CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2003 Michigan

10–⁠3 (7–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Lloyd Carr, finished No. 6 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 2003, game by game: won vs. Central Michigan 45–7; won vs. Houston 50–3; won vs. No. 15 Notre Dame 38–0; lost at No. 22 Oregon 27–31; won vs. Indiana 31–17; lost at No. 23 Iowa 27–30; won at No. 17 Minnesota 38–35; won vs. Illinois 56–14; won vs. No. 10 Purdue 31–3; won at No. 9 Michigan State 27–20; won at Northwestern 41–10; won vs. No. 4 Ohio State 35–21; lost vs. No. 2 USC 14–28+47−14Won 45–7 vs. Central Michigan+38Central MichiganWon 50–3 vs. Houston+47HoustonWon 38–0 vs. No. 15 Notre Dame+38No. 15 Notre DameLost 27–31 at No. 22 Oregon-4No. 22 OregonWon 31–17 vs. Indiana+14IndianaLost 27–30 at No. 23 Iowa-3No. 23 IowaWon 38–35 at No. 17 Minnesota+3No. 17 MinnesotaWon 56–14 vs. Illinois+42IllinoisWon 31–3 vs. No. 10 Purdue+28No. 10 PurdueWon 27–20 at No. 9 Michigan State+7No. 9 Michigan StateWon 41–10 at Northwestern+31NorthwesternWon 35–21 vs. No. 4 Ohio State+14No. 4 Ohio StateLost 14–28 vs. No. 2 USC-14No. 2 USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsCentral MichiganW 45–⁠786%
Sep 6vsHoustonW 50–⁠380%
Sep 13vs15Notre DameW 38–⁠066%
Sep 20at22OregonL 27–⁠3156%
Sep 27vsIndianaW 31–⁠1788%
Oct 4at23IowaL 27–⁠3043%
Oct 10at17MinnesotaW 38–⁠3546%
Oct 18vsIllinoisW 56–⁠1486%
Oct 25vs10PurdueW 31–⁠362%
Nov 1at9Michigan StateW 27–⁠2055%
Nov 15atNorthwesternW 41–⁠1076%
Nov 22vs4Ohio StateW 35–⁠2155%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs2USCRose BowlL 14–⁠2840%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to USC 28–⁠14 in the Rose Bowl; No. 6 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The tied 27th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 4
  2. Wk 3: 5
  3. Wk 4: 5
  4. Wk 5: 3
  5. Wk 6: 11
  6. Wk 7: 9
  7. Wk 8: 20
  8. Wk 9: 17
  9. Wk 10: 13
  10. Wk 11: 11
  11. Wk 12: 8
  12. Wk 13: 5
  13. Wk 14: 5
  14. Wk 15: 4
  15. Wk 16: 4
  16. Final: 6

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.

Big Ten champions7–⁠1 in the conference

Heisman voteChris Perry, fourth

Doak Walker AwardChris Perry, RB

Consensus All-AmericanChris Perry, RB

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠1 first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 6 peak No. 3
Points
460–⁠219
Coach
Lloyd Carr
Elo
1739 +108 this season
SP+ rating
24.0 No. 7 of 117; offense No. 11, defense No. 14
SRS
17.8 No. 5 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 5
Offensive coordinator
Terry Malone
Defensive coordinator
Jim Herrmann
Captains
Grant Bowman, Carl Diggs and John Navarre
Most valuable player
Chris Perry
Offense
Multiple
Defense
Multiple

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 31— allowed
Defense-0.1own 29— 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

Lamarr Woodley ILB★★★★★No. 4
Prescott Burgess S★★★★★No. 5
Clayton Richard PRO★★★★No. 104
Jake Long OT★★★★No. 105
Brandent Englemon ATH★★No. 1050

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.936
Offensive line14.00.936
Linebackers15.00.997
Defensive backs15.00.997
Athletes and specialists12.00.767
Whole class54.00.926

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 1Chris Perry RBCincinnati Bengals
Rd 3Jeremy LeSueur DBDenver Broncos
Rd 7John Navarre QBArizona Cardinals
Rd 7Tony Pape OTMiami Dolphins

All-Big Ten

5 first team, 7 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 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.