CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2023 New Mexico State

10–⁠5 (7–⁠1 Conference USA), coached by Jerry Kill.

Schedule and results

New Mexico State in 2023, game by game: lost vs. Massachusetts 30–41; won vs. Western Illinois 58–21; lost at Liberty 17–33; won at New Mexico 27–17; lost at Hawai’i 17–20; won vs. Florida International 34–17; won vs. Sam Houston 27–13; won at UTEP 28–7; won at Louisiana Tech 27–24; won vs. Middle Tennessee 13–7; won at Western Kentucky 38–29; won at Auburn 31–10; won vs. Jacksonville State 20–17; lost at No. 20 Liberty 35–49; lost vs. Fresno State 10–37+37−27Lost 30–41 vs. Massachusetts-11MassachusettsWon 58–21 vs. Western Illinois+37Western IllinoisLost 17–33 at Liberty-16LibertyWon 27–17 at New Mexico+10New MexicoLost 17–20 at Hawai’i-3Hawai’iWon 34–17 vs. Florida International+17Florida Interna…Won 27–13 vs. Sam Houston+14Sam HoustonWon 28–7 at UTEP+21UTEPWon 27–24 at Louisiana Tech+3Louisiana TechWon 13–7 vs. Middle Tennessee+6Middle TennesseeWon 38–29 at Western Kentucky+9Western KentuckyWon 31–10 at Auburn+21AuburnWon 20–17 vs. Jacksonville State+3Jacksonville St…Lost 35–49 at No. 20 Liberty-14No. 20 LibertyLost 10–37 vs. Fresno State-27Fresno State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 26vsMassachusettsL 30–⁠4179%
Sep 2vsWestern IllinoisW 58–⁠2187%
Sep 9atLibertyL 17–⁠3329%
Sep 16atNew MexicoW 27–⁠1752%
Sep 23atHawai’iL 17–⁠2053%
Oct 4vsFlorida InternationalW 34–⁠1765%
Oct 11vsSam HoustonW 27–⁠1375%
Oct 18atUTEPW 28–⁠755%
Oct 24atLouisiana TechW 27–⁠2457%
Nov 4vsMiddle TennesseeW 13–⁠768%
Nov 11atWestern KentuckyW 38–⁠2936%
Nov 18atAuburnW 31–⁠1036%
Nov 25vsJacksonville StateW 20–⁠1766%
Dec 1at20LibertyConference USA ChampionshipL 35–⁠4929%
Dec 16Bowls & playoffvsFresno StateNew Mexico BowlL 10–⁠3754%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Fresno State 37–⁠10 in the New Mexico Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 93 on file).

Record
10–⁠5
Conference
7–⁠1 2nd in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
412–⁠342
Coach
Jerry Kill
Elo
1533 +70 this season
SP+ rating
-1.8 No. 73 of 133; offense No. 83, defense No. 56, special teams No. 49
SRS
−5.2 No. 90 of 133 in FBS
Returning
84% of last season’s EPA, No. 12 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 113 roster talent No. 115 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Tim Beck
Defensive coordinators
Nate Dreiling and Melvin Rice
Offense
Pistol
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense29th of 133
  • Defense89th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted40th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted100th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1946%1.2529th of 133
Defense0.1545%1.2489th of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.15 off
0.16 def		45% off
45% def		—40th off
100th 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
Offense4.0own 2814% allowed
Defense3.7own 2816% caused

CORE rating 1.6, 54th of 133 (offense 4.0, defense 2.4).

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 yardsDiego Pavia QB2,973 yds
Passing touchdownsDiego Pavia QB26 TD
Rushing yardsDiego Pavia QB923 yds
Rushing touchdownsDiego Pavia QB7 TD
Receiving yardsJonathan Brady WR624 yds
Receiving touchdownsTrent Hudson WR10 TD
TacklesKeyshaun Elliott LB110 tkl
SacksBuddha Peleti DE4.5 sacks
InterceptionsDylan Early S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Jack Gogue OT★★★No. 1577
Jeremiah Vessel S★★★No. 1648
B.J. Tolo OL★★★No. 1896
Kai Sevy OL★★★No. 2085
Adam Parks DL★★★No. 2319

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers12.00.790
Offensive line33.00.834
Defensive line22.50.798
Linebackers13.00.800
Defensive backs23.00.826
Whole class92.80.816

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 126

The 2023 roster

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

Transfers in 7

The 2023 portal
Eli Stowers QB★★★★from Texas A&M
Myles Rowser S★★★★from Campbell
Dion Wilson Jr. DL★★★from Arizona
Jacob Golden OT★★★from Boise State
Keonte Glinton CB★★★from Wyoming
Tyler Devera TE★★★from Stony Brook
Jordan Vincent Sfrom Eastern Illinois

Transfers out 7

Syrus Dumas CB★★★to UTSA
Brett Money K★★no new school on file
Kheagian Heckaman QB★★no new school on file
Nick Giacolone LB★★no new school on file
Will Thomas OT★★no new school on file
Xzavier Guyton CB★★no new school on file
Josh Carlson Pto Arizona State

2023 Conference USA standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Liberty8–⁠013–⁠125
New Mexico State7–⁠110–⁠5
Jacksonville State6–⁠29–⁠4
Western Kentucky5–⁠38–⁠5
Middle Tennessee3–⁠54–⁠8
Louisiana Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
UTEP2–⁠63–⁠9
Sam Houston2–⁠63–⁠9
Florida International1–⁠74–⁠8

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