CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2023 UCF

6–⁠7 (3–⁠6 Big 12), coached by Gus Malzahn.

Schedule and results

UCF in 2023, game by game: won vs. Kent State 56–6; won at Boise State 18–16; won vs. Villanova 48–14; lost at Kansas State 31–44; lost vs. Baylor 35–36; lost at Kansas 22–51; lost at No. 6 Oklahoma 29–31; lost vs. West Virginia 28–41; won at Cincinnati 28–26; won vs. No. 15 Oklahoma State 45–3; lost at Texas Tech 23–24; won vs. Houston 27–13; lost vs. Georgia Tech 17–30+50−29Won 56–6 vs. Kent State+50Kent StateWon 18–16 at Boise State+2Boise StateWon 48–14 vs. Villanova+34VillanovaLost 31–44 at Kansas State-13Kansas StateLost 35–36 vs. Baylor-1BaylorLost 22–51 at Kansas-29KansasLost 29–31 at No. 6 Oklahoma-2No. 6 OklahomaLost 28–41 vs. West Virginia-13West VirginiaWon 28–26 at Cincinnati+2CincinnatiWon 45–3 vs. No. 15 Oklahoma State+42No. 15 Oklahoma StateLost 23–24 at Texas Tech-1Texas TechWon 27–13 vs. Houston+14HoustonLost 17–30 vs. Georgia Tech-13Georgia Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsKent StateW 56–⁠669%
Sep 9atBoise StateW 18–⁠1644%
Sep 16vsVillanovaW 48–⁠1482%
Sep 23atKansas StateL 31–⁠4436%
Sep 30vsBaylorL 35–⁠3671%
Oct 7atKansasL 22–⁠5148%
Oct 21at6OklahomaL 29–⁠3123%
Oct 28vsWest VirginiaL 28–⁠4160%
Nov 4atCincinnatiW 28–⁠2645%
Nov 11vs15Oklahoma StateW 45–⁠342%
Nov 18atTexas TechL 23–⁠2440%
Nov 25vsHoustonW 27–⁠1371%
Dec 22Bowls & playoffvsGeorgia TechGasparilla BowlL 17–⁠3061%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Georgia Tech 30–⁠17 in the Gasparilla Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Big 12.

In program history: The 14th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 40 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠6 tied for 9th in Big 12
AP final
Unranked
Points
407–⁠335
Coach
Gus Malzahn
Elo
1530 −19 this season
SP+ rating
3.4 No. 57 of 133; offense No. 45, defense No. 53, special teams No. 113
SRS
5.6 No. 42 of 133 in FBS
Returning
68% of last season’s EPA, No. 31 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 50 roster talent No. 53 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Darin Hinshaw
Defensive coordinators
Addison Williams and David Gibbs
Offense
Spread option
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense12th of 133
  • Defense58th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted19th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted40th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2545%1.4612th of 133
Defense0.0946%1.1758th of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.21 off
0.07 def		45% off
44% def		—19th off
40th 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
Offense3.8own 2715% allowed
Defense3.8own 3012% caused

CORE rating 9.4, 34th of 133 (offense 10.7, defense 1.4).

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 yardsJohn Rhys Plumlee QB2,271 yds
Passing touchdownsJohn Rhys Plumlee QB15 TD
Rushing yardsR.J. Harvey RB1,416 yds
Rushing touchdownsR.J. Harvey RB16 TD
Receiving yardsJavon Baker WR1,139 yds
Receiving touchdownsKobe Hudson WR8 TD
TacklesJason Johnson LB104 tkl
SacksTre’Mon Morris-Brash DE8.5 sacks
InterceptionsCorey Thornton DB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

John Walker DL★★★★No. 96
Andrew Harris LB★★★★No. 278
Isaiah Nixon DE★★★★No. 279
Braeden Marshall CB★★★No. 475
Kaven Call DE★★★No. 554

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.864
Receivers23.00.870
Offensive line23.00.859
Defensive line53.40.898
Linebackers14.00.909
Defensive backs23.00.869
Athletes and specialists23.00.844
Whole class153.20.876

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 4Javon Baker WRNew England Patriots
Rd 6Tylan Grable OTBuffalo Bills

Roster 121

The 2023 roster

121 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 57 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 18

The 2023 portal
Derrick LeBlanc DL★★★★from Oklahoma
Decorian Patterson CB★★★from Middle Tennessee
Rian Davis LB★★★from Georgia
Jireh Wilson S★★★from East Carolina
Marcellus Marshall OT★★★from Kent State
Amari Kight OT★★★from Alabama
Bula Schmidt OL★★★from Fresno State
Chauncey Magwood WR★★★from Kentucky
Fred Davis II CB★★★from Clemson
Trent Whittemore WR★★★from Florida
Corey Gammage WR★★★from Marshall
DeJordan Mask S★★★from Texas State

And 6 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 19

Matt Lee OL★★★★to Miami
Davonte Brown CB★★★★to Miami
Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste LB★★★to Ole Miss
Mikey Keene QB★★★to Fresno State
Ryan O’Keefe WR★★★to Boston College
Joey Gatewood WR★★★to Louisville
Thomas Castellanos QB★★★to Boston College
Jordan Johnson WR★★★★★no new school on file
Terrence Lewis LB★★★★★no new school on file
Branden Jennings LB★★★★no new school on file
Anthony Williams RB★★★no new school on file
Ethan Mort OT★★★no new school on file

And 7 more, lower-rated or unrated.

All-Big 12

2 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2023 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2023 Big 12 standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas8–⁠112–⁠23
Oklahoma7–⁠210–⁠315
Oklahoma State7–⁠210–⁠416
West Virginia6–⁠39–⁠4
Kansas State6–⁠39–⁠418
Iowa State6–⁠37–⁠6
Kansas5–⁠49–⁠423
Texas Tech5–⁠47–⁠6
UCF3–⁠66–⁠7
TCU3–⁠65–⁠7
BYU2–⁠75–⁠7
Houston2–⁠74–⁠8
Baylor2–⁠73–⁠9
Cincinnati1–⁠83–⁠9

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