# 2023 Texas A&M–Commerce Lions football team

The 2023 Texas A&M–Commerce Lions football team represented Texas A&M University–Commerce as a member of the Southland Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Lions were led by first-year head coach Clint Dolezel and played home games at the Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium in Commerce, Texas.

## Preseason
### Preseason poll

The Southland Conference released their preseason poll on July 24, 2023. The Lions were picked to finish sixth in the conference.
| Predicted finish | Team | Votes (1st place) |
| 1 | Southeastern Louisiana | 93 (9) |
| 2 | Incarnate Word | 91 (7) |
| 3 | McNeese | 65 |
| 4 | Nicholls | 62 |
| 5 | Northwestern State | 52 |
| 6 | Texas A&M–Commerce | 33 |
| 7 | Lamar | 28 |
| 8 | Houston Christian | 24 |

### Preseason All–Southland Teams

The Southland Conference announced the 2023 preseason all-conference football team selections on July 21, 2023. TAMUC had a total of 4 players selected.

## Schedule

Texas A&M–Commerce and the Southland Conference announced the 2023 football schedule on December 14, 2022.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 16 UC Davis* | Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial StadiumCommerce, TX | ESPN+ | L 10–48 | 4,227 |
| September 9 | 9:00 p.m. | at No. 9 Sacramento State* | Hornet StadiumSacramento, CA | ESPN+ | L 6–34 | 12,316 |
| September 23 | 2:30 p.m. | at Old Dominion* | S.B. Ballard StadiumNorfolk, VA | ESPN+ | L 9–10 | 16,938 |
| September 30 | 6:00 p.m. | at Stephen F. Austin* | Homer Bryce StadiumNacogdoches, TX | ESPN+ | L 27–56 | 7,029 |
| October 7 | 7:00 p.m. | McNeese | Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial StadiumCommerce, TX | ESPN+ | W 41–10 | 4,817 |
| October 14 | 4:00 p.m. | at No. 7 Incarnate Word | Gayle and Tom Benson StadiumSan Antonio, TX | ESPN+ | L 11–28 | 2,278 |
| October 21 | 3:30 p.m. | Nicholls | Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial StadiumCommerce, TX | ESPN+ | L 7–27 | 8,248 |
| October 28 | 2:00 p.m. | at Houston Christian | Husky StadiumHouston, TX | ESPN+ | L 13–17 | 1,765 |
| November 4 | 3:00 p.m. | at Lamar | Provost Umphrey StadiumBeaumont, TX | ESPN+ | L 21–41 | 6,123 |
| November 11 | 3:30 p.m. | Southeastern Louisiana | Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial StadiumCommerce, TX | ESPN+ | L 14–52 | 4,387 |
| November 18 | 2:00 p.m. | at Northwestern State | Harry Turpin StadiumNatchitoches, LA | ESPN+ | W 2–0 (forfeit) | |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### at Sacramento State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lions | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| No. 9 Hornets | 10 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 34 |
at Hornet Stadium, Sacramento, California
* Date: September 9
* Game time: 9:00 p.m. CDT/7:00 p.m. PDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 85 °F (29 °C)
* Game attendance: 12,316
* Referee: Scott Root
* TV announcers (KMAX-TV/ESPN+): Jason Ross and Darren Arbet
* Sources:
| Statistics | TAMC | SAC |
| First downs | 13 | 28 |
| Total yards | 216 | 503 |
| Rushing yards | 144 | 311 |
| Passing yards | 72 | 192 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 13–27–1 | 17–26–1 |
| Time of possession | 29:08 | 30:52 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Texas A&M–Commerce | Passing | Peter Parrish | 12/25, 63 yards, INT |
| Texas A&M–Commerce | Rushing | Reggie Branch | 14 carries, 65 yards |
| Texas A&M–Commerce | Receiving | Micaelous Elder | 6 receptions, 33 yards |
| Sacramento State | Passing | Kaiden Bennett | 14/22, 176 yards, TD, INT |
| Sacramento State | Rushing | Kaiden Bennett | 10 carries, 101 yards, 2 TD |
| Sacramento State | Receiving | Coleman Kuntz | 4 receptions, 68 yards |

