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2003 Maryland

10–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Ralph Friedgen, finished No. 17 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Maryland in 2003, game by game: lost at Northern Illinois 13–20; lost at No. 11 Florida State 10–35; won vs. The Citadel 61–0; won vs. West Virginia 34–7; won at Eastern Michigan 37–13; won vs. Clemson 21–7; won vs. Duke 33–20; lost at Georgia Tech 3–7; won vs. North Carolina 59–21; won vs. Virginia 27–17; won at NC State 26–24; won at Wake Forest 41–28; won vs. No. 21 West Virginia 41–7+61−25Lost 13–20 at Northern Illinois-7Northern Illino…Lost 10–35 at No. 11 Florida State-25No. 11 Florida StateWon 61–0 vs. The Citadel+61The CitadelWon 34–7 vs. West Virginia+27West VirginiaWon 37–13 at Eastern Michigan+24Eastern MichiganWon 21–7 vs. Clemson+14ClemsonWon 33–20 vs. Duke+13DukeLost 3–7 at Georgia Tech-4Georgia TechWon 59–21 vs. North Carolina+38North CarolinaWon 27–17 vs. Virginia+10VirginiaWon 26–24 at NC State+2NC StateWon 41–28 at Wake Forest+13Wake ForestWon 41–7 vs. No. 21 West Virginia+34No. 21 West Virginia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28atNorthern IllinoisL 13–⁠2055%
Sep 6at11Florida StateL 10–⁠3537%
Sep 13vsThe CitadelW 61–⁠088%
Sep 20vsWest VirginiaW 34–⁠764%
Sep 27atEastern MichiganW 37–⁠1385%
Oct 4vsClemsonW 21–⁠765%
Oct 11vsDukeW 33–⁠2089%
Oct 23atGeorgia TechL 3–⁠753%
Nov 1vsNorth CarolinaW 59–⁠2185%
Nov 13vsVirginiaW 27–⁠1766%
Nov 22atNC StateW 26–⁠2445%
Nov 29atWake ForestW 41–⁠2868%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs21West VirginiaGator BowlW 41–⁠752%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat West Virginia 41–⁠7 in the Gator Bowl; No. 17 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 7th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 120 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 15
  2. Wk 16: 24
  3. 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 2003.

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 2nd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 17 peak No. 15
Points
406–⁠206
Coach
Ralph Friedgen
Elo
1715 +88 this season
SP+ rating
20.8 No. 14 of 117; offense No. 29, defense No. 9
SRS
15.3 No. 9 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 25
Offensive coordinator
Charlie Taaffe
Defensive coordinator
Gary Blackney

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 33— allowed
Defense0.0own 27— 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

Wesley Jefferson ILB★★★★★No. 6
Brandon Nixon OT★★★No. 682
Brock Choate OT★★★No. 682
Garrick Clig OG★★★No. 682
Jermaine Lemons WDE★★★No. 682

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.767
Offensive line33.00.800
Defensive line42.50.783
Linebackers15.00.996
Defensive backs13.00.800
Whole class102.90.810

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 2Madieu Williams DBCincinnati Bengals
Rd 3Randy Starks DTTennessee Titans
Rd 4Leon Joe LBChicago Bears
Rd 7Jeff Dugan TEMinnesota Vikings
Rd 7Bruce Perry RBPhiladelphia Eagles

All-ACC

4 first team, 6 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 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida State7–⁠110–⁠311
Maryland6–⁠210–⁠317
Clemson5–⁠39–⁠422
NC State4–⁠48–⁠5
Virginia4–⁠48–⁠5
Georgia Tech4–⁠47–⁠6
Wake Forest3–⁠55–⁠7
Duke2–⁠64–⁠8
North Carolina1–⁠72–⁠10

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