2023 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs football team

The 2023 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs football team represented Gardner–Webb University as a member of the Big South–OVC Football Association during the 2023 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Tre Lamb, the Runnin' Bulldogs played their home games at the Ernest W. Spangler Stadium in Boiling Springs, North Carolina.

2023 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs football
Big South–OVC co-champion
NCAA Division I First Round, L 7–17 at Mercer
Conference	Big South–OVC football
Record	7–5 (5–1 Big South–OVC)
Head coach	Tre Lamb (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Josh Reardon (4th season)
Home stadium	Ernest W. Spangler Stadium

2023 Big South–OVC football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Gardner–Webb +^		5	–	1					7	–	5
No. 25 UT Martin +		5	–	1					8	–	3
Eastern Illinois		4	–	2					8	–	3
Bryant		4	–	2					6	–	5
Southeast Missouri State		3	–	3					4	–	7
Tennessee Tech		2	–	4					4	–	7
Robert Morris		2	–	4					4	–	7
Charleston Southern		2	–	4					4	–	7
Tennessee State		2	–	4					6	–	5
Lindenwood *		1	–	5					3	–	7
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – FCS playoff participant Note: Lindenwood ineligible for Big South–OVC title and FCS postseason play due to transition from NCAA Division II. Rankings from STATS Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	3:30 p.m.	at Appalachian State*	No. 25	Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC	ESPN+	L 24–45	36,075
September 9	6:00 p.m.	Elon*		Ernest W. Spangler Stadium Boiling Springs, NC	ESPN+	W 34–27	5,078
September 16	6:00 p.m.	at Tennessee State		Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	ESPN+	L 25–27	3,869
September 23	6:00 p.m.	at East Carolina*		Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	ESPN+	L 0–44	40,589
October 7	6:00 p.m.	Robert Morris		Ernest W. Spangler Stadium Boiling Springs, NC	ESPN+	W 31–16	3,891
October 14	2:00 p.m.	at Austin Peay*		Fortera Stadium Clarksville, TN	ESPN+	L 14–41	7,503
October 21	6:00 p.m.	Eastern Kentucky*		Ernest W. Spangler Stadium Boiling Springs, NC	ESPN+	W 35–32	4,339
October 28	1:30 p.m.	No. 14 UT Martin		Ernest W. Spangler Stadium Boiling Springs, NC	ESPN+	W 38–34	5,017
November 4	1:00 p.m.	at Bryant		Beirne Stadium Smithfield, RI	ESPN+	W 45–44 OT	3,357
November 11	2:30 p.m.	at Tennessee Tech		Tucker Stadium Cookeville, TN	ESPN+	W 35–0	5,740
November 18	1:00 p.m.	Charleston Southern		Ernest W. Spangler Stadium Boiling Springs, NC	ESPN+	W 34–10	5,812
November 25	3:00 p.m.	at No. 17 Mercer*		Five Star Stadium Macon, GA (NCAA Division I First Round)	ESPN+	L 7–17	4,500
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

At Appalachian State

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 25 Runnin' Bulldogs	0	10	14	0	24
Mountaineers	7	7	17	14	45

See also: 2023 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team

Elon

	1	2	3	4	Total
Phoenix	3	0	7	17	27
Runnin' Bulldogs	3	10	7	14	34

See also: 2023 Elon Phoenix football team

At Tennessee State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Runnin' Bulldogs	7	10	2	6	25
Tigers	7	7	7	6	27

See also: 2023 Tennessee State Tigers football team

At East Carolina

See also: 2023 East Carolina Pirates football team

Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs (FCS) (1-2) vs East Carolina Pirates (0-3) – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Runnin' Bulldogs (FCS)	0	0	0	0	0
Pirates	13	10	7	14	44

at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, North Carolina

• Date: September 23rd
• Game time: 6:00 p.m. EST
• Game weather: Rain • Temperature: 63 °F (17 °C) • Wind: W at 15 miles per hour (24 km/h)
• Game attendance: 40,589
• Referee: Darryl DeBerry
• TV announcers (ESPN+): James Westling (play-by-play), Reginald Walker Jr. (analyst)

Game information

First quarter (9:18) ECU – Rahjai Harris 11 yard pass from Alex Flinn, kick failed (Drive: 6 plays, 72 yards, 2:37; East Carolina 6–0) (2:28) ECU – Rahjai Harris 2 yard run, Andrew Conrad kick (Drive: 10 plays, 45 yards, 5:06; East Carolina 13–0) Second quarter (14:46) ECU – Andrew Conrad 44 yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, -8 yards, 0:58; East Carolina 16–0) (13:03) ECU – Mason Garcia 2 yard run, Andrew Conrad kick (Drive: 4 plays, 14 yards, 1:39; East Carolina 23–0) Third quarter (1:55) ECU – Kamarro Edmonds 11 yard run, Andrew Conrad kick (Drive: 8 plays, 66 yards, 3:39; East Carolina 30–0) Fourth quarter (7:39) ECU – Javious Bond 5 yard run, Andrew Conrad kick (Drive: 11 plays, 61 yards, 5:10; East Carolina 37–0) (3:05) ECU – Kamarro Edmonds 1 yard run, Andrew Conrad kick (Drive: 2 plays, 9 yards, 0:36; East Carolina 44–0)

Statistics	Gardner-Webb (FCS)	East Carolina
First downs	11	23
Plays–yards	61–107	76–366
Rushes–yards	40–77	43–182
Passing yards	30	184
Passing: comp–att–int	8–21–0	18–32–0
Time of possession	27:16	32:44

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Gardner-Webb (FCS)	Passing	Matthew Caldwell	7/17, 30 yards
	Rushing	Narii Gaither	12 carries, 45 yards
	Receiving	Narii Gaither Maleek Huggins Karim Page	2 receptions, 9 yards
East Carolina	Passing	Alex Flinn	8/18, 94 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Javious Bond	9 carries, 65 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Jaylen Johnson	6 receptions, 70 yards

Robert Morris

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonials	0	3	7	6	16
Runnin' Bulldogs	21	7	0	3	31

See also: 2023 Robert Morris Colonials football team

At Austin Peay

	1	2	3	4	Total
Runnin' Bulldogs	7	0	7	0	14
Governors	7	6	14	14	41

See also: 2023 Austin Peay Governors football team

Eastern Kentucky

	1	2	3	4	Total
Colonels					0
Runnin' Bulldogs					0

See also: 2023 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team

No. 14 UT Martin

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 14 Skyhawks					0
Runnin' Bulldogs					0

See also: 2023 UT Martin Skyhawks football team

At Bryant

	1	2	3	4	Total
Runnin' Bulldogs					0
Bulldogs					0

See also: 2023 Bryant Bulldogs football team

At Tennessee Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Runnin' Bulldogs					0
Golden Eagles					0

See also: 2023 Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles football team

Charleston Southern

	1	2	3	4	Total
Buccaneers					0
Runnin' Bulldogs					0

See also: 2023 Charleston Southern Buccaneers football team