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2003 Bowling Green

11–⁠3 (7–⁠1 Mid-American Conference), coached by Gregg Brandon, finished No. 23 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Bowling Green in 2003, game by game: won vs. Eastern Kentucky 63–13; won at No. 16 Purdue 27–26; won vs. Liberty 62–3; lost at No. 5 Ohio State 17–24; won vs. Central Michigan 23–3; won at Western Michigan 32–21; won at Eastern Michigan 33–20; won vs. No. 12 Northern Illinois 34–18; lost at Miami (OH) 10–33; won vs. Kent State 42–33; won at Ball State 41–14; won vs. Toledo 31–23; lost vs. No. 14 Miami (OH) 27–49; won vs. Northwestern 28–24+59−23Won 63–13 vs. Eastern Kentucky+50Eastern KentuckyWon 27–26 at No. 16 Purdue+1No. 16 PurdueWon 62–3 vs. Liberty+59LibertyLost 17–24 at No. 5 Ohio State-7No. 5 Ohio StateWon 23–3 vs. Central Michigan+20Central MichiganWon 32–21 at Western Michigan+11Western MichiganWon 33–20 at Eastern Michigan+13Eastern MichiganWon 34–18 vs. No. 12 Northern Illinois+16No. 12 Northern Illino…Lost 10–33 at Miami (OH)-23Miami (OH)Won 42–33 vs. Kent State+9Kent StateWon 41–14 at Ball State+27Ball StateWon 31–23 vs. Toledo+8ToledoLost 27–49 vs. No. 14 Miami (OH)-22No. 14 Miami (OH)Won 28–24 vs. Northwestern+4Northwestern
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vsEastern KentuckyW 63–⁠1386%
Sep 6at16PurdueW 27–⁠2643%
Sep 13vsLibertyW 62–⁠391%
Sep 20at5Ohio StateL 17–⁠2423%
Oct 4vsCentral MichiganW 23–⁠380%
Oct 11atWestern MichiganW 32–⁠2157%
Oct 18atEastern MichiganW 33–⁠2085%
Oct 25vs12Northern IllinoisW 34–⁠1853%
Nov 4atMiami (OH)L 10–⁠3339%
Nov 15vsKent StateW 42–⁠3385%
Nov 22atBall StateW 41–⁠1472%
Nov 29vsToledoW 31–⁠2363%
Dec 4vs14Miami (OH)Mid-American Championship GameL 27–⁠4939%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsNorthwesternMotor City BowlW 28–⁠2469%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Northwestern 28–⁠24 in the Motor City Bowl; No. 23 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 73 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 10: 23
  2. Wk 11: 17
  3. Wk 12: 15
  4. Wk 13: 25
  5. Wk 14: 22
  6. Wk 15: 22
  7. Wk 16: 20
  8. Final: 23

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.

MAC West champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠1 2nd in Mid-American Conference
AP final
No. 23 peak No. 15
Points
470–⁠304
Coach
Gregg Brandon
Elo
1623 +81 this season
SP+ rating
11.3 No. 36 of 117; offense No. 35, defense No. 38
SRS
5.5 No. 40 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 91
Offensive coordinator
Greg Studrawa
Defensive coordinator
Tim Beckman
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 30— allowed
Defense0.0own 36— 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

Devon Parks SDE★★No. 1050
Jenkins Reese OLB★★No. 1050
Cameron Durham DT★★No. 1050
Kevin Huelsman OT★★No. 1050
Drew Nystrom OT★★No. 1050

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.767
Running backs22.00.767
Receivers22.00.767
Offensive line42.00.767
Defensive line42.00.767
Linebackers12.00.767
Defensive backs22.00.767
Whole class162.00.767

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.

Drafted in 2004

The 2004 draft
Rd 6Josh Harris QBBaltimore Ravens

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.