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2023 Western Michigan

4–⁠8 (3–⁠5 Mid-American Conference), coached by Lance Taylor.

Schedule and results

Western Michigan in 2023, game by game: won vs. Saint Francis 35–17; lost at Syracuse 7–48; lost at No. 25 Iowa 10–41; lost at Toledo 31–49; won vs. Ball State 42–24; lost at Mississippi State 28–41; lost vs. Miami (OH) 21–34; lost at Ohio 17–20; won at Eastern Michigan 45–21; won vs. Central Michigan 38–28; lost at Northern Illinois 0–24; lost vs. Bowling Green 10–34+24−41Won 35–17 vs. Saint Francis+18Saint FrancisLost 7–48 at Syracuse-41SyracuseLost 10–41 at No. 25 Iowa-31No. 25 IowaLost 31–49 at Toledo-18ToledoWon 42–24 vs. Ball State+18Ball StateLost 28–41 at Mississippi State-13Mississippi Sta…Lost 21–34 vs. Miami (OH)-13Miami (OH)Lost 17–20 at Ohio-3OhioWon 45–21 at Eastern Michigan+24Eastern MichiganWon 38–28 vs. Central Michigan+10Central MichiganLost 0–24 at Northern Illinois-24Northern Illino…Lost 10–34 vs. Bowling Green-24Bowling Green
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsSaint FrancisW 35–⁠1768%
Sep 9atSyracuseL 7–⁠4841%
Sep 16at25IowaL 10–⁠4121%
Sep 23atToledoL 31–⁠4928%
Sep 30vsBall StateW 42–⁠2461%
Oct 7atMississippi StateL 28–⁠4132%
Oct 14vsMiami (OH)L 21–⁠3440%
Oct 21atOhioL 17–⁠2024%
Oct 28atEastern MichiganW 45–⁠2132%
Nov 7vsCentral MichiganW 38–⁠2858%
Nov 14atNorthern IllinoisL 0–⁠2451%
Nov 21vsBowling GreenL 10–⁠3451%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Bowling Green 34–⁠10; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 55th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 7th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
284–⁠381
Coach
Lance Taylor
Elo
1403 −61 this season
SP+ rating
-15.9 No. 121 of 133; offense No. 109, defense No. 108, special teams No. 122
SRS
−15.0 No. 122 of 133 in FBS
Returning
57% of last season’s EPA, No. 59 of 131
Recruiting class
No. 106 roster talent No. 112 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Billy Cosh
Defensive coordinator
Lou Esposito
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense110th of 133
  • Defense91st of 133
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted106th of 133
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted117th of 133
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0038%1.22110th of 133
Defense0.1645%1.2591st of 133
Opponent-adjusted0.03 off
0.18 def		38% off
47% def		—106th off
117th 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
Offense3.4own 2815% allowed
Defense4.2own 3117% caused

CORE rating -17.3, 120th of 133 (offense -7.6, defense 9.7).

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 yardsHayden Wolff QB1,505 yds
Passing touchdownsHayden Wolff QB8 TD
Rushing yardsJalen Buckley RB997 yds
Rushing touchdownsJalen Buckley RB10 TD
Receiving yardsKenneth Womack WR691 yds
Receiving touchdownsAnthony Sambucci WR5 TD
TacklesTate Hallock S75 tkl
SacksMarshawn Kneeland DL4.5 sacks
InterceptionsAaron Wofford S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2023 class

Sid Kaba DL★★★No. 1142
Jacobe Oglesby S★★★No. 1403
Logan Lester WR★★★No. 1600
Brennan Wooten TE★★★No. 1688
C.J. Hester RB★★★No. 1760

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

The 2023 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs23.00.834
Receivers33.00.835
Offensive line13.00.827
Defensive line33.00.829
Defensive backs42.80.820
Athletes and specialists33.00.815
Whole class162.90.826

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 2Marshawn Kneeland DEDallas Cowboys

Roster 108

The 2023 roster

108 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2023 line; 55 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 6

The 2023 portal
Hayden Wolff QB★★★from Old Dominion
Keshawn King RB★★★★from Virginia Tech
Chad Schuster OT★★★from Syracuse
Donald Willis LB★★★from Minnesota
Tate Hallock ATH★★★from Michigan State
Tedi Kushi OT★★from LIU Post

Transfers out 10

Andre Carter DL★★★★to Indiana
Braden Fiske DL★★★★to Florida State
Sean Tyler RB★★★to Minnesota
Corey Crooms WR★★★to Minnesota
Ryan Selig LB★★★to Minnesota
Marshawn Kneeland DE★★★to Colorado
Christian Rapley WR★★★no new school on file
Elijah Hawk DL★★★no new school on file
Keith Jones Jr. CB★★★no new school on file
Kenny Givens DL★★★no new school on file

2023 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Toledo8–⁠011–⁠3
Miami (OH)7–⁠111–⁠3
Ohio6–⁠210–⁠3
Bowling Green5–⁠37–⁠6
Northern Illinois5–⁠37–⁠6
Eastern Michigan4–⁠46–⁠7
Central Michigan3–⁠55–⁠7
Western Michigan3–⁠54–⁠8
Ball State3–⁠54–⁠8
Buffalo3–⁠53–⁠9
Akron1–⁠72–⁠10
Kent State0–⁠81–⁠11

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