Cleveland State · 2029 season · Coach Josh Dolan
2029 Vikings
13-4 (7-2 Big 12) · Lost National Championship
13-4
Record (.765)
3rd
Big 12 finish · 7-2
2
Final AP poll
47.2
Points per game · 2nd nationally
5,584
Passing yards
3,646
Rushing yards
Team leaders
Schedule & results
| Game | Opponent | Result | Record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | @  Kent State |
W 71-7 | 1-0 |
| Week 2 | @  Toledo |
W 49-35 | 2-0 |
| Week 3 | vs  Army |
W 56-24 | 3-0 |
| Week 4 | @  Baylor |
W 55-14 | 4-0 |
| Week 5 | @  BYU |
W 76-34 | 5-0 |
| Week 6 | vs  SMU |
W 59-13 | 6-0 |
| Week 7 | vs  Miami (OH) |
L 29-51 | 6-1 |
| Week 8 | vs  UCF |
W 49-14 | 7-1 |
| Week 9 | @  Ohio |
W 49-21 | 8-1 |
| Week 10 | vs  Utah |
W 54-6 | 9-1 |
| Week 11 | @  Texas Tech |
L 20-34 | 9-2 |
| Week 12 | vs  Arizona State |
W 42-14 | 10-2 |
| Big 12 Championship | n Miami (OH) |
L 28-34 | 10-3 |
| CFP First Round | n  Oklahoma |
W 51-21 | 11-3 |
| CFP Quarterfinal | n Miami (OH) |
W 48-42 | 12-3 |
| CFP Semifinal | n  Georgia |
W 31-14 | 13-3 |
| National Championship | n Ohio |
L 36-52 | 13-4 |
vs = home, @ = away, n = neutral site.
Playoff run
- First Rounddef. Oklahoma51-21
- Quarterfinaldef. Miami (OH)48-42
- Semifinaldef. Georgia31-14
- National Championshiplost to Ohio36-52
Passing
| Player | CMP | ATT | PCT | YDS | TD | INT | Y/A | RATE | LONG | GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greg Price | 331 | 524 | 63.2 | 5,121 | 53 | 24 | 9.8 | 169.4 | 70 | 17 |
| Dave Shelley | 22 | 35 | 62.9 | 463 | 5 | 2 | 13.2 | 209.6 | 68 | 14 |
Rushing
| Player | Pos | CAR | YDS | Y/C | TD | Y/G | 20+ | FUM | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baraka Nwangwu | RB | 402 | 2,536 | 6.3 | 30 | 149.2 | 22 | 1 | 92 |
| Greg Price | QB | 108 | 598 | 5.5 | 10 | 35.2 | 12 | 3 | 35 |
| Terrelle Francis | HB | 36 | 249 | 6.9 | 4 | 16.6 | 2 | 1 | 42 |
| Collin Sandland | HB | 27 | 136 | 5.0 | 3 | 12.4 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
| Dave Shelley | QB | 17 | 101 | 5.9 | 2 | 7.2 | 3 | 0 | 36 |
| Dakota McNitt | WR | 27 | 28 | 1.0 | 0 | 1.6 | 0 | 0 | 16 |
| Kenny Tongues | WR | 5 | 4 | 0.8 | 0 | 0.2 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
Receiving
| Player | Pos | REC | YDS | Y/R | TD | YAC | Y/G | DROPS | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenny Tongues | WR | 88 | 1,771 | 20.1 | 22 | 560 | 104.2 | 12 | 86 |
| Dakota McNitt | WR | 56 | 978 | 17.5 | 12 | 308 | 57.5 | 3 | 80 |
| Stephen Everett | TE | 52 | 756 | 14.5 | 9 | 215 | 44.5 | 2 | 43 |
| Nazir McNitt | WR | 48 | 713 | 14.9 | 4 | 309 | 41.9 | 5 | 90 |
| Isaiah Boutte | WR | 38 | 527 | 13.9 | 5 | 182 | 31.0 | 0 | 68 |
| Baraka Nwangwu | HB | 42 | 427 | 10.2 | 4 | 187 | 25.1 | 1 | 47 |
| Darren Klein | TE | 16 | 327 | 20.4 | 1 | 178 | 19.2 | 2 | 74 |
| Greg Soliday | TE | 5 | 35 | 7.0 | 1 | 14 | 2.1 | 2 | 12 |
| Terrelle Francis | HB | 2 | 21 | 10.5 | 0 | 6 | 1.4 | 2 | 14 |
| Sam Russo | WR | 1 | 18 | 18.0 | 0 | 0 | 1.1 | 0 | 18 |
| Collin Sandland | HB | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 0 | 7 | 1.0 | 0 | 15 |
Kicking
| Player | FG | PCT | XP | LONG | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rashaud Boiman | 9/12 | 75.0 | 100/102 | 52 | 1/1 |
