CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2003 Buffalo

1–⁠11 (1–⁠7 Mid-American Conference), coached by Jim Hofher.

Schedule and results

Buffalo in 2003, game by game: lost at Rutgers 10–24; lost at Iowa 7–56; lost vs. Colgate 15–38; lost vs. UConn 7–38; lost vs. Akron 21–38; lost at UCF 10–19; lost at Miami (OH) 3–59; lost vs. Marshall 16–26; won vs. Ohio 26–17; lost at Toledo 29–56; lost vs. No. 23 Northern Illinois 9–40; lost at Kent State 24–34+9−56Lost 10–24 at Rutgers-14RutgersLost 7–56 at Iowa-49IowaLost 15–38 vs. Colgate-23ColgateLost 7–38 vs. UConn-31UConnLost 21–38 vs. Akron-17AkronLost 10–19 at UCF-9UCFLost 3–59 at Miami (OH)-56Miami (OH)Lost 16–26 vs. Marshall-10MarshallWon 26–17 vs. Ohio+9OhioLost 29–56 at Toledo-27ToledoLost 9–40 vs. No. 23 Northern Illinois-31No. 23 Northern Illino…Lost 24–34 at Kent State-10Kent State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atRutgersL 10–⁠2439%
Sep 6atIowaL 7–⁠568%
Sep 13vsColgateL 15–⁠3858%
Sep 20vsUConnL 7–⁠3825%
Sep 27vsAkronL 21–⁠3830%
Oct 4atUCFL 10–⁠1915%
Oct 11atMiami (OH)L 3–⁠596%
Oct 18vsMarshallL 16–⁠2613%
Oct 25vsOhioW 26–⁠1731%
Nov 1atToledoL 29–⁠5611%
Nov 8vs23Northern IllinoisL 9–⁠4012%
Nov 22atKent StateL 24–⁠3425%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Kent State 34–⁠24; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 12th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 41st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 54 on file).

Record
1–⁠11
Conference
1–⁠7 tied for 12th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
177–⁠445
Coach
Jim Hofher
Elo
1198 −102 this season
SP+ rating
-20.1 No. 106 of 117; offense No. 107, defense No. 96
SRS
−20.3 No. 114 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 109
Captains
Mark Graham, Jeff Mills and Lamar Wilcher

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 25— allowed
Defense0.0own 41— 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

Ken Sussman TE★★No. 1050
Terrance Breaux S★★No. 1050
Travis Coughlin OT★★No. 1050
Tommy Breaux WR★★No. 1050
James Judges TE★★No. 1050

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers42.00.767
Offensive line42.00.767
Defensive line22.00.767
Linebackers22.00.767
Defensive backs32.00.767
Whole class152.00.767

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 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.