CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2023 Tulane

11–⁠3 (8–⁠0 American Athletic Conference), coached by Willie Fritz, then Slade Nagle (interim, bowl game).

Schedule and results

Tulane in 2023, game by game: won vs. South Alabama 37–17; lost vs. No. 20 Ole Miss 20–37; won at Southern Miss 21–3; won vs. Nicholls 36–7; won vs. UAB 35–23; won at Memphis 31–21; won vs. North Texas 35–28; won at Rice 30–28; won at East Carolina 13–10; won vs. Tulsa 24–22; won at Florida Atlantic 24–8; won vs. UTSA 29–16; lost vs. No. 25 SMU 14–26; lost vs. Virginia Tech 20–41+29−21Won 37–17 vs. South Alabama+20South AlabamaLost 20–37 vs. No. 20 Ole Miss-17No. 20 Ole MissWon 21–3 at Southern Miss+18Southern MissWon 36–7 vs. Nicholls+29NichollsWon 35–23 vs. UAB+12UABWon 31–21 at Memphis+10MemphisWon 35–28 vs. North Texas+7North TexasWon 30–28 at Rice+2RiceWon 13–10 at East Carolina+3East CarolinaWon 24–22 vs. Tulsa+2TulsaWon 24–8 at Florida Atlantic+16Florida AtlanticWon 29–16 vs. UTSA+13UTSALost 14–26 vs. No. 25 SMU-12No. 25 SMULost 20–41 vs. Virginia Tech-21Virginia Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsSouth AlabamaW 37–⁠1766%
Sep 9vs20Ole MissL 20–⁠3765%
Sep 16atSouthern MissW 21–⁠358%
Sep 23vsNichollsW 36–⁠793%
Sep 30vsUABW 35–⁠2374%
Oct 13atMemphisW 31–⁠2151%
Oct 21vsNorth TexasW 35–⁠2880%
Oct 28atRiceW 30–⁠2872%
Nov 4atEast CarolinaW 13–⁠1075%
Nov 11vsTulsaW 24–⁠2288%
Nov 18atFlorida AtlanticW 24–⁠874%
Nov 24vsUTSAW 29–⁠1663%
Dec 2vs25SMUAmerican Athletic ChampionshipL 14–⁠2664%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsVirginia TechMilitary BowlL 20–⁠4168%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Virginia Tech 41–⁠20 in the Military Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for first in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 16th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 24
  2. Wk 2: 24
  3. Wk 8: 23
  4. Wk 9: 22
  5. Wk 10: 21
  6. Wk 11: 20
  7. Wk 12: 17
  8. Wk 13: 18
  9. Wk 14: 17
  10. Wk 15: 23
Record
11–⁠3
Conference
8–⁠0 shared first in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 17
Points
369–⁠287
Coach
Willie Fritz, then Slade Nagle (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1620 +19 this season
SP+ rating
2.8 No. 58 of 133; offense No. 66, defense No. 47, special teams No. 45
SRS
0.8 No. 61 of 133 in FBS
Returning
59% of last season’s EPA, No. 53 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 71 roster talent No. 82 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Slade Nagle
Defensive coordinator
Shiel Wood
Offense
West Coast
Defense
3–⁠4

How good, play by play

  • Offense62nd of 133
  • Defense37th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted80th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted34th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1142%1.1662nd of 133
Defense0.0542%1.1937th of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.08 off
0.05 def		41% off
42% def		—80th off
34th 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
Offense3.6own 3315% allowed
Defense3.7own 2719% caused

CORE rating 2.4, 51st of 133 (offense -3.8, defense -6.1).

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 Pratt QB2,406 yds
Passing touchdownsMichael Pratt QB22 TD
Rushing yardsMakhi Hughes RB1,378 yds
Rushing touchdownsMakhi Hughes RB7 TD
Receiving yardsChris Brazzell II WR711 yds
Receiving touchdownsLawrence Keys III WR7 TD
TacklesJesus Machado LB98 tkl
SacksDarius Hodges DL7.5 sacks
InterceptionsLance Robinson DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Matthew Fobbs-White DE★★★No. 614
Jai Eugene Jr. S★★★No. 938
A.J. Thomas DE★★★No. 958
Arnold Barnes III RB★★★No. 990
Makai Williams LB★★★No. 1113

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.793
Running backs23.00.861
Receivers23.00.829
Offensive line43.00.826
Defensive line33.00.862
Linebackers33.00.849
Defensive backs33.00.844
Athletes and specialists13.00.859
Whole class192.90.842

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 6Jha’Quan Jackson WRTennessee Titans
Rd 7Michael Pratt QBGreen Bay Packers

Roster 121

The 2023 roster

121 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
Kam Pedescleaux CB★★★from Louisiana
A.J. Hampton Jr. CB★★★from Northwestern
Yulkeith Brown WR★★★★from Texas A&M
Cameron Wire OT★★★from LSU
Chris Carter TE★★★from South Florida
Dontae Fleming WR★★★from Louisiana
Tyler Grubbs LB★★★from Louisiana Tech

Transfers out 11

Andre Sam S★★★to LSU
Cameron Carroll RB★★★to Florida
Jadon Canady CB★★★to Ole Miss
Armoni Dixon LB★★★no new school on file
Cadien Robinson CB★★★no new school on file
Carlos Hatcher DE★★★to Coastal Carolina
Deajaun McDougle WR★★★no new school on file
Hutson Lillibridge OL★★★no new school on file
Keanon McNally OT★★★no new school on file
Ygenio Booker ATH★★★no new school on file
Kanyon Walker CB★★no new school on file

2023 American Athletic Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
SMU8–⁠011–⁠322
Tulane8–⁠011–⁠3
UTSA7–⁠19–⁠4
Memphis6–⁠210–⁠3
South Florida4–⁠47–⁠6
Rice4–⁠46–⁠7
Navy4–⁠45–⁠7
North Texas3–⁠55–⁠7
UAB3–⁠54–⁠8
Florida Atlantic3–⁠54–⁠8
Tulsa2–⁠64–⁠8
Charlotte2–⁠63–⁠9
Temple1–⁠73–⁠9
East Carolina1–⁠72–⁠10

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