2023 Houston
4–8 (2–7 Big 12), coached by Dana Holgorsen. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Sam Houston 38–7Sep 23
By 31 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingBeat West Virginia 41–39Oct 12
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | vs UTSA | W 17–14 | 53% |
| Sep 9 | at Rice | L 41–43 | 68% |
| Sep 16 | vs TCU | L 13–36 | 50% |
| Sep 23 | vs Sam Houston | W 38–7 | 80% |
| Sep 30 | at Texas Tech | L 28–49 | 44% |
| Oct 12 | vs West Virginia | W 41–39 | 51% |
| Oct 21 | vs 8Texas | L 24–31 | 36% |
| Oct 28 | at Kansas State | L 0–41 | 21% |
| Nov 4 | at Baylor | W 25–24 | 48% |
| Nov 11 | vs Cincinnati | L 14–24 | 63% |
| Nov 18 | vs 24Oklahoma State | L 30–43 | 43% |
| Nov 25 | at UCF | L 13–27 | 29% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to UCF 27–13; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 11th in the Big 12.
In program history: The 63rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 81 on file).
- Record
- 4–8
- Conference
- 2–7 tied for 11th in Big 12
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 284–378
- Coach
- Dana Holgorsen
- Elo
- 1433 −128 this season
- SP+ rating
- -7.8 No. 94 of 133; offense No. 71, defense No. 102, special teams No. 99
- SRS
- −3.3 No. 78 of 133 in FBS
- Returning
- 23% of last season’s EPA, No. 116 of 131
- Recruiting class
- No. 55 roster talent No. 49 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Eman Naghavi
- Defensive coordinator
- Doug Belk
- Offense
- Spread
- Defense
- 4–2–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.02 | 40% | 1.30 | 99th of 133 |
| Defense | 0.19 | 46% | 1.23 | 105th of 133 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.04 off 0.14 def | 41% off 44% def | — | 99th off 90th 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 | 3.4 | own 28 | 14% allowed |
| Defense | 4.3 | own 28 | 13% caused |
CORE rating -4.9, 84th of 133 (offense 1.2, defense 6.1).
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 | Donovan Smith QB | 2,800 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Donovan Smith QB | 22 TD |
| Rushing yards | Parker Jenkins RB | 464 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Donovan Smith QB | 6 TD |
| Receiving yards | Sam Brown WR | 815 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Joseph Manjack WR | 6 TD |
| Tackles | A.J. Haulcy S | 90 tkl |
| Sacks | Nelson Ceaser DL | 7 sacks |
| Interceptions | Isaiah Hamilton CB | 4 INT |
Top recruits in the 2023 class
| Mikal Harrison-Pilot ATH | ★★★★ | No. 198 |
| Jonah Wilson WR | ★★★★ | No. 293 |
| Parker Jenkins RB | ★★★★ | No. 373 |
| Justin Benton DL | ★★★ | No. 634 |
| Ja’Koby Banks WR | ★★★ | No. 824 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2023 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 2 | 3.0 | 0.832 |
| Running backs | 3 | 3.3 | 0.867 |
| Receivers | 3 | 3.3 | 0.878 |
| Offensive line | 1 | 3.0 | 0.847 |
| Defensive line | 2 | 3.0 | 0.871 |
| Linebackers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.861 |
| Defensive backs | 5 | 3.0 | 0.857 |
| Athletes and specialists | 1 | 4.0 | 0.924 |
| Whole class | 18 | 3.2 | 0.864 |
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 2 | Patrick Paul OT | Miami Dolphins |
Roster 117
The 2023 roster117 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 56 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 20
The 2023 portal Ish Harris LB | ★★★ | from  Texas A&M |
 Malik Fleming CB | ★★★ | from  East Carolina |
 Adari Haulcy S | ★★★ | from  New Mexico |
 David Ugwoegbu LB | ★★★ | from  Oklahoma |
| Stephon Johnson WR | ★★★ | from  Oklahoma State |
| Tony Mathis RB | ★★★ | from  West Virginia |
| Donovan Smith QB | ★★★ | from  Texas Tech |
 Aubrey Smith LB | ★★★ | from  Colorado |
| Brian George CB | ★★★ | from Texas A&M |
| Jaylen Garth OT | ★★★ | from  Texas |
 David Ndukwe OL | ★★★ | from  Western Kentucky |
 Jalen Hunt DL | ★★★ | from  Michigan State |
And 8 more, lower-rated or unrated.
Transfers out 21
 Alton McCaskill RB | ★★★★ | to Colorado |
| Cam’Ron Johnson OT | ★★★★ | to  Missouri |
| Lance Robinson OL | ★★★ | to  Louisville |
| Ronald Nunnery S | ★★★ | to  Florida |
| Ugonna Nnanna OT | ★★★ | to  Virginia |
| Trevonte Sylvester OT | ★★★ | to Louisville |
| Cody Jackson WR | ★★★★ | no new school on file |
| Almarion Crim OT | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Carlton Guidry WR | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Carson Walker OL | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Chayse Todd OL | ★★★ | to  Texas State |
| Derek Bowman OT | ★★★ | to  South Florida |
And 9 more, lower-rated or unrated.
All-Big 12
2 first team, 2 second teamFirst team
- Patrick PaulOTCoaches-1; Media-1
- Nelson CeaserDLCoaches-1; Media-2
Second team
- Jamaree CaldwellDLCoaches-2; Media-2
Matthew GoldenAPBCoaches-2
From Wikipedia’s 2023 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
2023 Big 12 standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 8–1 | 12–2 | 3 |
| Oklahoma | 7–2 | 10–3 | 15 |
| Oklahoma State | 7–2 | 10–4 | 16 |
| West Virginia | 6–3 | 9–4 | |
| Kansas State | 6–3 | 9–4 | 18 |
 Iowa State | 6–3 | 7–6 | |
 Kansas | 5–4 | 9–4 | 23 |
| Texas Tech | 5–4 | 7–6 | |
| UCF | 3–6 | 6–7 | |
| TCU | 3–6 | 5–7 | |
 BYU | 2–7 | 5–7 | |
| Houston | 2–7 | 4–8 | |
| Baylor | 2–7 | 3–9 | |
| Cincinnati | 1–8 | 3–9 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.