Cleveland State · 2026 season · Coach Josh Dolan
2026 Vikings
11-2 (8-1 Big 12) · Won Alamo Bowl
11-2
Record (.846)
3rd
Big 12 finish · 8-1
11
Final AP poll
38.8
Points per game · 4th nationally
4,376
Passing yards
1,382
Rushing yards
Team leaders
Schedule & results
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 09/05 | vs  UMass |
W 52-17 | 1-0 |
| Week 2 | 09/12 | vs  Tulsa |
L 14-41 | 1-1 |
| Week 3 | 09/19 | vs  Iowa State |
W 46-39 | 2-1 |
| Week 4 | 09/26 | @  Colorado |
W 35-28 | 3-1 |
| Week 5 | 10/03 | vs  Middle Tennessee |
W 38-15 | 4-1 |
| Week 6 | 10/17 | @  Texas Tech |
W 34-20 | 5-1 |
| Week 7 | 10/24 | @  Miami (OH) |
W 59-53 | 6-1 |
| Week 8 | 10/31 | @  UCF |
W 38-24 | 7-1 |
| Week 9 | 11/07 | @  Utah |
W 45-27 | 8-1 |
| Week 10 | 11/14 | @  Arizona |
W 25-24 | 9-1 |
| Week 11 | 11/21 | vs  Oklahoma State |
W 38-20 | 10-1 |
| Week 12 | 11/28 | vs  Ohio |
L 42-43 | 10-2 |
| Alamo Bowl | 01/01 | n  Iowa |
W 38-28 | 11-2 |
vs = home, @ = away, n = neutral site.
Passing
| Player | CMP | ATT | PCT | YDS | TD | INT | Y/A | RATE | LONG | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amar'e Hocker | 315 | 446 | 70.6 | 4,376 | 41 | 11 | 9.8 | 178.4 | 90 | 13 |
| Morgan Landry | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rushing
| Player | Pos | CAR | YDS | Y/C | TD | Y/G | 20+ | FUM | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nakai Amachree | RB | 161 | 668 | 4.1 | 4 | 51.4 | 1 | 1 | 26 |
| Baraka Nwangwu | RB | 82 | 392 | 4.8 | 2 | 30.2 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Amar'e Hocker | QB | 78 | 222 | 2.8 | 17 | 17.1 | 3 | 4 | 29 |
| Caleb Goodloe | WR | 11 | 58 | 5.3 | 1 | 4.5 | 1 | 1 | 22 |
| Emmett Mosley V | WR | 6 | 31 | 5.2 | 2 | 2.4 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Rashaud Exum | QB | 6 | 30 | 5.0 | 1 | 2.3 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Justin Pegues | HB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Terrelle Francis | HB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Receiving
| Player | Pos | REC | YDS | Y/R | TD | YAC | Y/G | DROPS | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rashaud Exum | WR | 64 | 989 | 15.5 | 10 | 343 | 76.1 | 5 | 90 |
| Elijah Boyd | TE | 56 | 879 | 15.7 | 8 | 253 | 67.6 | 7 | 47 |
| Caleb Goodloe | WR | 61 | 690 | 11.3 | 9 | 311 | 53.1 | 2 | 36 |
| Emmett Mosley V | WR | 37 | 653 | 17.6 | 5 | 281 | 50.2 | 3 | 45 |
| Baraka Nwangwu | HB | 50 | 514 | 10.3 | 1 | 507 | 39.5 | 5 | 30 |
| Mike Hardrick | TE | 20 | 295 | 14.8 | 5 | 116 | 22.7 | 0 | 72 |
| Nakai Amachree | HB | 12 | 193 | 16.1 | 3 | 157 | 14.8 | 1 | 66 |
| Marcus Sanders Jr. | WR | 10 | 102 | 10.2 | 0 | 33 | 7.8 | 1 | 22 |
| Jacob Harris | TE | 4 | 33 | 8.2 | 0 | 33 | 2.5 | 0 | 20 |
| Shawn Thigpen | WR | 1 | 28 | 28.0 | 0 | 9 | 2.2 | 0 | 28 |
| Cynceir McNeal | WR | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | PCT | XP | LONG | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson Kleather | 9/13 | 69.2 | 63/65 | 54 | 2/3 |
Depth chart