Depth chart
Offense
- QB
- Greg Price 77Dave Shelley 79Juan Newcomb 80Joshua Talib 75
- FB
- Lee Dailey 79
- WR
- Kenny Tongues 91Sam Russo 83Nazir McNitt 83Isaiah Boutte 83Dakota McNitt 78Jayden Kafka 82B.J. Lord 75
- TE
- Stephen Everett 90Darren Klein 85Greg Soliday 82Kareem Duggan 81Dell Ojabo 80
- LT
- Deontae Meekins 85Marcus Durant 82Jarry Horner 76
- LG
- Titus Peart 85Tyler Jameson 80Tracey Connors 74
- C
- Tyree Moses 80Bobby John 80Malik Bean 75
- RG
- Jamie Cleveland 87Eric Carraway 82Kerry Herrmann 80
- RT
- Storm Lampman 80Cameron McPhearson 81Barry Rutter 75Gio Peat 73
Defense
- LE
- Russ Cheeks 86Ronnie Betiku 77Salesi Jewel 76
- DT
- Alex Sharp 81Kevin Armah 75Fredrick Sharpe 72Jamaal Stubbs 72Vernon Turpin 72
- RE
- J.D. Tanney 86Melvin Maginn 80
- LOLB
- Jeremy Peppers 82Carl Rhinehart 77
- MLB
- Iosefa Savoie 78Duane Droege 77Marquel Bakhtiari 77Josh Posey 76
- ROLB
- Shane Brutus 80Theo Paul 75Emeka Iwuoma 72
- CB 1
- Nate Cavka 85Steven Magnum 77Nyles Sills 68
- CB 2
- Randy Andrews 81Layne Robbins 77
- CB 3
- Paul McCutcheon 78James Whitt 68
- FS
- Kona Vakapuna 85Buck Hepburn 84Calvin Sauer 80Jacques Jasmine 76Erick McCray 68
- SS
- Tavares Kalu 86Jon Moss 71Alejandro Marquez 70
Special teams
- K
- Rashaud Boiman 78
- P
- Jermaine Kasay 77
Coaching staff
- HC Josh Dolan
- OC Brian Draft · Formerly Army OC
- DC Mike Robinson · Hired as Rice DC
Honors
All-Americans: Baraka Nwangwu (RB), Stephen Everett (TE)
Freshman class · signed in the 2028 cycle
| Nat. rank | Player | Pos | Stars | State |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Randy Andrews | CB | ★★★★★ | CA |
| 3 | Robert Okoronkwo | HB | ★★★★★ | MO |
| 8 | Iosefa Savoie | MLB | ★★★★★ | MA |
| 28 | Salesi Jewel | LE | ★★★★★ | OH |
| 39 | Jarry Horner | LT | ★★★★★ | HI |
| 40 | Manuel Ramos | RG | ★★★★★ | TX |
| 106 | Juan Rivera | ROLB | ★★★★★ | TX |
| 114 | Dalton Jameson | HB | ★★★★★ | OH |
| 128 | B.J. Lord | WR | ★★★★★ | MI |
| 135 | Joshua Talib | QB | ★★★★★ | MI |
| 139 | Seth Molinaro | RG | ★★★★★ | SC |
| 153 | Chip Lennon | DT | ★★★★★ | OH |
| 161 | Malik Bean | CB | ★★★★★ | MI |
| 351 | Barry Rutter | RT | ★★★★★ | IN |
| 370 | Howie Stevens | RT | ★★★★★ | WI |
| 444 | Matthew Hix | TE | ★★★★★ | MI |
| 584 | Nyles Sills | CB | ★★★★★ | OH |
| 1220 | Joshua Bucannon | DT | ★★★★★ | IN |
| 1300 | James Whitt | CB | ★★★★★ | FL |
Transfers in
| Player | Pos | From |
|---|---|---|
| Lee Dailey | HB |  Pittsburgh |
| Tyler Jameson | RG |  Kentucky |
Departures after 2029
| Player | Pos | OVR | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baraka Nwangwu | HB | 95 | Round 1 |
| Kenny Tongues | WR | 91 | Round 1 |
| J.D. Tanney | RE | 89 | Round 1 |
| Russ Cheeks | LE | 87 | Round 7 |
| Deontae Meekins | LT | 85 | Not drafted |
| Tavares Kalu | SS | 83 | Not drafted |
| Jeremy Peppers | LOLB | 82 | Not drafted |
| Alex Sharp | DT | 81 | Not drafted |
| Kareem Duggan | TE | 81 | Not drafted |
| Tyree Moses | C | 80 | Not drafted |
| Storm Lampman | RT | 80 | Not drafted |
| Layne Robbins | CB | 77 | Not drafted |
| Jermaine Kasay | P | 77 | Not drafted |