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2003 Louisiana Tech

5–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Jack Bicknell Jr.

Schedule and results

Louisiana Tech in 2003, game by game: lost vs. Miami 9–48; won at Louisiana 34–3; won at Michigan State 20–19; lost at Fresno State 6–16; lost vs. Boise State 37–43; won at UTEP 38–35; lost vs. Hawai’i 41–44; won at Nevada 42–34; lost at No. 7 LSU 10–49; won vs. SMU 41–6; lost at Tulsa 18–48; lost vs. Rice 14–49+35−39Lost 9–48 vs. Miami-39MiamiWon 34–3 at Louisiana+31LouisianaWon 20–19 at Michigan State+1Michigan StateLost 6–16 at Fresno State-10Fresno StateLost 37–43 vs. Boise State-6Boise StateWon 38–35 at UTEP+3UTEPLost 41–44 vs. Hawai’i-3Hawai’iWon 42–34 at Nevada+8NevadaLost 10–49 at No. 7 LSU-39No. 7 LSUWon 41–6 vs. SMU+35SMULost 18–48 at Tulsa-30TulsaLost 14–49 vs. Rice-35Rice
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vsMiamiL 9–⁠4814%
Sep 6atLouisianaW 34–⁠352%
Sep 13atMichigan StateW 20–⁠1935%
Sep 20atFresno StateL 6–⁠1630%
Oct 4vsBoise StateL 37–⁠4329%
Oct 11atUTEPW 38–⁠3563%
Oct 18vsHawai’iL 41–⁠4444%
Oct 25atNevadaW 42–⁠3431%
Nov 1at7LSUL 10–⁠4916%
Nov 8vsSMUW 41–⁠681%
Nov 15atTulsaL 18–⁠4846%
Nov 29vsRiceL 14–⁠4962%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Rice 49–⁠14; unranked in the final AP poll; 7th in the Western Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 39th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 94 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
3–⁠5 7th in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
310–⁠394
Coach
Jack Bicknell Jr.
Elo
1379 −36 this season
SP+ rating
-6.8 No. 82 of 117; offense No. 62, defense No. 90
SRS
−6.9 No. 82 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 53
Offensive coordinator
Conroy Hines
Defensive coordinators
Rick Smith and Randy Bates
Captains
Aaron Capps, Maxie Causey, Antonio Crow, D.J. Curry, Chris Van Hoy and Luke McCown

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 26— allowed
Defense-0.4own 37— 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

Thaddeus Williams SDE★★★No. 682
Johnny Jackson DT★★★No. 682
Hiram Eugene S★★★No. 682
Bryon Young ILB★★★No. 682
Kermit Givens RB★★★No. 682

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs13.00.800
Receivers22.50.783
Offensive line22.00.767
Defensive line23.00.800
Linebackers13.00.800
Defensive backs13.00.800
Whole class92.70.789

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 4Luke McCown QBCleveland Browns
Rd 5Josh Scobee KJacksonville Jaguars

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.