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2003 Boise State

13–⁠1 (8–⁠0 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Dan Hawkins, finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Boise State in 2003, game by game: won vs. Idaho State 62–0; won at Idaho 24–10; lost at Oregon State 24–26; won vs. Wyoming 33–17; won at Louisiana Tech 43–37; won vs. Tulsa 27–20; won at SMU 45–3; won vs. San José State 77–14; won at BYU 50–12; won vs. UTEP 51–21; won at Fresno State 31–17; won vs. Nevada 56–3; won at Hawai’i 45–28; won vs. No. 19 TCU 34–31+63−2Won 62–0 vs. Idaho State+62Idaho StateWon 24–10 at Idaho+14IdahoLost 24–26 at Oregon State-2Oregon StateWon 33–17 vs. Wyoming+16WyomingWon 43–37 at Louisiana Tech+6Louisiana TechWon 27–20 vs. Tulsa+7TulsaWon 45–3 at SMU+42SMUWon 77–14 vs. San José State+63San José StateWon 50–12 at BYU+38BYUWon 51–21 vs. UTEP+30UTEPWon 31–17 at Fresno State+14Fresno StateWon 56–3 vs. Nevada+53NevadaWon 45–28 at Hawai’i+17Hawai’iWon 34–31 vs. No. 19 TCU+3No. 19 TCU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vsIdaho StateW 62–⁠091%
Sep 13atIdahoW 24–⁠1085%
Sep 20atOregon StateL 24–⁠2655%
Sep 27vsWyomingW 33–⁠1789%
Oct 4atLouisiana TechW 43–⁠3771%
Oct 11vsTulsaW 27–⁠2086%
Oct 18atSMUW 45–⁠387%
Oct 25vsSan José StateW 77–⁠1487%
Oct 30atBYUW 50–⁠1272%
Nov 15vsUTEPW 51–⁠2196%
Nov 21atFresno StateW 31–⁠1763%
Nov 29vsNevadaW 56–⁠387%
Dec 6atHawai’iW 45–⁠2868%
Dec 23Bowls & playoffvs19TCUFort Worth BowlW 34–⁠3162%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat TCU 34–⁠31 in the Fort Worth Bowl; No. 16 in the final AP poll; Western Athletic Conference champions.

In program history: The 5th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 56 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 13: 24
  2. Wk 14: 20
  3. Wk 15: 18
  4. Wk 16: 18
  5. Final: 16

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.

Western Athletic Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference

Led the nationDwight Counter: yards per catch (25.0)

Record
13–⁠1
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 16
Points
602–⁠239
Coach
Dan Hawkins
Elo
1761 +118 this season
SP+ rating
12.8 No. 30 of 117; offense No. 14, defense No. 61
SRS
12.3 No. 17 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 110
Offensive coordinator
Chris Petersen
Defensive coordinator
Ron Collins

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 37— allowed
Defense0.0own 28— 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

Jon Helmandollar RB★★No. 1050
Ryan Putnam TE★★No. 1050
Austin Smith CB★★No. 1050
Rashaun Scott CB★★No. 1050
Taylor Tharp DUAL★★No. 1050

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.00.767
Running backs12.00.767
Receivers42.00.767
Defensive line12.00.767
Defensive backs32.00.767
Whole class112.00.767

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 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Boise State8–⁠013–⁠116
Fresno State6–⁠29–⁠5
Tulsa6–⁠28–⁠5
Hawai’i5–⁠39–⁠5
Rice5–⁠35–⁠7
Nevada4–⁠46–⁠6
Louisiana Tech3–⁠55–⁠7
San José State2–⁠63–⁠8
UTEP1–⁠72–⁠11
SMU0–⁠80–⁠12

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