2023 Mississippi State
5–7 (1–7 Southeastern Conference), coached by Zach Arnett, then Greg Knox (interim, remainder of season), finished No. 9 in the AP poll. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat SE Louisiana 48–7Sep 2
By 41 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to South Carolina 30–37Sep 23
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | vs SE Louisiana | W 48–7 | 79% |
| Sep 9 | vs Arizona | W 31–24 | 76% |
| Sep 16 | vs 14LSU | L 14–41 | 62% |
| Sep 23 | at South Carolina | L 30–37 | 46% |
| Sep 30 | vs 12Alabama | L 17–40 | 33% |
| Oct 7 | vs Western Michigan | W 41–28 | 68% |
| Oct 21 | at Arkansas | W 7–3 | 44% |
| Oct 28 | at Auburn | L 13–27 | 52% |
| Nov 4 | vs Kentucky | L 3–24 | 54% |
| Nov 11 | at Texas A&M | L 10–51 | 31% |
| Nov 18 | vs Southern Miss | W 41–20 | 68% |
| Nov 23 | vs 12Ole Miss | L 7–17 | 35% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Ole Miss 17–7; No. 9 in the final AP poll; tied for 12th in the Southeastern Conference.
In program history: The 71st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Final: 9
- Record
- 5–7
- Conference
- 1–7 tied for 12th in Southeastern Conference
- AP final
- No. 9 peak No. 9
- Points
- 262–319
- Coach
- Zach Arnett, then Greg Knox (interim, remainder of season)
- Elo
- 1475 −106 this season
- SP+ rating
- 0.5 No. 62 of 133; offense No. 77, defense No. 51, special teams No. 49
- SRS
- −1.4 No. 69 of 133 in FBS
- Returning
- 58% of last season’s EPA, No. 54 of 131
- Recruiting class
- No. 27 roster talent No. 28 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Kevin Barbay
- Defensive coordinator
- Matt Brock
- Offense
- Pro-style
- Defense
- 3–3–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.01 | 35% | 1.26 | 113th of 133 |
| Defense | 0.11 | 43% | 1.20 | 69th of 133 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.02 off 0.07 def | 36% off 41% def | — | 113th off 47th 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 | 3.5 | own 30 | 16% allowed |
| Defense | 4.3 | own 29 | 16% caused |
CORE rating -5.7, 88th of 133 (offense -9.7, defense -4.0).
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 | Will Rogers QB | 1,626 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Will Rogers QB | 12 TD |
| Rushing yards | Jo’quavious Marks RB | 573 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Jo’quavious Marks RB | 4 TD |
| Receiving yards | Lideatrick Griffin WR | 658 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Lideatrick Griffin WR | 4 TD |
| Tackles | Nathaniel Watson LB | 137 tkl |
| Sacks | Nathaniel Watson LB | 10 sacks |
| Interceptions | Jett Johnson LB | 3 INT |
Top recruits in the 2023 class
| Isaac Smith S | ★★★★ | No. 148 |
| Creed Whittemore ATH | ★★★★ | No. 324 |
| Kelley Jones S | ★★★★ | No. 372 |
| Chris Parson QB | ★★★★ | No. 405 |
| Brice Pollock CB | ★★★ | No. 468 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2023 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 2 | 3.5 | 0.872 |
| Running backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.879 |
| Receivers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.869 |
| Offensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.868 |
| Defensive line | 4 | 3.0 | 0.879 |
| Linebackers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.874 |
| Defensive backs | 6 | 3.3 | 0.887 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 3.0 | 0.845 |
| Whole class | 23 | 3.1 | 0.874 |
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 4 | Decamerion Richardson CB | Las Vegas Raiders |
| Rd 6 | Jaden Crumedy DT | Carolina Panthers |
| Rd 6 | Nathaniel Watson LB | Cleveland Browns |
Roster 111
The 2023 roster111 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 56 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 11
The 2023 portal Seydou Traore TE | ★★★★ | from  Colorado |
 Freddie Roberson WR | ★★★ | from  Eastern Washington |
 Keyvone Lee RB | ★★★ | from  Penn State |
 Khamauri Rogers CB | ★★★ | from  Miami |
| Raydarious Jones CB | ★★★ | from  LSU |
 Geor’quarius Spivey TE | ★★★ | from  TCU |
| Ja’Kobi Albert ATH | ★★★ | from  Kentucky |
 Ryland Goede TE | ★★★ | from  Georgia |
 Christopher Keys CB | ★★★ | from  Indiana |
 Mike Wright QB | ★★★ | from  Vanderbilt |
 Nicholas Barr-Mira K | ★★ | from  UCLA |
Transfers out 25
 Dillon Johnson RB | ★★★★ | to  Washington |
| Rara Thomas WR | ★★★★ | to Georgia |
| Marquez Dortch WR | ★★★ | to  California |
| Sawyer Robertson QB | ★★★ | to  Baylor |
 Braedyn Locke QB | ★★★ | to  Wisconsin |
| Jevon Banks DL | ★★★ | to  Kansas State |
| Reed Buys OL | ★★★ | to  South Alabama |
| Ke’Travion Hargrove RB | ★★★★ | to  Memphis |
| Audavion Collins CB | ★★★ | to Penn State |
| Caleb Ducking WR | ★★★ | no new school on file |
| Daniel Greek QB | ★★★ | to  Tarleton State |
| Dylan Lawrence S | ★★★ | to  Southern Miss |
And 13 more, lower-rated or unrated.
All-SEC
1 first team, 1 second teamFirst team
- Nathaniel WatsonLBAP-1; Coaches-1
Second team
- Jett JohnsonLBAP-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 Southeastern Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | 8–0 | 13–1 | 4 |
| Alabama | 8–0 | 12–2 | 5 |
 Missouri | 6–2 | 11–2 | 8 |
| Ole Miss | 6–2 | 11–2 | |
| LSU | 6–2 | 10–3 | 12 |
 Tennessee | 4–4 | 9–4 | 17 |
| Texas A&M | 4–4 | 7–6 | |
| Kentucky | 3–5 | 7–6 | |
| Auburn | 3–5 | 6–7 | |
| South Carolina | 3–5 | 5–7 | |
 Florida | 3–5 | 5–7 | |
| Mississippi State | 1–7 | 5–7 | 9 |
| Arkansas | 1–7 | 4–8 | |
| Vanderbilt | 0–8 | 2–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.