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2003 Memphis

9–⁠4 (5–⁠3 Conference USA), coached by Tommy West.

Schedule and results

Memphis in 2003, game by game: won vs. Tennessee Tech 40–10; won vs. Ole Miss 44–34; lost at Southern Miss 6–23; won vs. Arkansas State 38–16; lost vs. UAB 10–24; lost at Mississippi State 27–35; won at Houston 45–14; won at Tulane 41–9; won vs. East Carolina 41–24; won at Louisville 37–7; won vs. Cincinnati 21–16; lost vs. South Florida 16–21; won vs. North Texas 27–17+32−17Won 40–10 vs. Tennessee Tech+30Tennessee TechWon 44–34 vs. Ole Miss+10Ole MissLost 6–23 at Southern Miss-17Southern MissWon 38–16 vs. Arkansas State+22Arkansas StateLost 10–24 vs. UAB-14UABLost 27–35 at Mississippi State-8Mississippi Sta…Won 45–14 at Houston+31HoustonWon 41–9 at Tulane+32TulaneWon 41–24 vs. East Carolina+17East CarolinaWon 37–7 at Louisville+30LouisvilleWon 21–16 vs. Cincinnati+5CincinnatiLost 16–21 vs. South Florida-5South FloridaWon 27–17 vs. North Texas+10North Texas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsTennessee TechW 40–⁠1076%
Sep 6vsOle MissW 44–⁠3443%
Sep 13atSouthern MissL 6–⁠2336%
Sep 27vsArkansas StateW 38–⁠1667%
Oct 4vsUABL 10–⁠2466%
Oct 11atMississippi StateL 27–⁠3547%
Oct 18atHoustonW 45–⁠1427%
Oct 25atTulaneW 41–⁠939%
Nov 1vsEast CarolinaW 41–⁠2478%
Nov 15atLouisvilleW 37–⁠729%
Nov 22vsCincinnatiW 21–⁠1668%
Nov 29vsSouth FloridaL 16–⁠2162%
Dec 16Bowls & playoffvsNorth TexasNew Orleans BowlW 27–⁠1747%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat North Texas 27–⁠17 in the New Orleans Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 16th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 84 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
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
393–⁠250
Coach
Tommy West
Elo
1573 +161 this season
SP+ rating
1.0 No. 59 of 117; offense No. 71, defense No. 53
SRS
0.7 No. 55 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 64
Offensive coordinator
Randy Fichtner
Defensive coordinator
Joe Lee Dunn
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 29— allowed
Defense0.0own 31— 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

Javar Pollard S★★No. 1050
Abraham Holloway OT★★No. 1050
Ryan Scott WR★★No. 1050
Lane Garcia DT★★No. 1050
Jarren Humphrey ILB★★No. 1050

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs22.00.767
Receivers32.00.767
Offensive line22.00.767
Defensive line22.00.767
Linebackers12.00.767
Defensive backs12.00.767
Whole class112.00.767

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.

Drafted in 2004

The 2004 draft
Rd 7Eric Taylor DTPittsburgh Steelers

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.