### McNeese

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cowboys | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| Lions | 0 | 14 | 27 | 0 | 41 |
at Ernest Hawkins Field at Memorial Stadium, Commerce, TX
* Date: October 7
* Game time: 7:00 p.m.
* Game weather: • Wind: N4 mph • Weather: Clear Temp: 64
* Game attendance: 4,817
* Referee: James Brookhart
* TV: ESPN+
| Statistics | McN | TAMU–C |
| First downs | 16 | 18 |
| Plays–yards | 68–280 | 61–470 |
| Rushes–yards | 31–64 | 35–158 |
| Passing yards | 216 | 312 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 22–37–1 | 15–26–1 |
| Time of possession | 28:35 | 31:25 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| McNeese | Passing | Nate Glantz | 10/18, 111 yards, INT |
| McNeese | Rushing | D'Angelo Durham | 13 rushes, 67 yards |
| McNeese | Receiving | Mahki Paris | 4 receptions, 61 yards |
| Texas A&M–Commerce | Passing | Josh Magana | 12/21, 266 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Texas A&M–Commerce | Rushing | Ra'veion Hargrove | 13 rushes, 96 yards, 2 TD |
| Texas A&M–Commerce | Receiving | Jabari Khepera | 1 reception, 74 yards, TD |

### at Incarnate Word

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lions | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 11 |
| No. 7 Cardinals | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium, San Antonio, Texas
* Date: October 14
* Game time: 4:05 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 81 °F (27 °C)
* Game attendance: 2,278
* Referee: Matt Beck
* TV: ESPN+
* Box Score
| Statistics | TAMUC | UIW |
| First downs | 13 | 24 |
| Plays–yards | 66–213 | 79–458 |
| Rushes–yards | 33–50 | 37–158 |
| Passing yards | 163 | 300 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 15–33–2 | 27–42–3 |
| Time of possession | 30:06 | 28:22 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Texas A&M–Commerce | Passing | Josh Magana | 15/33, 163 yards, 2 INT |
| Texas A&M–Commerce | Rushing | Ra'veion Hargrove | 10 carries, 37 yards |
| Texas A&M–Commerce | Receiving | Jerome Buckner | 2 receptions, 48 yards |
| Incarnate Word | Passing | Zach Calzada | 27/42, 300 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT |
| Incarnate Word | Rushing | Jarrell Wiley | 18 carries, 98 yards, 1 TD |
| Incarnate Word | Receiving | Jaelin Campbell | 7 receptions, 89 yards |

### at Lamar

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Lions | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| Cardinals | 7 | 14 | 7 | 13 | 41 |
at Provost Umphrey Stadium, Beaumont, Texas
* Date: November 4
* Game time: 3:00 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 82 °F (28 °C)
* Game attendance: 6,123
* Referee: Matt Beck
* TV: ESPN+
* Box Score
| Statistics | TAMC | LAM |
| First downs | 19 | 16 |
| Total yards | 300 | 342 |
| Rushing yards | 102 | 246 |
| Passing yards | 198 | 96 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 1 |
| Time of possession | 27:37 | 32:23 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Texas A&M–Commerce | Passing | Mirko Martos | 9/16, 102 yards, TD |
| Texas A&M–Commerce | Rushing | Shamenski Rucker | 12 rushes, 36 yards |
| Texas A&M–Commerce | Receiving | Austin Samaha | 4 receptions, 65 yards |
| Lamar | Passing | Robert Coleman | 8/14, 96 yards, 2 TD, INT |
| Lamar | Rushing | Khalan Griffin | 19 rushes, 113 yards, TD |
| Lamar | Receiving | Andre Dennis | 5 receptions, 43 yards |

## National and state recognition

Three Southland Conference players and one team were nationally recognized during the season. Texas A&M–Commerce's Max Epps was recognized on September 25 as National defensive player of the week.

### Weekly awards

One Southland Conference team and conference players received national recognition over the course of the season. One of the players, Texas A&M–Commerce's Max Epps, was recognized on September 25 as National defensive player of the week.
Weekly honors :
| Honors | Player | Position | Date Awarded | Ref. |
| FedEx Ground National Defensive Player of the Week | Max Epps | DB | September 25, 2023 | |

### Dave Campbell's Texas Football post season All-Texas Non-FBS teams

Levi Drake Rodriguez was named to the 2023 All-Texas Non-FBS Defense team.

## Conference awards and honors
### Weekly awards

One Lion received conference player of the week recognition.
Weekly honors :
| Honors | Player | Position | Date Awarded | Ref. |
| SLC Defensive Player of the Week | Max Epps | DB | September 25, 2023 | |

### Postseason All–Southland Teams

The Southland Conference announced the 2023 all-conference football team selections on November 22, 2023. Three Texas A&M–Commerce players were selected to the All–Conference defensive team.