atSouth CarolinaW 41–⁠3944%
Oct 28vs1GeorgiaL 20–⁠4318%
Nov 4vsArkansasL 36–⁠3964%
Nov 11at18LSUL 35–⁠5226%
Nov 18at11MissouriL 31–⁠3326%
Nov 25vs5Florida StateL 15–⁠2425%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Florida State 24–⁠15; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 83rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 116 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 25
  2. Wk 5: 22
Record
5–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 8th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 22
Points
341–⁠331
Coach
Billy Napier
Elo
1501 −10 this season
SP+ rating
6.8 No. 41 of 133; offense No. 38, defense No. 58, special teams No. 9
SRS
3.5 No. 49 of 133 in FBS
Returning
37% of last season’s EPA, No. 97 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 13 roster talent No. 15 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Rob Sale
Defensive coordinators
Austin Armstrong and Sean Spencer
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense32nd of 133
  • Defense119th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted26th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted97th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1842%1.3732nd of 133
Defense0.2239%1.54119th of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.19 off
0.16 def		43% off
37% def		—26th off
97th 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
Offense4.7own 2616% allowed
Defense4.1own 2816% caused

CORE rating 2.0, 53rd of 133 (offense 5.4, defense 3.4).

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 yardsGraham Mertz QB2,878 yds
Passing touchdownsGraham Mertz QB20 TD
Rushing yardsMontrell Johnson RB817 yds
Rushing touchdownsTrevor Etienne RB8 TD
Receiving yardsRicky Pearsall WR970 yds
Receiving touchdownsEugene Wilson WR6 TD
TacklesJordan Castell DB59 tkl
SacksPrincely Umanmielen DE6.5 sacks
InterceptionsDevin Moore DB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Kelby Collins DL★★★★No. 43
Ja’Keem Jackson CB★★★★No. 56
Aidan Mizell WR★★★★No. 103
Eugene Wilson III WR★★★★No. 106
Roderick Kearney OL★★★★No. 113
Dijon Johnson S★★★★No. 114
Kamran James DL★★★★No. 166
Will Norman DL★★★★No. 196

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.818
Running backs14.00.899
Receivers34.00.932
Offensive line43.50.903
Defensive line54.00.930
Linebackers14.00.893
Defensive backs54.00.931
Athletes and specialists14.00.899
Whole class213.90.915

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 1Ricky Pearsall WRSan Francisco 49ers

Roster 117

The 2023 roster

117 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 66 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 12

The 2023 portal
R.J. Moten S★★★★from Michigan
Caleb Banks DL★★★★from Louisville
Kiyaunta Goodwin OT★★★★from Kentucky
Cam Jackson DL★★★★from Memphis
Graham Mertz QB★★★★from Wisconsin
Micah Mazzccua OL★★★★from Baylor
Damieon George Jr. OT★★★from Alabama
Cameron Carroll RB★★★from Tulane
Teradja Mitchell LB★★★from Ohio State
Deuce Spurlock LB★★★from Michigan
Lyndell Hudson II OT★★★from Florida International
Ronald Nunnery S★★★from Houston

Transfers out 25

Avery Helm CB★★★★to TCU
Donovan McMillon S★★★★to Pittsburgh
Xzavier Henderson WR★★★★to Cincinnati
Corey Collier Jr. CB★★★to Nebraska
Michael Tarquin OT★★★to USC
Ethan White OL★★★no new school on file
Josh Braun OT★★★to Arkansas
Nick Elksnis TE★★★to South Carolina
Tre’Vez Johnson S★★★to Missouri
Antwaun Powell DE★★★to Virginia Tech
Chris Thomas Jr. DL★★★to Marshall
Jalen Lee DL★★★to LSU

And 13 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-SEC

2 second team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2023 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2023 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia8–⁠013–⁠14
Alabama8–⁠012–⁠25
Missouri6–⁠211–⁠28
Ole Miss6–⁠211–⁠2
LSU6–⁠210–⁠312
Tennessee4–⁠49–⁠417
Texas A&M4–⁠47–⁠6
Kentucky3–⁠57–⁠6
Auburn3–⁠56–⁠7
South Carolina3–⁠55–⁠7
Florida3–⁠55–⁠7
Mississippi State1–⁠75–⁠79
Arkansas1–⁠74–⁠8
Vanderbilt0–⁠82–⁠10

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