Welcome back to the sixth edition of the FCS-FBS recap for the 2023 season with the previous editions located here. With the FCS versus FBS matchups slowing down drastically around this time of the season, we have combined the final three weeks (10, 11, and 12) into a single post. We will have additional recaps including a full-season recap in January now that all 118 FCS-FBS matchups have been completed.
Any insights or nuggets of information will be in the opening paragraphs followed by the charts of each statistical category. The table below allows the user to skip to a specific category instead of scrolling through the charts. All the graphs below will have the same color scheme with FCS teams in orange and FBS teams in blue.
FCS Wins
There were no FCS wins in the final three weeks of the season. The FCS won 4 games out of 118 matchups with the FBS in 2023, giving them a 3.4% win rate for the season. That is the lowest percentage since 2019 when the FCS won 3 out of 114 matchups (2.6% win rate). A graph showing all win percentages by season can be found here.
Stat Nuggets
Holy Cross lost a close 17-14 game against Army despite outgaining them by 126 yards. Since 2018, there have been 16 FCS teams that have outgained their FBS opponent by 125 yards or more. Of those 16 games, 10 of them resulted in the FCS team winning and only one game (Duquesne’s 24-14 loss at Hawaii in 2022) saw the FCS team lose by more than a touchdown.
It was a similar theme with Kennesaw State’s 24-21 loss against Sam Houston State. The Owls outgained the Bearkats 247 to 105 yards on the ground but couldn’t come away with the victory. There have been 13 FCS-FBS games since 2018 that have seen the FCS team outrush the FBS opponent by 130 yards or more. Of those 13 games, 7 have resulted in an FCS victory and only one has seen the FCS lose by more than a touchdown (Alcorn State’s 52-42 loss at New Mexico State in 2018).
Per Game Stats (Year-To-Date)
The per-game stats for all FCS-FBS games are provided below. The chart shows all 118 FCS versus FBS games that were played in 2023.
Weekly Records
Below is a table that shows how each FCS conference performed in the final three weeks against FBS foes. In addition, each previous week is provided along with the season-to-date record in the last column.
| Conference | Games | 2023 Record | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Sky | 13 | 2-11 | 0-3 | 1-5 | 1-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | |
| Big South-OVC | 10 | 0-10 | 0-6 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | |
| CAA | 15 | 0-15 | 0-7 | 0-4 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | |
| Independents | 1 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | |
| Ivy League | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | |
| MEAC | 9 | 0-9 | 0-2 | 0-3 | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | |
| MVFC | 11 | 1-10 | 0-4 | 1-3 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | |
| NEC | 10 | 0-10 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-3 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-1 | |
| Patriot League | 6 | 1-5 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-0 | |
| Pioneer | 0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | |
| SoCon | 9 | 0-9 | 0-5 | 0-1 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-1 | |
| Southland | 11 | 0-11 | 0-3 | 0-6 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | |
| SWAC | 11 | 0-11 | 0-4 | 0-3 | 0-4 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | |
| United Athletic | 12 | 0-12 | 0-4 | 0-3 | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-2 | |
| Totals | 118 | 4-114 | 0-42 | 3-35 | 1-20 | 0-4 | 0-3 | 0-2 | 0-3 | 0-1 | 0-4 |
Points Scored
Total Yards
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Completion Percentage
Yards Per Carry
Turnovers
First Downs
Penalty Yards
3rd Down Efficiency
Photo Credit to Holy Cross University Athletics
