CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2023 Kent State

1–⁠11 (0–⁠8 Mid-American Conference), coached by Kenni Burns.

Schedule and results

Kent State in 2023, game by game: lost at UCF 6–56; lost at Arkansas 6–28; won vs. Central Connecticut 38–10; lost at Fresno State 10–53; lost vs. Miami (OH) 3–23; lost at Ohio 17–42; lost at Eastern Michigan 14–28; lost vs. Buffalo 6–24; lost at Akron 27–31; lost vs. Bowling Green 19–49; lost at Ball State 3–34; lost vs. Northern Illinois 27–37+28−50Lost 6–56 at UCF-50UCFLost 6–28 at Arkansas-22ArkansasWon 38–10 vs. Central Connecticut+28Central Connect…Lost 10–53 at Fresno State-43Fresno StateLost 3–23 vs. Miami (OH)-20Miami (OH)Lost 17–42 at Ohio-25OhioLost 14–28 at Eastern Michigan-14Eastern MichiganLost 6–24 vs. Buffalo-18BuffaloLost 27–31 at Akron-4AkronLost 19–49 vs. Bowling Green-30Bowling GreenLost 3–34 at Ball State-31Ball StateLost 27–37 vs. Northern Illinois-10Northern Illino…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31atUCFL 6–⁠5631%
Sep 9atArkansasL 6–⁠2824%
Sep 16vsCentral ConnecticutW 38–⁠1082%
Sep 23atFresno StateL 10–⁠5318%
Sep 30vsMiami (OH)L 3–⁠2347%
Oct 7atOhioL 17–⁠4220%
Oct 14atEastern MichiganL 14–⁠2829%
Oct 21vsBuffaloL 6–⁠2451%
Nov 1atAkronL 27–⁠3153%
Nov 8vsBowling GreenL 19–⁠4938%
Nov 18atBall StateL 3–⁠3431%
Nov 25vsNorthern IllinoisL 27–⁠3735%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Northern Illinois 37–⁠27; unranked in the final AP poll; 12th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 49th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 68 on file).

Record
1–⁠11
Conference
0–⁠8 12th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
176–⁠415
Coach
Kenni Burns
Elo
1263 −202 this season
SP+ rating
-26.3 No. 133 of 133; offense No. 133, defense No. 119, special teams No. 61
SRS
−27.0 No. 133 of 133 in FBS
Returning
7% of last season’s EPA, No. 130 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 123 roster talent No. 118 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Matt Johnson and Matt Limegrover
Defensive coordinator
Dave Duggan
Offense
Up-tempo spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense126th of 133
  • Defense128th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted123rd of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted136th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0733%1.24126th of 133
Defense0.2846%1.28128th of 133
Opponent-adjusted-0.02 off
0.28 def		33% off
48% def		—123rd off
136th 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
Offense3.3own 2819% allowed
Defense4.9own 3213% caused

CORE rating -29.6, 133rd of 133 (offense -13.8, defense 15.8).

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 yardsMichael Alaimo QB932 yds
Passing touchdownsTommy Ulatowski QB7 TD
Rushing yardsGavin Garcia RB544 yds
Rushing touchdownsGavin Garcia RB2 TD
Receiving yardsChrishon McCray WR610 yds
Receiving touchdownsChrishon McCray WR4 TD
TacklesBryce Sheppert S75 tkl
SacksC.J. Harris LB2 sacks
InterceptionsBryce Sheppert S1 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Jared Kelley WR★★★No. 1113
Dash Dorsey ATH★★★No. 2027
Dru DeShields QB★★★No. 2062
Joel Boamah CB★★★No. 2179
Chris Farrell OL★★★No. 2319

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.826
Running backs12.00.780
Receivers13.00.860
Offensive line22.50.805
Defensive line22.50.797
Defensive backs13.00.820
Athletes and specialists23.00.821
Whole class102.70.813

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 102

The 2023 roster

102 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 55 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 7

The 2023 portal
Dallas Craddieth S★★★from Iowa
Devin Nicholson LB★★★from Missouri
Jaren Lewis QB★★★from Kansas State
Jimto Obidegwu OT★★★from Temple
Ky Thomas RB★★★from Kansas
Lem Watley-Neely CB★★★from Indiana
Mattheus Carroll WDE★★★from Virginia Tech

Transfers out 17

Devontez Walker WR★★★★to North Carolina
Dante Cephas WR★★★★to Penn State
Collin Schlee QB★★★★to UCLA
Montre Miller CB★★★★to West Virginia
Ja’Shaun Poke WR★★★to West Virginia
Marcellus Marshall OT★★★to UCF
Savion Washington OT★★★to Colorado
Jack Bailey OL★★★to Colorado
Adin Huntington DL★★★no new school on file
Dean Clark S★★★to Fresno State
Emon Hill CB★★★no new school on file
Marcus Harris WR★★★no new school on file

And 5 more, lower-rated or unrated.

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.