CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2023 Tulsa

4–⁠8 (2–⁠6 American Athletic Conference), coached by Kevin Wilson.

Schedule and results

Tulsa in 2023, game by game: won vs. Arkansas–Pine Bluff 42–7; lost at No. 8 Washington 10–43; lost vs. No. 19 Oklahoma 17–66; won at Northern Illinois 22–14; won vs. Temple 48–26; lost at Florida Atlantic 17–20; lost vs. Rice 10–42; lost at SMU 10–69; lost vs. Charlotte 26–33; lost at No. 20 Tulane 22–24; lost vs. North Texas 28–35; won at East Carolina 29–27+35−59Won 42–7 vs. Arkansas–Pine Bluff+35Arkansas–Pine B…Lost 10–43 at No. 8 Washington-33No. 8 WashingtonLost 17–66 vs. No. 19 Oklahoma-49No. 19 OklahomaWon 22–14 at Northern Illinois+8Northern Illino…Won 48–26 vs. Temple+22TempleLost 17–20 at Florida Atlantic-3Florida AtlanticLost 10–42 vs. Rice-32RiceLost 10–69 at SMU-59SMULost 26–33 vs. Charlotte-7CharlotteLost 22–24 at No. 20 Tulane-2No. 20 TulaneLost 28–35 vs. North Texas-7North TexasWon 29–27 at East Carolina+2East Carolina
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsArkansas–Pine BluffW 42–⁠788%
Sep 9at8WashingtonL 10–⁠4324%
Sep 16vs19OklahomaL 17–⁠6640%
Sep 23atNorthern IllinoisW 22–⁠1453%
Sep 28vsTempleW 48–⁠2672%
Oct 7atFlorida AtlanticL 17–⁠2049%
Oct 19vsRiceL 10–⁠4269%
Oct 28atSMUL 10–⁠6921%
Nov 4vsCharlotteL 26–⁠3370%
Nov 11at20TulaneL 22–⁠2412%
Nov 18vsNorth TexasL 28–⁠3551%
Nov 25atEast CarolinaW 29–⁠2732%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat East Carolina 29–⁠27; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 11th in the American Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 82nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 111 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 11th in American Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
281–⁠406
Coach
Kevin Wilson
Elo
1360 −121 this season
SP+ rating
-13.7 No. 113 of 133; offense No. 99, defense No. 118, special teams No. 67
SRS
−13.1 No. 116 of 133 in FBS
Returning
26% of last season’s EPA, No. 114 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 115 roster talent No. 83 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Steve Spurrier Jr.
Defensive coordinator
Chris Polizzi
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense76th of 133
  • Defense126th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted88th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted131st of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0740%1.2376th of 133
Defense0.2646%1.39126th of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.24 def		40% off
46% def		—88th off
131st 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
Offense4.2own 2817% allowed
Defense4.0own 2914% caused

CORE rating -11.0, 102nd of 133 (offense -0.6, defense 10.4).

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 yardsCardell Williams QB1,149 yds
Passing touchdownsCardell Williams QB10 TD
Rushing yardsAnthony Watkins RB889 yds
Rushing touchdownsCardell Williams QB5 TD
Receiving yardsKamdyn Benjamin WR727 yds
Receiving touchdownsKamdyn Benjamin WR6 TD
TacklesKendarin Ray S131 tkl
SacksBen Kopenski DL8.5 sacks
InterceptionsJaise Oliver S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

C.J. Turner LB★★★No. 777
Mari Smith WR★★★No. 792
Reeves Baller DE★★★No. 1710
Kasen Carpenter OL★★★No. 1772
Elijah Wilson LB★★★No. 2103

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers43.00.828
Offensive line13.00.838
Defensive line23.00.828
Linebackers23.00.849
Defensive backs13.00.823
Athletes and specialists13.00.821
Whole class113.00.832

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 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 6

The 2023 portal
Braylin Presley ATH★★★from Oklahoma State
Julien Simon LB★★★★from USC
Adrian Huey CB★★★from Kentucky
Demarco Jones CB★★★from Oklahoma State
Kanion Williams S★★★from Oklahoma State
Keuan Parker CB★★★from Arkansas

Transfers out 9

Dillon Wade OT★★★★to Auburn
Anthony Goodlow DE★★★★to Oklahoma State
Justin Wright LB★★★to Oklahoma State
Jaden Muskrat OL★★★to Auburn
Braylon Braxton QB★★★returned to Tulsa
Chris Akporoghene OL★★★no new school on file
Davis Brin QB★★★to Georgia Southern
Malachi Jones WR★★★returned to Tulsa
Roderick Hopes S★★★to Louisiana Tech

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.