CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2023 Toledo

11–⁠3 (8–⁠0 Mid-American Conference), coached by Jason Candle.

Schedule and results

Toledo in 2023, game by game: lost at Illinois 28–30; won vs. Texas Southern 71–3; won vs. San José State 21–17; won vs. Western Michigan 49–31; won vs. Northern Illinois 35–33; won at Massachusetts 41–24; won at Ball State 13–6; won at Miami (OH) 21–17; won vs. Buffalo 31–13; won vs. Eastern Michigan 49–23; won at Bowling Green 32–31; won at Central Michigan 32–17; lost vs. Miami (OH) 14–23; lost vs. Wyoming 15–16+68−9Lost 28–30 at Illinois-2IllinoisWon 71–3 vs. Texas Southern+68Texas SouthernWon 21–17 vs. San José State+4San José StateWon 49–31 vs. Western Michigan+18Western MichiganWon 35–33 vs. Northern Illinois+2Northern Illino…Won 41–24 at Massachusetts+17MassachusettsWon 13–6 at Ball State+7Ball StateWon 21–17 at Miami (OH)+4Miami (OH)Won 31–13 vs. Buffalo+18BuffaloWon 49–23 vs. Eastern Michigan+26Eastern MichiganWon 32–31 at Bowling Green+1Bowling GreenWon 32–17 at Central Michigan+15Central MichiganLost 14–23 vs. Miami (OH)-9Miami (OH)Lost 15–16 vs. Wyoming-1Wyoming
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2atIllinoisL 28–⁠3041%
Sep 9vsTexas SouthernW 71–⁠386%
Sep 16vsSan José StateW 21–⁠1768%
Sep 23vsWestern MichiganW 49–⁠3172%
Sep 30vsNorthern IllinoisW 35–⁠3383%
Oct 7atMassachusettsW 41–⁠2482%
Oct 14atBall StateW 13–⁠671%
Oct 21atMiami (OH)W 21–⁠1744%
Oct 31vsBuffaloW 31–⁠1377%
Nov 8vsEastern MichiganW 49–⁠2380%
Nov 14atBowling GreenW 32–⁠3162%
Nov 24atCentral MichiganW 32–⁠1772%
Dec 2vsMiami (OH)MAC ChampionshipL 14–⁠2355%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsWyomingArizona BowlL 15–⁠1663%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Wyoming 16–⁠15 in the Arizona Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; first in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 75 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 13: 23
  2. Wk 14: 23

MAC West champions8–⁠0 in the conference

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 23
Points
452–⁠284
Coach
Jason Candle
Elo
1612 +77 this season
SP+ rating
3.7 No. 53 of 133; offense No. 73, defense No. 32, special teams No. 70
SRS
0.3 No. 64 of 133 in FBS
Returning
79% of last season’s EPA, No. 14 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 102 roster talent No. 88 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Mike Hallett and Robert Weiner
Defensive coordinators
Vince Kehres, Ross Watson and Craig Kuligowski
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense28th of 133
  • Defense24th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted35th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted57th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1945%1.3228th of 133
Defense0.0339%1.1924th of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.16 off
0.09 def		43% off
42% def		—35th off
57th 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
Offense4.4own 3114% allowed
Defense3.3own 2919% caused

CORE rating 7.8, 38th of 133 (offense 6.7, defense -1.2).

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 yardsDequan Finn QB2,651 yds
Passing touchdownsDequan Finn QB22 TD
Rushing yardsPeny Boone RB1,400 yds
Rushing touchdownsPeny Boone RB15 TD
Receiving yardsJerjuan Newton WR696 yds
Receiving touchdownsJerjuan Newton WR9 TD
TacklesDallas Gant LB114 tkl
SacksJudge Culpepper DT9 sacks
InterceptionsMaxen Hook S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Mason Ludwig OT★★★No. 1315
Wayne Peart II DL★★★No. 1473
Laith Shamma DL★★★No. 1501
Cole Rhett OT★★★No. 1789
Julian Allen WR★★★No. 1850

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.834
Running backs13.00.817
Receivers23.00.831
Offensive line33.00.834
Defensive line32.70.829
Defensive backs13.00.827
Athletes and specialists23.00.825
Whole class132.90.829

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 1Quinyon Mitchell CBPhiladelphia Eagles

Roster 118

The 2023 roster

118 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 73 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 3

The 2023 portal
Rod Orr Jr. OT★★★★from Florida State
Travion Ford DE★★★★from Missouri
Jackson Cannon OT★★★from Mississippi State

Transfers out 9

Mikel Barkley WR★★★to Fresno State
Clay Caudill TE★★★no new school on file
DeMeer Blankumsee WR★★★to Memphis
Jaylin Mines S★★★no new school on file
Lamy Constant RB★★★no new school on file
Lavel Dumont OT★★★to Rice
Nicholas Days LB★★★no new school on file
Zach Person TE★★★no new school on file
Benjamin Lisk LS★★no new school on file

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.