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2003 Houston

7–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Conference USA), coached by Art Briles.

Schedule and results

Houston in 2003, game by game: won vs. Rice 48–14; lost at No. 5 Michigan 3–50; won at Louisiana 21–14; won vs. Mississippi State 42–35; won at East Carolina 27–13; won at Tulane 45–42; lost vs. Memphis 14–45; lost vs. No. 15 TCU 55–62; lost vs. Southern Miss 10–31; won at Army 34–14; lost at Louisville 45–66; won vs. UAB 56–28; lost vs. Hawai’i 48–54+34−47Won 48–14 vs. Rice+34RiceLost 3–50 at No. 5 Michigan-47No. 5 MichiganWon 21–14 at Louisiana+7LouisianaWon 42–35 vs. Mississippi State+7Mississippi Sta…Won 27–13 at East Carolina+14East CarolinaWon 45–42 at Tulane+3TulaneLost 14–45 vs. Memphis-31MemphisLost 55–62 vs. No. 15 TCU-7No. 15 TCULost 10–31 vs. Southern Miss-21Southern MissWon 34–14 at Army+20ArmyLost 45–66 at Louisville-21LouisvilleWon 56–28 vs. UAB+28UABLost 48–54 vs. Hawai’i-6Hawai’i
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsRiceW 48–⁠1454%
Sep 6at5MichiganL 3–⁠5020%
Sep 13atLouisianaW 21–⁠1462%
Sep 20vsMississippi StateW 42–⁠3566%
Sep 30atEast CarolinaW 27–⁠1356%
Oct 11atTulaneW 45–⁠4240%
Oct 18vsMemphisL 14–⁠4573%
Oct 25vs15TCUL 55–⁠6230%
Nov 8vsSouthern MissL 10–⁠3145%
Nov 15atArmyW 34–⁠1474%
Nov 22atLouisvilleL 45–⁠6627%
Nov 29vsUABW 56–⁠2853%
Dec 25Bowls & playoffvsHawai’iHawai’i BowlL 48–⁠5438%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Hawai’i 54–⁠48 in the Hawai’i Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 62nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 81 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
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
448–⁠468
Coach
Art Briles
Elo
1434 +11 this season
SP+ rating
-8.5 No. 87 of 117; offense No. 21, defense No. 113
SRS
−6.2 No. 81 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 59
Defensive coordinator
Ron Harris
Offense
Veer and shoot
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 30— allowed
Defense0.0own 32— 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

Roderick Schwartz ATH★★★No. 682
Jeffrey Filmore WR★★★No. 682
Donnie Avery WR★★★No. 682
Trent Allen ILB★★★No. 682
Byron Alfred OG★★No. 1050

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers32.70.789
Offensive line32.00.767
Defensive line32.00.767
Linebackers22.50.783
Defensive backs22.00.767
Athletes and specialists13.00.800
Whole class142.30.776

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 6Rex Hadnot OGMiami Dolphins

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.