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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 .
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]
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 One – No. 24 Eastern Kentucky Colonels (0-0) at Cincinnati Bearcats (0-0)
Quarter
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, 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
Game Two – Eastern Kentucky Colonels (0–1) at Kentucky Wildcats (1–0) – Game summary
Quarter
1
2
3 4 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
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