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2003 Michigan State

8–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by John Smith.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 2003, game by game: won vs. Western Michigan 26–21; won vs. Rutgers 44–28; lost vs. Louisiana Tech 19–20; won at Notre Dame 22–16; won vs. No. 13 Iowa 20–10; won vs. Indiana 31–3; won at Illinois 49–14; won at No. 25 Minnesota 44–38; lost vs. No. 11 Michigan 20–27; lost at No. 7 Ohio State 23–33; lost at Wisconsin 21–56; won vs. Penn State 41–10; lost vs. No. 23 Nebraska 3–17+35−35Won 26–21 vs. Western Michigan+5Western MichiganWon 44–28 vs. Rutgers+16RutgersLost 19–20 vs. Louisiana Tech-1Louisiana TechWon 22–16 at Notre Dame+6Notre DameWon 20–10 vs. No. 13 Iowa+10No. 13 IowaWon 31–3 vs. Indiana+28IndianaWon 49–14 at Illinois+35IllinoisWon 44–38 at No. 25 Minnesota+6No. 25 MinnesotaLost 20–27 vs. No. 11 Michigan-7No. 11 MichiganLost 23–33 at No. 7 Ohio State-10No. 7 Ohio StateLost 21–56 at Wisconsin-35WisconsinWon 41–10 vs. Penn State+31Penn StateLost 3–17 vs. No. 23 Nebraska-14No. 23 Nebraska
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsWestern MichiganW 26–⁠2159%
Sep 6vsRutgersW 44–⁠2875%
Sep 13vsLouisiana TechL 19–⁠2065%
Sep 20atNotre DameW 22–⁠1630%
Sep 27vs13IowaW 20–⁠1032%
Oct 4vsIndianaW 31–⁠380%
Oct 11atIllinoisW 49–⁠1458%
Oct 18at25MinnesotaW 44–⁠3838%
Nov 1vs11MichiganL 20–⁠2745%
Nov 8at7Ohio StateL 23–⁠3324%
Nov 15atWisconsinL 21–⁠5645%
Nov 22vsPenn StateW 41–⁠1067%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvs23NebraskaAlamo BowlL 3–⁠1743%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Nebraska 17–⁠3 in the Alamo Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 57th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 7: 25
  2. Wk 8: 21
  3. Wk 9: 15
  4. Wk 10: 11
  5. Wk 11: 9
  6. Wk 12: 14
  7. Wk 13: 21

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
8–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 9
Points
363–⁠293
Coach
John Smith
Elo
1549 +86 this season
SP+ rating
11.1 No. 38 of 117; offense No. 44, defense No. 31
SRS
7.7 No. 32 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 68
Offensive coordinator
Dave Baldwin
Defensive coordinator
Chris Smeland
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.2own 33— allowed
Defense-0.1own 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

Jamar Jones WR★★No. 1050
Joe Toth OG★★No. 1050
Cole Corey CB★★No. 1050
Sean Clayton PRO★★No. 1050
Kaleb Thornhill OLB★★No. 1050

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.767
Receivers12.00.767
Offensive line32.00.767
Linebackers12.00.767
Defensive backs12.00.767
Athletes and specialists12.00.767
Whole class82.00.767

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 4Matthias Askew DTCincinnati Bengals
Rd 6Jeff Smoker QBSt. Louis Rams

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

  • Jeff SmokerQBCoaches-2; Media-2
  • Joe TateOGCoaches-2
  • Steve StewartOTCoaches-2
  • Clifford DukesDLCoaches-2
  • Greg TaplinDLMedia-2

From Wikipedia’s 2003 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2003 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan7–⁠110–⁠36
Ohio State6–⁠211–⁠24
Purdue6–⁠29–⁠418
Iowa5–⁠310–⁠38
Minnesota5–⁠310–⁠320
Michigan State5–⁠38–⁠5
Wisconsin4–⁠47–⁠6
Northwestern4–⁠46–⁠7
Penn State1–⁠73–⁠9
Indiana1–⁠72–⁠10
Illinois0–⁠81–⁠11

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