2023 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team

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.

2023 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football
Conference	United Athletic Conference
Record	5–6 (4–2 UAC)
Head coach	Walt Wells (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Andy Richman (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Jake Johnson (4th season)
Home stadium	Roy Kidd Stadium
Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

2023 United Athletic Conference standings

v t e	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
Eastern Kentucky		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

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

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	3:30 p.m.	at Cincinnati*	No. 24	Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH	ESPN+	L 13–66	38,193
September 9	3:00 p.m.	at Kentucky*		Kroger Field Lexington, KY	SECN+/ESPN+	L 17–28	61,876
September 16	6:00 p.m.	Western Carolina*		Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	ESPN+	L 24–27	13,596
September 23	6:00 p.m.	No. 16 Southeast Missouri State*		Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	ESPN+	W 41–38	13,477
September 30	7:00 p.m.	at North Alabama		Braly Municipal Stadium Florence, AL	ESPN+	W 32–22	11,430
October 14	3:00 p.m.	Tarleton State		Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	ESPN+	W 41–35 ^2OT	12,063
October 21	6:00 p.m.	at Gardner–Webb*		Ernest W. Spangler Stadium Boiling Springs, NC	ESPN+	L 32–35	4,339
October 28	8:00 p.m.	at Utah Tech		Greater Zion Stadium St. George, UT	ESPN+	W 34–30	5,245
November 4	5:00 p.m.	No. 19 Austin Peay		Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	ESPN+	L 30–33 ^OT	10,067
November 11	5:00 p.m.	at Central Arkansas		Estes Stadium Conway, AR	ESPN+	L 24–27	5,423
November 18	2:00 p.m.	Stephen F. Austin		Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY	ESPN+	W 36–24	9,069
*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)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Colonels	0	7	3	3	13
Bearcats	21	21	10	14	66

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

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.