2023 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team

2023 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football
ConferenceUnited Athletic Conference
Record5–6 (4–2 UAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorAndy Richman (4th season)
Defensive coordinatorJake Johnson (4th season)
Home stadiumRoy Kidd Stadium
2023 United Athletic Conference standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 18 Austin Peay $^   6 – 0     9 – 3  
Central Arkansas   4 – 2     7 – 4  
Southern Utah   4 – 2     6 – 5  
  4 – 2     5 – 6  
Tarleton State*   4 – 2     8 – 3  
Abilene Christian   3 – 3     5 – 6  
North Alabama   1 – 5     3 – 8  
Utah Tech*   1 – 5     2 – 9  
Stephen F. Austin   0 – 6     3 – 8  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Note: Tarleton State and Utah Tech are ineligible for the UAC title and FCS postseason play due to transitions from NCAA Division II.
Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2023 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team represented Eastern Kentucky University as a member of the United Athletic Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Walt Wells, the Colonels played home games at Roy Kidd Stadium in Richmond, Kentucky. The Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team drew an average home attendance of 11,655 in 2023.

After the 2022 season, the ASUN and the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), which had been partners in a football-only alliance in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, jointly announced that they would merge their football leagues.[1][2]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 23:30 p.m.at Cincinnati*No. 24
ESPN+L 13–6638,193
September 93:00 p.m.at Kentucky*
SECN+/ESPN+L 17–2861,876
September 166:00 p.m.Western Carolina*
ESPN+L 24–2713,596
September 236:00 p.m.No. 16 Southeast Missouri State*
  • Roy Kidd Stadium
  • Richmond, KY
ESPN+W 41–3813,477
September 307:00 p.m.at North Alabama
ESPN+W 32–2211,430
October 143:00 p.m.Tarleton State
  • Roy Kidd Stadium
  • Richmond, KY
ESPN+W 41–35 2OT12,063
October 216:00 p.m.at Gardner–Webb*
ESPN+L 32–354,339
October 288:00 p.m.at Utah Tech
ESPN+W 34–305,245
November 45:00 p.m.No. 19 Austin Peay
  • Roy Kidd Stadium
  • Richmond, KY
ESPN+L 30–33 OT10,067
November 115:00 p.m.at Central Arkansas
ESPN+L 24–275,423
November 182:00 p.m.Stephen F. Austin
  • Roy Kidd Stadium
  • Richmond, KY
ESPN+W 36–249,069
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

[3][4]

Game summaries

at Cincinnati

See also: 2023 Cincinnati Bearcats football team
Game One – No. 24 Eastern Kentucky Colonels (0-0) at Cincinnati Bearcats (0-0)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 24 Colonels 0 7 3313
Bearcats 21 21 101466

at Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Date: Saturday, September 2, 2023
  • Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 89 °F (32 °C) • Wind: 7 mph
  • Game attendance: 38,193
  • Referee: Christian Watson
  • TV announcers (ESPN+): Noah Reed (play-by-play), Ryan Leaf (analyst), and Shane Sparks (sideline)
  • Pregame line: Cincinnati by 21.5 • FPI odds to win: Cincinnati 97.0% • Game summary: ESPN
Game information
First quarter
  • 11:45 CIN - Xzavier Henderson 49-yard pass from Emory Jones (Carter Brown kick) - 7-0 Cincinnati, Drive: 7 plays, 71 yards, 3:09
  • 6:52 CIN - Dee Wiggins 39-yard pass from Emory Jones (Carter Brown kick) - 14-0 Cincinnati, Drive: 5 plays, 87 yards, 2:07
  • 1:41 CIN - Emory Jones 1-yard run (Carter Brown kick) - 21-0 Cincinnati, Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 3:46
Second quarter
  • 11:47 CIN - Payten Singletary 1-yard pass from Emory Jones (Carter Brown kick) - 28-0 Cincinnati, Drive: 4 plays, 77 yards, 1:23
  • 7:17 CIN - Emory Jones 12-yard run (Carter Brown kick) - 35-0 Cincinnati, Drive: 8 plays, 65 yards, 3:04
  • 5:08 EKU - Hunter Brown 17-yard pass from Parker McKinney (Patrick Nations kick) - 35-7 Cincinnati, Drive: 4 plays, 74 yards, 2:03
  • 0:49 CIN - Braden Smith 48-yard pass from Emory Jones (Carter Brown kick) - 42-7 Cincinnati, Drive: 10 plays, 84 yards, 4:14
Third quarter
  • 13:21 CIN - Carter Brown 46-yard field goal - 45-7 Cincinnati, Drive: 4 plays, -9 yards, 1:27
  • 8:12 EKU - Patrick Nations 42-yard field goal - 45-10 Cincinnati, Drive: 4 plays, -7 yards, 1:44
  • 2:42 CIN - Aaron Turner 6-yard pass from Emory Jones (Carter Brown kick) - 52-10 Cincinnati, Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 5:30
Fourth quarter
  • 13:39 CIN - Brady Lichtenberg 4-yard run (Carter Brown kick) - 59-10 Cincinnati, Drive: 6 plays, 37 yards, 2:39
  • 6:30 EKU - Patrick Nations 43-yard field goal - 59-13 Cincinnati, Drive: 13 plays, 49 yards, 7:09
  • 4:37 CIN - Barry Jackson Jr. 65-yard pass from Brady Lichtenberg - 66-13 Cincinnati, Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:53
Statistics EKU CIN
First downs 15 30
Plays–yards 55–302 71–667
Rushes–yards 32–125 44–229
Passing yards 177 438
Passing: comp–att–int 13–25–2 23–27–0
Time of possession 28:14 31:46
Team Category Player Statistics
Eastern Kentucky Passing Patrick McKinney 13/24, 177 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Joshua Carter 7 carries, 68 yards
Receiving Jaden Smith 5 receptions, 81 yards
Cincinnati Passing Emory Jones 19/23, 345 yards, 5 TD
Rushing Corey Kiner 13 carries, 105 yards
Receiving Xzavier Henderson 7 receptions, 149 yards, 1 TD

