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2001 Louisville

11–⁠2 (6–⁠1 Conference USA), coached by John Smith, finished No. 17 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Louisville in 2001, game by game: won vs. New Mexico State 45–24; won at Kentucky 36–10; won vs. Western Carolina 31–7; lost at Illinois 10–34; won vs. Memphis 38–21; won vs. Colorado State 7–2; won vs. Southern Miss 24–14; won at Cincinnati 28–13; won at Tulane 52–7; won vs. Houston 34–10; won at East Carolina 39–34; lost at TCU 22–37; won vs. No. 19 BYU 28–10+45−24Won 45–24 vs. New Mexico State+21New Mexico StateWon 36–10 at Kentucky+26KentuckyWon 31–7 vs. Western Carolina+24Western CarolinaLost 10–34 at Illinois-24IllinoisWon 38–21 vs. Memphis+17MemphisWon 7–2 vs. Colorado State+5Colorado StateWon 24–14 vs. Southern Miss+10Southern MissWon 28–13 at Cincinnati+15CincinnatiWon 52–7 at Tulane+45TulaneWon 34–10 vs. Houston+24HoustonWon 39–34 at East Carolina+5East CarolinaLost 22–37 at TCU-15TCUWon 28–10 vs. No. 19 BYU+18No. 19 BYU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 23vsNew Mexico StateW 45–⁠2474%
Sep 1atKentuckyW 36–⁠1066%
Sep 8vsWestern CarolinaW 31–⁠791%
Sep 22atIllinoisL 10–⁠3453%
Sep 29vsMemphisW 38–⁠2173%
Oct 4vsColorado StateW 7–⁠264%
Oct 16vsSouthern MissW 24–⁠1460%
Oct 27atCincinnatiW 28–⁠1358%
Nov 3atTulaneW 52–⁠776%
Nov 10vsHoustonW 34–⁠1093%
Nov 15atEast CarolinaW 39–⁠3451%
Nov 23atTCUL 22–⁠3769%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs19BYULiberty BowlW 28–⁠1050%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat BYU 28–⁠10 in the Liberty Bowl; No. 17 in the final AP poll; Conference USA champions.

In program history: The 5th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 82 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 12: 25
  2. Wk 13: 19
  3. Wk 14: 17
  4. Wk 15: 24
  5. Wk 16: 23
  6. Final: 17

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 2001.

Conference USA champions6–⁠1 in the conference

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠1 first in Conference USA
AP final
No. 17 peak No. 17
Points
394–⁠223
Coach
John Smith
Elo
1684 +103 this season
SP+ rating
14.0 No. 23 of 117; offense No. 40, defense No. 21
SRS
9.8 No. 28 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 51
Offensive coordinator
Scott Linehan
Defensive coordinator
Chris Smeland
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

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

Drafted in 2002

The 2002 draft
Rd 2Deion Branch WRNew England Patriots

2001 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Louisville6–⁠111–⁠217
Cincinnati5–⁠27–⁠5
UAB5–⁠26–⁠5
East Carolina5–⁠26–⁠6
Southern Miss4–⁠36–⁠5
TCU4–⁠36–⁠6
Memphis3–⁠45–⁠6
Army2–⁠53–⁠8
Tulane1–⁠63–⁠9
Houston0–⁠70–⁠11

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