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2003 Miami (OH)

13–⁠1 (8–⁠0 Mid-American Conference), coached by Terry Hoeppner, finished No. 10 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Miami (OH) in 2003, game by game: lost at Iowa 3–21; won at Northwestern 44–14; won at Colorado State 41–21; won vs. Cincinnati 42–37; won vs. Akron 45–20; won vs. Buffalo 59–3; won at Ball State 49–3; won at Kent State 38–30; won vs. No. 15 Bowling Green 33–10; won vs. Marshall 45–6; won at Ohio 49–31; won at UCF 56–21; won vs. No. 20 Bowling Green 49–27; won vs. Louisville 49–28+56−18Lost 3–21 at Iowa-18IowaWon 44–14 at Northwestern+30NorthwesternWon 41–21 at Colorado State+20Colorado StateWon 42–37 vs. Cincinnati+5CincinnatiWon 45–20 vs. Akron+25AkronWon 59–3 vs. Buffalo+56BuffaloWon 49–3 at Ball State+46Ball StateWon 38–30 at Kent State+8Kent StateWon 33–10 vs. No. 15 Bowling Green+23No. 15 Bowling GreenWon 45–6 vs. Marshall+39MarshallWon 49–31 at Ohio+18OhioWon 56–21 at UCF+35UCFWon 49–27 vs. No. 20 Bowling Green+22No. 20 Bowling GreenWon 49–28 vs. Louisville+21Louisville
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atIowaL 3–⁠2128%
Sep 13atNorthwesternW 44–⁠1455%
Sep 20atColorado StateW 41–⁠2137%
Sep 27vsCincinnatiW 42–⁠3759%
Oct 4vsAkronW 45–⁠2077%
Oct 11vsBuffaloW 59–⁠394%
Oct 18atBall StateW 49–⁠364%
Oct 25atKent StateW 38–⁠3080%
Nov 4vs15Bowling GreenW 33–⁠1061%
Nov 12vsMarshallW 45–⁠665%
Nov 22atOhioW 49–⁠3187%
Nov 28atUCFW 56–⁠2184%
Dec 4vs20Bowling GreenMid-American Championship GameW 49–⁠2761%
Dec 18Bowls & playoffvsLouisvilleGMAC BowlW 49–⁠2871%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Louisville 49–⁠28 in the GMAC Bowl; No. 10 in the final AP poll; Mid-American Conference champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 96 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 13: 23
  2. Wk 14: 18
  3. Wk 15: 15
  4. Wk 16: 14
  5. Final: 10

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.

Mid-American Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference, won the Mid-American Championship Game

Record
13–⁠1
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
No. 10 peak No. 10
Points
602–⁠272
Coach
Terry Hoeppner
Elo
1753 +228 this season
SP+ rating
22.1 No. 10 of 117; offense No. 5, defense No. 44
SRS
15.9 No. 8 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 112
Offensive coordinator
Shane Montgomery
Defensive coordinator
Pat Narduzzi
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.2own 37— allowed
Defense0.0own 28— 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

Brandon Murphy APB★★No. 1050
Jerome Bennett RB★★No. 1050
Austin Sykes RB★★No. 1050
Darren Paige WR★★No. 1050
Charlie Norden OT★★No. 1050

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.767
Running backs32.00.767
Receivers32.00.767
Offensive line42.00.767
Defensive line32.00.767
Whole class142.00.767

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 1Ben Roethlisberger QBPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 5Jacob Bell OGTennessee Titans

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.