Behind a stalwart defense and an efficient offense, the Case Western Reserve University football team recorded its highest win total since the 2019 season and notched its eighth-straight winning season in 2023.
The Spartans finished the season with a 7-3 record, all of which was against Presidents' Athletic Conference opposition after the conference restructured its schedule to feature only in-conference contests before the season. CWRU ended the campaign fourth in the conference standings.
CWRU was led by its defense during the year, which allowed just 13.5 points per game during the year, the second-fewest among PAC teams and the 12th-fewest in all of Division III in 2023. The Spartans yielded just 258.1 yards per game, the 22nd-fewest among Division III teams, while also ranking 12th in Division III in third down conversion defense (28.1%) and fourth in first downs allowed (135). CWRU recorded three shutouts during the season, matching the 1986 squad for the most in a season in program history.
Several defensive players helped to fuel the Spartans' defensive success during the year, including junior cornerback Dominic Sais and senior defensive end Kaden Tong, who were named to the D3football.com All-Region Second and Third Team, respectively. Sais totaled six interceptions during the year, the most by a CWRU player since the 2011 season, and his 0.6 interceptions per game were the eighth-most among Division III players during the year. Sais added 51 tackles (including four for loss) and his 13 total passes defended tied for the 10th-most in a season in program history. Tong led all CWRU players with 70 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, and 10 sacks (the fifth-most in a season in team history). His 1.0 sacks per game were the second-most in the PAC and 12th in Division III in 2023. In addition to Sais and Tong, senior inside linebacker Sean Torres (65 tackles) was named to the All-PAC Second Team, while junior safety Nate Cikalo (40 tackles, three pass breakups), senior defensive end AJ Dudowski (42 tackles, eight tackles for loss, four sacks), and graduate student defensive tackle Michael Kelly (16 tackles) each received an honorable mention to the All-PAC squad.
Meanwhile, the offense proved to be a force as well behind the emergence of senior quarterback Alex Fromberg, who earned an All-PAC honorable mention following his first year as the team's starter. CWRU averaged 29.5 points per game and ranked second in the league with 400.2 yards per game. CWRU scored at least 30 points in six of their 10 games during the season, including a pair of 42-point efforts.
Fromberg completed 56.6% of his passes during the year for 2,323 yards and 23 touchdowns with eight interceptions, while adding 381 rushing yards and leading the team with six touchdowns on the ground. His main target was junior wide receiver Noah Coyne, who was named to the D3football.com All-Region Third Team and the All-PAC First Team following the season. Coyne recorded the seventh 1,000-yard receiving season in program history, finishing the campaign with 44 catches for 1,001 yards and 11 touchdowns (ninth in program history), while his 22.8 yards per catch ranked as the second-most in team history and the ninth-most in Division III. Senior wide receivers Riley Knurek and Michael Wojkowski added 30 catches for 386 yards and six touchdowns and 27 catches for 434 yards and three touchdowns, respectively. On the ground, junior running back Gage Duesler led the squad with 465 yards and scored four touchdowns.
Coyne and senior center Jace Merritt were each named to the All-PAC First Team, while Duesler, Wojkowski, and sophom*ore tackle Owen Myer each secured honorable mentions to the All-PAC squad for the CWRU offense. In addition, Junior punter Joseph Rhodes V earned the third All-PAC honor of his career, securing a spot on the First Team after averaging 37.1 yards per punt, including two of 50 or more yards and 11 inside the 20-yard line.
CWRU opened the season with a road shutout, defeating Thiel 14-0 in Greenville, Pennsylvania behind a pair of first-half touchdown passes from junior quarterback Ian Kipp and three sacks from Tong. After a week two bye, the Spartans returned to DiSanto Field for their first home game of the year, suffering a 27-24 loss in overtime to Grove City College, which went on to win the PAC and finish the season ranked 10th in the D3football.com Top-25.
The Spartans took off from that point forward, going on to win five straight games, the team's longest winning streak since the 2019 season. CWRU began the streak with a 42-7 win at home against Geneva, before claiming a 34-12 win at Bethany and a 19-0 victory at Saint Vincent. The Spartans returned home to defeat Westminster 31-6 during homecoming weekend and claim a 35-0 win over Waynesburg the following Saturday in Cleveland. However, the Spartans' winning streak ended the following week, as the team suffered a hard-fought 38-33 loss at Washington and Jefferson despite a career day for Coyne, who scored three touchdowns on nine catches for 258 yards, the second-most receiving yards in a game in program history. Fromberg added a career-high 365 passing yards, the 14th-most in a single game by a Spartan.
CWRU returned to dominant form the following week, defeating Allegheny 42-14 on Senior Day behind another stellar effort from Fromberg, who completed 15-of-20 passes for 349 yards and four touchdowns. The Spartans wrapped up their campaign with a 31-21 loss to 25th-ranked Carnegie Mellon in the 37th Annual Academic Bowl.
In addition to the team's success on the field during the season, eight Spartans were named to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team – Cikalo, Coyne, Dudowski, Fromberg, Michael Kelly, Knurek, Rhodes, and senior defensive back D.J. Wolf. A total of 64 CWRU football players were named to the 2023 Fall PAC Honor Roll for having a fall semester GPA of 3.6 or higher.
CWRU football players earned the following awards during the 2023 season:
