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2003 Fresno State

9–⁠5 (6–⁠2 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Pat Hill.

Schedule and results

Fresno State in 2003, game by game: lost at Tennessee 6–24; won vs. Oregon State 16–14; lost at No. 1 Oklahoma 28–52; won vs. Louisiana Tech 16–6; won vs. Portland State 42–16; lost at Colorado State 10–34; lost at Hawai’i 28–55; won vs. Rice 31–28; won at SMU 20–11; won at Nevada 27–10; won vs. San José State 41–7; lost vs. No. 20 Boise State 17–31; won at UTEP 23–20; won vs. UCLA 17–9+34−27Lost 6–24 at Tennessee-18TennesseeWon 16–14 vs. Oregon State+2Oregon StateLost 28–52 at No. 1 Oklahoma-24No. 1 OklahomaWon 16–6 vs. Louisiana Tech+10Louisiana TechWon 42–16 vs. Portland State+26Portland StateLost 10–34 at Colorado State-24Colorado StateLost 28–55 at Hawai’i-27Hawai’iWon 31–28 vs. Rice+3RiceWon 20–11 at SMU+9SMUWon 27–10 at Nevada+17NevadaWon 41–7 vs. San José State+34San José StateLost 17–31 vs. No. 20 Boise State-14No. 20 Boise StateWon 23–20 at UTEP+3UTEPWon 17–9 vs. UCLA+8UCLA
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atTennesseeL 6–⁠2440%
Sep 5vsOregon StateW 16–⁠1455%
Sep 13at1OklahomaL 28–⁠5221%
Sep 20vsLouisiana TechW 16–⁠670%
Sep 27vsPortland StateW 42–⁠1684%
Oct 4atColorado StateL 10–⁠3449%
Oct 12atHawai’iL 28–⁠5547%
Oct 25vsRiceW 31–⁠2877%
Nov 1atSMUW 20–⁠1175%
Nov 8atNevadaW 27–⁠1053%
Nov 15vsSan José StateW 41–⁠776%
Nov 21vs20Boise StateL 17–⁠3137%
Nov 29atUTEPW 23–⁠2084%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsUCLASilicon Valley Football ClassicW 17–⁠951%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat UCLA 17–⁠9 in the Silicon Valley Football Classic; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Western Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 21st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 97 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
9–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
322–⁠317
Coach
Pat Hill
Elo
1566 +0 this season
SP+ rating
-2.4 No. 67 of 117; offense No. 92, defense No. 45
SRS
−2.4 No. 73 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 72
Offensive coordinator
Frank Cignetti Jr.
Defensive coordinator
Dan Brown
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 32— allowed
Defense0.0own 31— 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

Kevin Cooper DT★★No. 1050
Jesus Tapia TE★★No. 1050
Clint Stitser K★★No. 1050
Chris Piligian OG★★No. 1050
Ahijah Lane RB★★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
Receivers12.00.767
Offensive line32.00.767
Defensive line32.00.767
Linebackers22.00.767
Defensive backs12.00.767
Athletes and specialists12.00.767
Whole class142.00.767

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 3Bernard Berrian WRChicago Bears

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.