Offense
- FB
- Willie Brooks 68
- WR
- Rashaud Exum 80Emmett Mosley V 80Caleb Goodloe 78Marcus Sanders Jr. 77Shawn Thigpen 72Cynceir McNeal 72Kareem Duggan 70Sam Russo 68George Ghee 67
- TE
- Elijah Boyd 80Mike Hardrick 77Jacob Harris 76Darren Klein 73
- LT
- Rico Steele 77Deontae Meekins 75Dillon Robinson 72
- C
- Brody Bolyn 77Tyree Moses 75
- RG
- Jalen Slappy 80Finau Vittatoe 77Jamie Cleveland 74
Defense
- LE
- Elias Owens 78Martreece Dillard 78Russ Cheeks 77
- DT
- Davonte Miles 79Alex Sharp 72Moses Keglar 66
- RE
- Joe Shimko 76Dalyn White 74J.D. Tanney 74Cam Booker 74
- LOLB
- Justin Eklund 75Jeremy Peppers 72Duane Droege 64
- MLB
- Bryce Eliuk 82Deandre Salaam 74Jabari Mitchel 70
- ROLB
- Alijah Williams 72Dorian Pringle 70
- CB 1
- Jayden Bellamy 90Reshard Adkins 76Nate Cavka 69Paul McCutcheon 65
- CB 2
- Edward Rhambo 78Kal-El Pascal 73Cliff Jackson 67Jon McNeal 64
- CB 3
- Jace Henry 77Layne Robbins 73Calvin Sauer 66
- FS
- Michael Richard 80Tracy Revels 78TJ Nelson 77
- SS
- Mitch Mesko 81Larry Yates 81Myles Bradley 74D'Kyah Banks 62
Special teams
- K
- Jackson Kleather 83
- P
- John Henderson 79
Coaching staff
- HC Josh Dolan
- OC David Morales
- DC Mike Robinson
Honors
All-Americans: Elijah Boyd (TE)
Freshman class · signed in the 2025 cycle
| Nat. rank | Player | Pos | Stars | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | Jamie Cleveland | RG | ★★★★★ | MD |
| 30 | Terrelle Francis | HB | ★★★★★ | MO |
| 75 | Deontae Meekins | RT | ★★★★★ | PA |
| 144 | Baraka Nwangwu | HB | ★★★★★ | FL |
| 151 | Darren Klein | TE | ★★★★★ | VA |
| 368 | Juan Newcomb | QB | ★★★★★ | GA |
| 386 | Reshard Adkins | CB | ★★★★★ | CA |
| 404 | Darren Colclough | RT | ★★★★★ | IN |
| 530 | Melvin Maginn | RE | ★★★★★ | IL |
| 661 | Kris Kampmoyer | DT | ★★★★★ | OH |
| 854 | Sam Russo | WR | ★★★★★ | IL |
| 911 | George Ghee | WR | ★★★★★ | GA |
| 999 | Nate Cavka | CB | ★★★★★ | FL |
| 1103 | Calvin Sauer | CB | ★★★★★ | GA |
| 1132 | Paul McCutcheon | CB | ★★★★★ | MD |
| 1180 | Lamar Booker | MLB | ★★★★★ | TX |
| 1230 | Duane Droege | MLB | ★★★★★ | OH |
| 1663 | Jon McNeal | CB | ★★★★★ | GA |
| 1772 | Marquel Bakhtiari | DT | ★★★★★ | TX |
Transfers in
| Player | Pos | From |
|---|---|---|
| Jayden Bellamy | CB |  Syracuse |
| Bryce Eliuk | MLB |  Eastern Michigan |
| Michael Richard | FS |  Central Michigan |
| Jalen Slappy | RG |  Marshall |
| Emmett Mosley V | WR |  Stanford |
| Marcus Sanders Jr. | WR |  Georgia State |
Departures after 2026
| Player | Pos | OVR | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jayden Bellamy | CB | 90 | Round 2 |
| Bryce Eliuk | MLB | 80 | Not drafted |
| Michael Richard | CB | 80 | Not drafted |
| Marcus Sanders Jr. | TE | 77 | Not drafted |
| Reshard Adkins | CB | 76 | Not drafted |
| Justin Eklund | LOLB | 75 | Not drafted |
| Dalyn White | RE | 74 | Not drafted |
| Lucien Anderson III | QB | 72 | Cut |
| Shawn Thigpen | WR | 72 | Not drafted |
| Cynceir McNeal | WR | 72 | Not drafted |
| Jabari Mitchel | MLB | 70 | Not drafted |