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2003 Eastern Michigan

3–⁠9 (2–⁠6 Mid-American Conference), coached by Jeff Woodruff, then Al Lavan (interim, final 3 games).

Schedule and results

Eastern Michigan in 2003, game by game: won vs. East Tennessee State 28–21; lost vs. Western Illinois 12–34; lost at Akron 17–24; lost at Navy 7–39; lost vs. Maryland 13–37; lost vs. Western Michigan 3–31; lost at Toledo 14–49; lost vs. Bowling Green 20–33; lost at Central Michigan 10–38; won vs. UCF 19–13; won vs. Ball State 38–14; lost at Northern Illinois 24–38+24−35Won 28–21 vs. East Tennessee State+7East Tennessee …Lost 12–34 vs. Western Illinois-22Western IllinoisLost 17–24 at Akron-7AkronLost 7–39 at Navy-32NavyLost 13–37 vs. Maryland-24MarylandLost 3–31 vs. Western Michigan-28Western MichiganLost 14–49 at Toledo-35ToledoLost 20–33 vs. Bowling Green-13Bowling GreenLost 10–38 at Central Michigan-28Central MichiganWon 19–13 vs. UCF+6UCFWon 38–14 vs. Ball State+24Ball StateLost 24–38 at Northern Illinois-14Northern Illino…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vsEast Tennessee StateW 28–⁠2163%
Sep 4vsWestern IllinoisL 12–⁠3457%
Sep 13atAkronL 17–⁠2428%
Sep 20atNavyL 7–⁠3933%
Sep 27vsMarylandL 13–⁠3715%
Oct 4vsWestern MichiganL 3–⁠3131%
Oct 11atToledoL 14–⁠4911%
Oct 18vsBowling GreenL 20–⁠3315%
Nov 1atCentral MichiganL 10–⁠3830%
Nov 8vsUCFW 19–⁠1330%
Nov 15vsBall StateW 38–⁠1430%
Nov 22atNorthern IllinoisL 24–⁠3811%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Northern Illinois 38–⁠24; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 10th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 36th-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
3–⁠9
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 10th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
205–⁠371
Coach
Jeff Woodruff, then Al Lavan (interim, final 3 games)
Elo
1273 −43 this season
SP+ rating
-22.0 No. 110 of 117; offense No. 114, defense No. 92
SRS
−20.8 No. 115 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 107
Offensive coordinator
Tim Salem
Defensive coordinator
Tim Rose

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 29— allowed
Defense-0.8own 24— 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

Andrew Hamilton S★★No. 1050
Marlon Galbreath RB★★No. 1050
Khalid Walton OG★★No. 1050
Zedrick Bryant S★★No. 1050
Jake Drongowski ILB★★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
Receivers32.00.767
Offensive line22.00.767
Linebackers42.00.767
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.