2023 Alabama A&M Bulldogs football team

The 2023 Alabama A&M Bulldogs football team represented Alabama A&M University as a member of the East Division of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Connell Maynor, the Bulldogs played their home games at Louis Crews Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama. The Alabama A&M Bulldogs football team drew an average home attendance of 12,934 in 2023.

2023 Alabama A&M Bulldogs football
Conference	Southwestern Athletic Conference
Division	East Division
Record	5–6 (3–5 SWAC)
Head coach	Connell Maynor (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Duane Taylor (6th season)
Defensive coordinator	Kienus Boulware (2nd season)
Home stadium	Louis Crews Stadium

2023 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 11 Florida A&M xy$		8	–	0					12	–	1
Alabama State		5	–	3					7	–	4
Jackson State		5	–	3					7	–	4
Alabama A&M		3	–	5					5	–	6
Bethune–Cookman		2	–	6					3	–	8
Mississippi Valley State		1	–	7					1	–	10
West Division
Prairie View A&M xy		6	–	2					6	–	6
Alcorn State x		6	–	2					7	–	4
Southern		5	–	3					6	–	5
Grambling State		4	–	4					5	–	6
Texas Southern		2	–	6					3	–	8
Arkansas–Pine Bluff		1	–	7					2	–	9
Championship: Florida A&M 35, Prairie View A&M 14
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from STATS Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	6:00 p.m.	at Vanderbilt*	FirstBank Stadium Nashville, TN	SECN+/ESPN+	L 13–47	22,035
September 9	6:00 p.m.	Lane College*	Louis Crews Stadium Huntsville, AL		W 51–13	13,175
September 16	6:00 p.m.	at Southern	Ace W. Mumford Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	ESPN+	L 10–20	N/A
September 21	6:30 p.m.	Arkansas–Pine Bluff	Louis Crews Stadium Huntsville, AL	ESPNU	W 31–24	5,317
September 30	2:00 p.m.	Tuskegee*	Louis Crews Stadium Huntsville, AL	HBCU Go	W 58–3	26,391
October 7	4:00 p.m.	vs. Jackson State	Ladd–Peebles Stadium Mobile, AL	ESPN+	L 30–45	19,107
October 14	3:00 p.m.	at Grambling State	Eddie Robinson Stadium Grambling, LA	ESPN+	W 45–24	8,657
October 28	2:30 p.m.	vs. Alabama State	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Magic City Classic)	ESPN+	L 16–31	69,210
November 4	1:00 p.m.	No. 15 Florida A&M	Louis Crews Stadium Huntsville, AL	ESPN+	L 28–42	16,179
November 11	12:00 p.m.	at Bethune–Cookman	Daytona Stadium Daytona Beach, FL	HBCU Go	L 14–31	4,915
November 16	6:00 p.m.	Mississippi Valley State	Louis Crews Stadium Huntsville, AL		W 30–21	3,607
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Game summaries

at Vanderbilt (FBS)

See also: 2023 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

Game One – Vanderbilt Commodores (FBS) (1–0) vs Alabama A&M Bulldogs (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	3	0	7	3	13
Commodores (FBS)	5	7	14	21	47

at FirstBank Stadium, Nashville, TN

• Date: Saturday, September 2, 2023
• Game time: 6:00 p.m. CST
• Game weather: Sunny • Temperature: 89 °F (32 °C) • Wind: S 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h)
• Game attendance: 22,035
• Referee: Jason Autrey
• TV: SECN+/ESPN+

Game information

First quarter (6:05) AAM – Victor Barbosa 21-yard field goal (Drive: 20 plays, 71 yards, 8:55; Alabama A&M 3–0) (1:32) VAN – Jacob Borcila 23-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 47 yards, 4:29; Tied 3–3) (0:33) VAN – TEAM 0-yard safety (Vanderbilt 5–3) Second quarter (8:50) VAN – Will Sheppard 3-yard pass from AJ Swann, Jacob Borcila kick (Drive: 8 plays, 50 yards, 2:38; Vanderbilt 12–3) Third quarter (12:18) VAN – Will Sheppard 17-yard pass from AJ Swann, Jacob Borcila kick (Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:42; Vanderbilt 19–3) (11:32) AAM – Terrell Gardner 62-yard pass from Xavier Lankford, Victor Barbosa kick (Drive: 2 plays, 73 yards, 0:40; Vanderbilt 19–10) (3:07) VAN – AJ Swann 1-yard run, Jacob Borcila kick (Drive: 8 plays, 57 yards, 3:54; Vanderbilt 26–10) Fourth quarter (14:54) VAN – Sedrick Alexander 17-yard run, Jacob Borcila kick (Drive: 5 plays, 52 yards, 1:23; Vanderbilt 33–10) (11:32) VAN – Sedrick Alexander 9-yard run, Jacob Borcila kick (Drive: 2 plays, 19 yards, 0:45; Vanderbilt 40–10) (7:43) VAN – Kamrean Johnson 17-yard pass from Ken Seals, Jacob Borcila kick (Drive: 2 plays, 49 yards, 1:06; Vanderbilt 47–10) (2:32) AAM – Victor Barbosa 29-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 63 yards, 5:11; Vanderbilt 47–13) Win Probability Line VAN –34.5 Over/Under 53.5

Statistics	AAMU	VAN
First downs	14	24
Total yards	278	461
Rushing yards	135	215
Passing yards	143	246
Turnovers	1	1
Time of possession	32:22	27:38

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Alabama A&M	Passing	Xavier Lankford	11/22, 105 yards, TD
	Rushing	Isaiah Nwokenkwo	1 carry, 39 yards
	Receiving	Terrell Gardner	3 receptions, 83 yards, TD
Vanderbilt	Passing	AJ Swann	15/29, 194 yards, 2 TD, INT
	Rushing	Sedrick Alexander	12 carries, 87 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Jayden McGowan	6 receptions, 70 yards