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2003 Kent State

5–⁠7 (4–⁠4 Mid-American Conference), coached by Dean Pees.

Schedule and results

Kent State in 2003, game by game: won at Akron 41–38; lost at No. 10 Pittsburgh 3–43; won vs. Youngstown State 16–13; lost at Penn State 10–32; won vs. UCF 36–16; lost vs. Ball State 17–34; lost at Marshall 33–49; lost vs. UConn 31–34; lost vs. Miami (OH) 30–38; won at Ohio 37–33; lost at No. 25 Bowling Green 33–42; won vs. Buffalo 34–24+20−40Won 41–38 at Akron+3AkronLost 3–43 at No. 10 Pittsburgh-40No. 10 PittsburghWon 16–13 vs. Youngstown State+3Youngstown StateLost 10–32 at Penn State-22Penn StateWon 36–16 vs. UCF+20UCFLost 17–34 vs. Ball State-17Ball StateLost 33–49 at Marshall-16MarshallLost 31–34 vs. UConn-3UConnLost 30–38 vs. Miami (OH)-8Miami (OH)Won 37–33 at Ohio+4OhioLost 33–42 at No. 25 Bowling Green-9No. 25 Bowling GreenWon 34–24 vs. Buffalo+10Buffalo
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28atAkronW 41–⁠3830%
Sep 6at10PittsburghL 3–⁠4315%
Sep 13vsYoungstown StateW 16–⁠1359%
Sep 20atPenn StateL 10–⁠3220%
Sep 27vsUCFW 36–⁠1638%
Oct 4vsBall StateL 17–⁠3453%
Oct 11atMarshallL 33–⁠4918%
Oct 18vsUConnL 31–⁠3439%
Oct 25vsMiami (OH)L 30–⁠3820%
Nov 8atOhioW 37–⁠3340%
Nov 15at25Bowling GreenL 33–⁠4215%
Nov 22vsBuffaloW 34–⁠2475%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Buffalo 34–⁠24; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 31st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 68 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
4–⁠4 tied for 7th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
321–⁠396
Coach
Dean Pees
Elo
1358 +17 this season
SP+ rating
-12.1 No. 92 of 117; offense No. 56, defense No. 106
SRS
−10.6 No. 94 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 103
Offensive coordinator
Doug Martin
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.2own 26— allowed
Defense0.0own 34— 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

Jake Parsons WDE★★No. 1050
Justin Aderhold OT★★No. 1050
Taros Harris CB★★No. 1050
Olajuwon Cooper DUAL★★No. 1050
Luke Tillman RB★★No. 1050

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks32.00.767
Running backs42.00.767
Receivers12.00.767
Offensive line72.00.767
Defensive line72.00.767
Linebackers12.00.767
Defensive backs52.00.767
Whole class282.00.767

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.