American college football season
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 Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 2 3:30 p.m. at Cincinnati * No. 24 ESPN+ L 13–6638,193
September 9 3:00 p.m. at Kentucky * SECN+/ESPN+ L 17–2861,876
September 16 6:00 p.m. Western Carolina * ESPN+ L 24–2713,596
September 23 6:00 p.m. No. 16 Southeast Missouri State * Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY ESPN+ W 41–3813,477
September 30 7:00 p.m. at North Alabama ESPN+ W 32–2211,430
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 * ESPN+ L 32–354,339
October 28 8:00 p.m. at Utah Tech ESPN+ W 34–305,245
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 ESPN+ L 24–275,423
November 18 2:00 p.m. Stephen F. Austin Roy Kidd Stadium Richmond, KY ESPN+ W 36–249,069
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time
[ 3] [ 4]
Game summaries
at Cincinnati Game One – No. 24 Eastern Kentucky Colonels (0-0) at Cincinnati Bearcats (0-0)
Quarter
Total
No. 24 Colonels
0
7
3 3 13
Bearcats
21
21
10 14 66
at Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, Ohio
Date : Saturday, September 2, 2023Game time : 3:30 p.m. EDT Game weather : Sunny • Temperature : 89 °F (32 °C) • Wind : 7 mphGame attendance : 38,193Referee : Christian WatsonTV 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 Game Two – Eastern Kentucky Colonels (0–1) at Kentucky Wildcats (1–0) – Game summary
Quarter
Total
Colonels
7
0
3 7 17
Wildcats
0
7
14 7 28
at Kroger Field • Lexington, KY
Date : Saturday, September 9, 2023Game 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 : 61,876Referee : Ken WilliamsonTV 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
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold