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2023 Kansas State

9–⁠4 (6–⁠3 Big 12), coached by Chris Klieman, finished No. 18 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Kansas State in 2023, game by game: won vs. Southeast Missouri State 45–0; won vs. Troy 42–13; lost at Missouri 27–30; won vs. UCF 44–31; lost at Oklahoma State 21–29; won at Texas Tech 38–21; won vs. TCU 41–3; won vs. Houston 41–0; lost at No. 7 Texas 30–33; won vs. Baylor 59–25; won at Kansas 31–27; lost vs. Iowa State 35–42; won vs. No. 19 NC State 28–19+45−8Won 45–0 vs. Southeast Missouri State+45Southeast Misso…Won 42–13 vs. Troy+29TroyLost 27–30 at Missouri-3MissouriWon 44–31 vs. UCF+13UCFLost 21–29 at Oklahoma State-8Oklahoma StateWon 38–21 at Texas Tech+17Texas TechWon 41–3 vs. TCU+38TCUWon 41–0 vs. Houston+41HoustonLost 30–33 at No. 7 Texas-3No. 7 TexasWon 59–25 vs. Baylor+34BaylorWon 31–27 at Kansas+4KansasLost 35–42 vs. Iowa State-7Iowa StateWon 28–19 vs. No. 19 NC State+9No. 19 NC State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsSoutheast Missouri StateW 45–⁠085%
Sep 9vsTroyW 42–⁠1361%
Sep 16atMissouriL 27–⁠3062%
Sep 23vsUCFW 44–⁠3164%
Oct 6atOklahoma StateL 21–⁠2963%
Oct 14atTexas TechW 38–⁠2148%
Oct 21vsTCUW 41–⁠361%
Oct 28vsHoustonW 41–⁠079%
Nov 4at7TexasL 30–⁠3340%
Nov 11vsBaylorW 59–⁠2585%
Nov 18atKansasW 31–⁠2760%
Nov 25vsIowa StateL 35–⁠4274%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvs19NC StatePop-Tarts BowlW 28–⁠1953%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat NC State 28–⁠19 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl; No. 18 in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big 12.

In program history: The 9th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 16
  2. Wk 2: 15
  3. Wk 3: 15
  4. Wk 10: 25
  5. Wk 12: 23
  6. Wk 13: 19
  7. Final: 18

Consensus All-AmericanCooper Beebe, OL

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠3 tied for 4th in Big 12
AP final
No. 18 peak No. 15
Points
482–⁠273
Coach
Chris Klieman
Elo
1698 +79 this season
SP+ rating
16.2 No. 14 of 133; offense No. 7, defense No. 33, special teams No. 89
SRS
19.3 No. 9 of 133 in FBS
Returning
49% of last season’s EPA, No. 70 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 33 roster talent No. 68 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Collin Klein
Defensive coordinator
Joe Klanderman
Offense
Pro spread
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense26th of 133
  • Defense19th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted23rd of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted14th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1946%1.2526th of 133
Defense0.0138%1.4819th of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.20 off
-0.00 def		47% off
37% def		—23rd off
14th 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
Offense5.1own 3013% allowed
Defense3.0own 2718% caused

CORE rating 13.3, 21st of 133 (offense 7.7, defense -5.5).

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 yardsWill Howard QB2,643 yds
Passing touchdownsWill Howard QB24 TD
Rushing yardsD.J. Giddens RB1,226 yds
Rushing touchdownsD.J. Giddens RB10 TD
Receiving yardsBen Sinnott TE676 yds
Receiving touchdownsBen Sinnott TE6 TD
TacklesAustin Moore LB63 tkl
SacksKhalid Duke DE6 sacks
InterceptionsJacob Parrish CB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Avery Johnson QB★★★★No. 100
Asa Newsom ATH★★★★No. 428
Jordan Allen DE★★★★No. 440
Donovan McIntosh CB★★★No. 507
Joe Jackson RB★★★No. 533

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.954
Running backs13.00.884
Receivers63.00.859
Offensive line33.00.852
Defensive line43.30.860
Linebackers13.00.848
Defensive backs53.00.861
Athletes and specialists23.50.878
Whole class233.10.865

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 2Ben Sinnott TEWashington Commanders
Rd 3Cooper Beebe OGDallas Cowboys
Rd 7K.T. Leveston OGLos Angeles Rams

Roster 124

The 2023 roster

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

Transfers in 6

The 2023 portal
Treshaun Ward RB★★★★from Florida State
Keagan Johnson WR★★★★from Iowa
Marques Sigle CB★★★from North Dakota State
Jevon Banks DL★★★from Mississippi State
Jacob Knuth QB★★★from Minnesota
Tyler Nelome CB★★★from Southeast Missouri State

Transfers out 15

Krew Jackson LB★★★to Arizona State
Jaelon Travis WR★★to Incarnate Word
Brenen Hawkins WR★★★to Austin Peay
Cartez Crook-Jones DL★★★to Northern Iowa
Jalen Klemm OT★★★to Washington
Jaren Lewis QB★★★to Kent State
Jax Dineen RB★★★no new school on file
Kirmari Gainous DE★★★no new school on file
Konner Fox TE★★★to Texas State
Omar Daniels CB★★★to Georgia Tech
Ozzie Hoffler DE★★★to Georgia State
T.J. Smith S★★★to Georgia Southern

And 3 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-Big 12

2 first team, 4 second team

First 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 Big 12 standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas8–⁠112–⁠23
Oklahoma7–⁠210–⁠315
Oklahoma State7–⁠210–⁠416
West Virginia6–⁠39–⁠4
Kansas State6–⁠39–⁠418
Iowa State6–⁠37–⁠6
Kansas5–⁠49–⁠423
Texas Tech5–⁠47–⁠6
UCF3–⁠66–⁠7
TCU3–⁠65–⁠7
BYU2–⁠75–⁠7
Houston2–⁠74–⁠8
Baylor2–⁠73–⁠9
Cincinnati1–⁠83–⁠9

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