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2003 Akron

7–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Mid-American Conference), coached by Lee Owens.

Schedule and results

Akron in 2003, game by game: lost vs. Kent State 38–41; lost at No. 18 Wisconsin 31–48; won vs. Eastern Michigan 24–17; won vs. Howard 65–7; won at Buffalo 38–21; lost at Miami (OH) 20–45; won vs. Cal Poly 45–14; won vs. UCF 38–24; lost at UConn 37–38; lost at Marshall 24–42; won at Central Michigan 40–28; won vs. Ohio 35–28+58−25Lost 38–41 vs. Kent State-3Kent StateLost 31–48 at No. 18 Wisconsin-17No. 18 WisconsinWon 24–17 vs. Eastern Michigan+7Eastern MichiganWon 65–7 vs. Howard+58HowardWon 38–21 at Buffalo+17BuffaloLost 20–45 at Miami (OH)-25Miami (OH)Won 45–14 vs. Cal Poly+31Cal PolyWon 38–24 vs. UCF+14UCFLost 37–38 at UConn-1UConnLost 24–42 at Marshall-18MarshallWon 40–28 at Central Michigan+12Central MichiganWon 35–28 vs. Ohio+7Ohio
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vsKent StateL 38–⁠4170%
Sep 6at18WisconsinL 31–⁠4824%
Sep 13vsEastern MichiganW 24–⁠1772%
Sep 20vsHowardW 65–⁠784%
Sep 27atBuffaloW 38–⁠2170%
Oct 4atMiami (OH)L 20–⁠4523%
Oct 11vsCal PolyW 45–⁠1474%
Oct 18vsUCFW 38–⁠2461%
Oct 25atUConnL 37–⁠3838%
Nov 1atMarshallL 24–⁠4224%
Nov 8atCentral MichiganW 40–⁠2859%
Nov 15vsOhioW 35–⁠2875%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Ohio 35–⁠28; unranked in the final AP poll; 6th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 64 on file).

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 2003.

Record
7–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 6th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
435–⁠353
Coach
Lee Owens
Elo
1476 +40 this season
SP+ rating
-12.5 No. 95 of 117; offense No. 46, defense No. 112
SRS
−4.6 No. 76 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 102
Offensive coordinator
Paul Winters
Defensive coordinator
Joe Tresey

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 28— allowed
Defense0.0own 30— caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2003 class

John Ferguson PRO★★★No. 682
Dionte Henry CB★★No. 1050
Andrew Higgins WR★★No. 1050
Jim Holley OG★★No. 1050
Jared Smith ILB★★No. 1050

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.50.783
Running backs12.00.767
Receivers42.00.767
Offensive line32.00.767
Defensive line22.00.767
Linebackers22.00.767
Defensive backs42.00.767
Whole class182.10.769

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

2003 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Miami (OH)8–⁠013–⁠110
Bowling Green7–⁠111–⁠323
Northern Illinois6–⁠210–⁠2
Marshall6–⁠28–⁠4
Toledo6–⁠28–⁠4
Akron5–⁠37–⁠5
Western Michigan4–⁠45–⁠7
Kent State4–⁠45–⁠7
Ball State3–⁠54–⁠8
Eastern Michigan2–⁠63–⁠9
UCF2–⁠63–⁠9
Central Michigan1–⁠73–⁠9
Ohio1–⁠72–⁠10
Buffalo1–⁠71–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.