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2003 Minnesota

10–⁠3 (5–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Glen Mason, finished No. 20 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Minnesota in 2003, game by game: won vs. Tulsa 49–10; won vs. Troy 48–7; won at Ohio 42–20; won vs. Louisiana 48–14; won at Penn State 20–14; won at Northwestern 42–17; lost vs. No. 20 Michigan 35–38; lost vs. No. 15 Michigan State 38–44; won at Illinois 36–10; won vs. Indiana 55–7; won vs. Wisconsin 37–34; lost at No. 20 Iowa 22–40; won vs. Oregon 31–30+48−18Won 49–10 vs. Tulsa+39TulsaWon 48–7 vs. Troy+41TroyWon 42–20 at Ohio+22OhioWon 48–14 vs. Louisiana+34LouisianaWon 20–14 at Penn State+6Penn StateWon 42–17 at Northwestern+25NorthwesternLost 35–38 vs. No. 20 Michigan-3No. 20 MichiganLost 38–44 vs. No. 15 Michigan State-6No. 15 Michigan StateWon 36–10 at Illinois+26IllinoisWon 55–7 vs. Indiana+48IndianaWon 37–34 vs. Wisconsin+3WisconsinLost 22–40 at No. 20 Iowa-18No. 20 IowaWon 31–30 vs. Oregon+1Oregon
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsTulsaW 49–⁠1082%
Sep 6vsTroyW 48–⁠773%
Sep 13atOhioW 42–⁠2063%
Sep 20vsLouisianaW 48–⁠1488%
Sep 27atPenn StateW 20–⁠1446%
Oct 4atNorthwesternW 42–⁠1769%
Oct 10vs20MichiganL 35–⁠3854%
Oct 18vs15Michigan StateL 38–⁠4462%
Oct 25atIllinoisW 36–⁠1068%
Nov 1vsIndianaW 55–⁠788%
Nov 8vsWisconsinW 37–⁠3464%
Nov 15at20IowaL 22–⁠4039%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsOregonSun BowlW 31–⁠3052%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Oregon 31–⁠30 in the Sun Bowl; No. 20 in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 37th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 6: 24
  2. Wk 7: 21
  3. Wk 8: 17
  4. Wk 9: 25
  5. Wk 11: 24
  6. Wk 12: 24
  7. Wk 13: 19
  8. Wk 16: 25
  9. Final: 20

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
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Big Ten
AP final
No. 20 peak No. 17
Points
503–⁠285
Coach
Glen Mason
Elo
1610 +83 this season
SP+ rating
12.7 No. 31 of 117; offense No. 12, defense No. 62
SRS
12.3 No. 17 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 45
Offensive coordinators
Mitch Browning and Tony Petersen
Defensive coordinator
Greg Hudson
Captains
Asad Abdul-Khaliq, Dan Kwapinski, Ben Utecht and Eli Ward

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 32— 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

Ernie Wheelwright WR★★★No. 682
Steve Shidell DT★★★No. 682
Amir Pinnix ATH★★★No. 682
John Shevlin S★★★No. 682
Micah Rucker TE★★★No. 682

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers52.40.780
Offensive line22.50.783
Defensive line13.00.800
Linebackers12.00.767
Defensive backs62.20.772
Athletes and specialists13.00.800
Whole class162.40.779

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 5Thomas Tapeh RBPhiladelphia Eagles

All-Big Ten

3 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

  • Joe QuinnOGCoaches-2; Media-2
  • Rian MelanderOTMedia-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.