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2003 Cincinnati

5–⁠7 (2–⁠6 Conference USA), coached by Rick Minter.

Schedule and results

Cincinnati in 2003, game by game: won vs. East Carolina 40–3; won at West Virginia 15–13; won vs. Temple 30–24; lost at Miami (OH) 37–42; lost vs. Southern Miss 20–22; lost at UAB 14–31; won vs. Army 33–29; lost at South Florida 17–24; won vs. Rhode Island 31–24; lost at No. 10 TCU 10–43; lost at Memphis 16–21; lost vs. Louisville 40–43+37−33Won 40–3 vs. East Carolina+37East CarolinaWon 15–13 at West Virginia+2West VirginiaWon 30–24 vs. Temple+6TempleLost 37–42 at Miami (OH)-5Miami (OH)Lost 20–22 vs. Southern Miss-2Southern MissLost 14–31 at UAB-17UABWon 33–29 vs. Army+4ArmyLost 17–24 at South Florida-7South FloridaWon 31–24 vs. Rhode Island+7Rhode IslandLost 10–43 at No. 10 TCU-33No. 10 TCULost 16–21 at Memphis-5MemphisLost 40–43 vs. Louisville-3Louisville
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsEast CarolinaW 40–⁠369%
Sep 13atWest VirginiaW 15–⁠1341%
Sep 20vsTempleW 30–⁠2480%
Sep 27atMiami (OH)L 37–⁠4241%
Oct 4vsSouthern MissL 20–⁠2267%
Oct 11atUABL 14–⁠3157%
Oct 25vsArmyW 33–⁠2989%
Oct 31atSouth FloridaL 17–⁠2437%
Nov 8vsRhode IslandW 31–⁠2486%
Nov 15at10TCUL 10–⁠4320%
Nov 22atMemphisL 16–⁠2132%
Nov 28vsLouisvilleL 40–⁠4345%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Louisville 43–⁠40; unranked in the final AP poll; 9th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 48th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 114 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
5–⁠7
Conference
2–⁠6 9th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
303–⁠319
Coach
Rick Minter
Elo
1463 −65 this season
SP+ rating
-3.1 No. 71 of 117; offense No. 75, defense No. 66
SRS
−7.4 No. 84 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 96
Offensive coordinator
Rusty Burns
Defensive coordinators
Mike Kolakowski and Mark Criner
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 34— 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

Brent Celek TE★★No. 1050
Greg Moore RB★★No. 1050
Jordan Roth DT★★No. 1050
Mike Daniels ATH★★No. 1050
Bill Poland WR★★No. 1050

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.767
Running backs12.00.767
Receivers42.00.767
Offensive line32.00.767
Defensive line52.00.767
Linebackers12.00.767
Athletes and specialists22.00.767
Whole class172.00.767

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 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Southern Miss8–⁠09–⁠4
TCU7–⁠111–⁠225
Louisville5–⁠39–⁠4
Memphis5–⁠39–⁠4
South Florida5–⁠37–⁠4
Houston4–⁠47–⁠6
UAB4–⁠45–⁠7
Tulane3–⁠55–⁠7
Cincinnati2–⁠65–⁠7
East Carolina1–⁠71–⁠11
Army0–⁠80–⁠13

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