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2003 Georgia

11–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Southeastern Conference), coached by Mark Richt, finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Georgia in 2003, game by game: won at Clemson 30–0; won vs. Middle Tennessee 29–10; won vs. No. 25 South Carolina 31–7; lost at No. 11 LSU 10–17; won vs. Alabama 37–23; won at No. 13 Tennessee 41–14; won at Vanderbilt 27–8; won vs. UAB 16–13; lost vs. No. 23 Florida 13–16; won vs. Auburn 26–7; won vs. Kentucky 30–10; won at Georgia Tech 34–17; lost vs. No. 3 LSU 13–34; won vs. No. 11 Purdue 34–27+30−21Won 30–0 at Clemson+30ClemsonWon 29–10 vs. Middle Tennessee+19Middle TennesseeWon 31–7 vs. No. 25 South Carolina+24No. 25 South CarolinaLost 10–17 at No. 11 LSU-7No. 11 LSUWon 37–23 vs. Alabama+14AlabamaWon 41–14 at No. 13 Tennessee+27No. 13 TennesseeWon 27–8 at Vanderbilt+19VanderbiltWon 16–13 vs. UAB+3UABLost 13–16 vs. No. 23 Florida-3No. 23 FloridaWon 26–7 vs. Auburn+19AuburnWon 30–10 vs. Kentucky+20KentuckyWon 34–17 at Georgia Tech+17Georgia TechLost 13–34 vs. No. 3 LSU-21No. 3 LSUWon 34–27 vs. No. 11 Purdue+7No. 11 Purdue
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atClemsonW 30–⁠065%
Sep 6vsMiddle TennesseeW 29–⁠1087%
Sep 13vs25South CarolinaW 31–⁠779%
Sep 20at11LSUL 10–⁠1755%
Oct 4vsAlabamaW 37–⁠2369%
Oct 11at13TennesseeW 41–⁠1452%
Oct 18atVanderbiltW 27–⁠890%
Oct 25vsUABW 16–⁠1388%
Nov 1vs23FloridaL 13–⁠1666%
Nov 15vsAuburnW 26–⁠775%
Nov 22vsKentuckyW 30–⁠1088%
Nov 29atGeorgia TechW 34–⁠1773%
Dec 6vs3LSUSEC Championship GameL 13–⁠3453%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs11PurdueCapital One BowlW 34–⁠2761%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Purdue 34–⁠27 in the Capital One Bowl; No. 7 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 11
  2. Wk 3: 8
  3. Wk 4: 8
  4. Wk 5: 7
  5. Wk 6: 12
  6. Wk 7: 11
  7. Wk 8: 8
  8. Wk 9: 4
  9. Wk 10: 4
  10. Wk 11: 4
  11. Wk 12: 9
  12. Wk 13: 7
  13. Wk 14: 6
  14. Wk 15: 5
  15. Wk 16: 5
  16. Final: 7

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.

SEC East champions6–⁠2 in the conference, shared with Florida and Tennessee

Ted Hendricks AwardDavid Pollack, DE

Broyles AwardBrian VanGorder, coach

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 4
Points
371–⁠203
Coach
Mark Richt
Elo
1751 +72 this season
SP+ rating
26.5 No. 4 of 117; offense No. 32, defense No. 2
SRS
16.9 No. 7 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 9
Offensive coordinator
Neil Callaway
Defensive coordinator
Brian VanGorder
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 31— allowed
Defense-0.2own 33— 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

Paul Oliver CB★★★★★No. 12
Kregg Lumpkin RB★★★★★No. 15
Sean Bailey WR★★★★No. 43
Zeb McKinzey OG★★★★No. 115
Des Williams ILB★★★★No. 120

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs15.00.993
Receivers23.00.873
Offensive line23.00.850
Linebackers14.00.931
Defensive backs15.00.994
Whole class73.70.909

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 1Ben Watson TENew England Patriots
Rd 2Sean Jones DBCleveland Browns
Rd 4Robert Geathers DECincinnati Bengals
Rd 4Bruce Thornton DBDallas Cowboys

All-SEC

4 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2003 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2003 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
LSU7–⁠113–⁠12
Ole Miss7–⁠110–⁠313
Georgia6–⁠211–⁠37
Tennessee6–⁠210–⁠315
Florida6–⁠28–⁠524
Auburn5–⁠38–⁠5
Arkansas4–⁠49–⁠4
South Carolina2–⁠65–⁠7
Alabama2–⁠64–⁠9
Kentucky1–⁠74–⁠8
Mississippi State1–⁠72–⁠10
Vanderbilt1–⁠72–⁠10

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