at Kentucky

See also: 2023 Kentucky Wildcats football team
Game Two – Eastern Kentucky Colonels (0–1) at Kentucky Wildcats (1–0) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Colonels 7 0 3717
Wildcats 0 7 14728

at Kroger Field • Lexington, KY

  • Date: Saturday, September 9, 2023
  • Game time: 3:00 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 72 °F (22 °C) • Wind: NE 12 miles per hour (19 km/h)
  • Game attendance: 61,876
  • Referee: Ken Williamson
  • TV announcers (SECN+): Peter Sousa (play-by-play), Takeo Spikes (analyst)
Game information
First quarter
  • (10:46) EKU – Parker McKinney 14-yard run (Patrick Nations kick) (Drive: 6 plays, 30 yards, 2:32; Eastern Kentucky 7-0)
Second quarter
  • (0:42) UK – Tayvion Robinson 24-yard pass from Devin Leary (Alex Raynor kick) (Drive: 1 play, 24 yards, 0:06; Tied 7-7)
Third quarter
  • (9:41) EKU – Patrick Nations 21-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 71 yards, 5:19; Eastern Kentucky 10-7)
  • (5:47) UK – Tayvion Robinson 6-yard pass from Devin Leary (Alex Raynor kick) (Drive: 9 plays, 72 yards, 3:54; Kentucky 14-10)
  • (1:47) UK – Barion Brown 13-yard pass from Devin Leary (Alex Raynor kick) (Drive: 4 plays, 85 yards, 2:00; Kentucky 21-10)
Fourth quarter
  • (12:04) EKU – Braedon Sloan 9-yard pass from Parker McKinney (Patrick Nations kick) (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 4:43; Kentucky 21-17)
  • (8:08) UK – Ray Davis 24-yard pass from Devin Leary (Alex Raynor kick) (Drive: 6 plays, 65 yards, 3:49; Kentucky 28-17)
Statistics EKU UK
First downs 15 20
Total yards 56–311 61–414
Rushing yards 27–92 23–115
Passing yards 219 299
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 19–29–1 24–38–1
Time of possession 27:53 32:07
Team Category Player Statistics
Eastern Kentucky Passing Parker McKinney 19/29, 219 yards, TD, INT
Rushing Braedon Sloan 7 carries, 48 yards
Receiving Bryant Johnson 2 receptions, 53 yards
Kentucky Passing Devin Leary 24/38, 299 yards, 4 TD, INT
Rushing Ray Davis 12 carries, 52 yards
Receiving Tayvion Robinson 6 receptions, 136 yards, 2 TD

References

  1. ^ "@ASUN_Football and WAC Release 2023 Schedule" (Press release). ASUN Conference. December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  2. ^ "ASUN And WAC Unveil 2023 Football Schedule" (Press release). Western Athletic Conference. December 20, 2022. Retrieved December 22, 2022.
  3. ^ "2023 Eastern Kentucky Football Schedule". FBSchedules. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  4. ^ "FOOTBALL". Eastern Kentucky University. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
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