2023 Utah State

6–⁠7 (4–⁠4 Mountain West Conference), coached by Blake Anderson.

Schedule and results

Utah State in 2023, game by game: lost at No. 25 Iowa 14–24; won vs. Idaho State 78–28; lost at Air Force 21–39; lost vs. James Madison 38–45; won at UConn 34–33; won vs. Colorado State 44–24; lost vs. Fresno State 32–37; lost at San José State 21–42; won at San Diego State 32–24; won vs. Nevada 41–24; lost vs. Boise State 10–45; won at New Mexico 44–41; lost vs. Georgia State 22–45+50−35Lost 14–24 at No. 25 Iowa-10No. 25 IowaWon 78–28 vs. Idaho State+50Idaho StateLost 21–39 at Air Force-18Air ForceLost 38–45 vs. James Madison-7James MadisonWon 34–33 at UConn+1UConnWon 44–24 vs. Colorado State+20Colorado StateLost 32–37 vs. Fresno State-5Fresno StateLost 21–42 at San José State-21San José StateWon 32–24 at San Diego State+8San Diego StateWon 41–24 vs. Nevada+17NevadaLost 10–45 vs. Boise State-35Boise StateWon 44–41 at New Mexico+3New MexicoLost 22–45 vs. Georgia State-23Georgia State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2at25IowaL 14–⁠2427%
Sep 9vsIdaho StateW 78–⁠2889%
Sep 15atAir ForceL 21–⁠3924%
Sep 23vsJames MadisonL 38–⁠4540%
Sep 30atUConnW 34–⁠3357%
Oct 7vsColorado StateW 44–⁠2464%
Oct 13vsFresno StateL 32–⁠3734%
Oct 21atSan José StateL 21–⁠4244%
Nov 4atSan Diego StateW 32–⁠2440%
Nov 11vsNevadaW 41–⁠2477%
Nov 18vsBoise StateL 10–⁠4543%
Nov 24atNew MexicoW 44–⁠4159%
Dec 23vsGeorgia StateFamous Idaho Potato BowlL 22–⁠4548%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Georgia State 45–⁠22 in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 71st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 120 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Mountain West Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
431–⁠451
Coach
Blake Anderson
Elo
1425 −54 this season
SP+ rating
-10.9 No. 106 of 133; offense No. 54, defense No. 131, special teams No. 91
SRS
−6.7 No. 97 of 133 in FBS
Returning
47% of last season’s EPA, No. 75 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 100 roster talent No. 104 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Kyle Cefalo
Defensive coordinator
Joe Cauthen
Offense
Spread option
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense68th of 133
  • Defense97th of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted87th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted120th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0940%1.3468th of 133
Defense0.1745%1.2097th of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.07 off
0.18 def
40% off
45% def
—87th off
120th 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
Offense3.3own 2919% allowed
Defense4.2own 3117% caused

CORE rating -0.8, 69th of 133 (offense 4.4, defense 5.3).

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 yardsCooper Legas QB1,815 yds
Passing touchdownsCooper Legas QB19 TD
Rushing yardsDavon Booth RB805 yds
Rushing touchdownsDavon Booth RB6 TD
Receiving yardsJalen Royals WR1,080 yds
Receiving touchdownsJalen Royals WR15 TD
TacklesM.J. Tafisi LB142 tkl
SacksPaul Fitzgerald DE7 sacks
InterceptionsIke Larsen S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Taliafi Taala OT★★★No. 734
Chase Davis S★★★No. 836
Jr Sia OT★★★No. 1113
McCae Hillstead QB★★★No. 1636
Jaydon Bailey RB★★★No. 1704

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.843
Running backs22.50.814
Receivers23.00.807
Offensive line32.70.832
Defensive backs23.00.846
Whole class102.80.827

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 110

The 2023 roster

110 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 7

The 2023 portal

Transfers out 21

A.J. Vongphachanh LB★★★to BYU
Byron Vaughns LB★★★to Baylor
Daniel Grzesiak DE★★★to Cincinnati
Ajani Carter CB★★★to Baylor
Dominic Tatum CB★★★to Washington State
Weylin Lapuaho OL★★★to BYU
Patrick Joyner Jr. DE★★★to Kansas
Xavier Williams WR★★★★no new school on file
Bishop Davenport QB★★★to South Alabama
Jett Solomon CB★★★no new school on file
John Gentry RB★★★to Sam Houston
Luke Marion S★★★no new school on file

And 9 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2023 Mountain West Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UNLV6–⁠29–⁠5
Boise State6–⁠28–⁠6
San José State6–⁠27–⁠6
Air Force5–⁠39–⁠4
Wyoming5–⁠39–⁠4
Fresno State4–⁠49–⁠4
Utah State4–⁠46–⁠7
Colorado State3–⁠55–⁠7
Hawai’i3–⁠55–⁠8
San Diego State2–⁠64–⁠8
New Mexico2–⁠64–⁠8
Nevada2–⁠62–⁠10

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