2023 Western Carolina
7–4 (5–3 Southern Conference). Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Charleston Southern 77–21Sep 23
By 56 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingLost to Mercer 38–45Oct 28
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | vs Arkansas | L 13–56 | 16% |
| Sep 9 | vs Samford | W 30–7 | 37% |
| Sep 16 | at Eastern Kentucky | W 27–24 | 42% |
| Sep 23 | vs Charleston Southern | W 77–21 | 73% |
| Sep 30 | at The Citadel | W 49–14 | 71% |
| Oct 7 | at Chattanooga | W 52–50 | 38% |
| Oct 21 | vs Furman | L 17–29 | 46% |
| Oct 28 | vs Mercer | L 38–45 | 57% |
| Nov 4 | at Wofford | W 28–25 | 73% |
| Nov 11 | vs East Tennessee State | W 58–7 | 77% |
| Nov 18 | at VMI | L 24–27 | 66% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to VMI 27–24; unranked in the final AP poll; 4th in the Southern Conference.
In program history: The 9th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 54 on file).
- Record
- 7–4
- Conference
- 5–3 4th in Southern Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 413–305
- Coach
- —
- Elo
- 1346 +58 this season
- SP+ rating
- —
- SRS
- −22.3 No. 50 of 128 in FCS
- Recruiting class
- No. 132
- Offensive coordinator
- Kade Bell
- Defensive coordinator
- Chaz Scales
- Offense
- No-huddle spread
- Defense
- 4–3
Leaders
| Passing yards | Cole Gonzales QB | 2,803 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Cole Gonzales QB | 28 TD |
| Rushing yards | Desmond Reid RB | 888 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | Desmond Reid RB | 13 TD |
| Receiving yards | Censere Lee WR | 792 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Censere Lee WR | 8 TD |
| Tackles | Andreas Keaton S | 7 tkl |
| Sacks | Ed Jones IV S | 1 sacks |
| Interceptions | Samaurie Dukes S | 3 INT |
Top recruits in the 2023 class
| Santana Fleming WR | ★★★ | No. 846 |
| Jamari Haynes WR | ★★★ | No. 1953 |
| Trevaughn Martinez S | ★★★ | No. 2027 |
| Rashad Davis WR | ★★★ | No. 2103 |
| Corey Washington WR | ★★★ | No. 2330 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2023 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.816 |
| Receivers | 4 | 3.0 | 0.835 |
| Defensive backs | 1 | 3.0 | 0.828 |
| Athletes and specialists | 1 | 3.0 | 0.810 |
| Whole class | 7 | 3.0 | 0.828 |
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.
Transfers in 1
The 2023 portal
Transfers out 2
2023 Southern Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Furman | 7–1 | 10–3 | |
| Mercer | 6–2 | 9–4 | |
| Chattanooga | 6–2 | 8–5 | |
 Western Carolina | 5–3 | 7–4 | |
| Samford | 4–4 | 6–5 | |
| VMI | 4–4 | 5–6 | |
| East Tennessee State | 2–6 | 3–8 | |
| Wofford | 2–6 | 2–9 | |
| The Citadel | 0–8 | 0–11 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.