CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2003 NC State

8–⁠5 (4–⁠4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Chuck Amato.

Schedule and results

NC State in 2003, game by game: won vs. Western Carolina 59–20; lost at Wake Forest 24–38; lost at No. 3 Ohio State 38–44; won vs. Texas Tech 49–21; won vs. North Carolina 47–34; lost at Georgia Tech 21–29; won vs. UConn 31–24; won vs. Clemson 17–15; won at Duke 28–21; won vs. Virginia 51–37; lost at No. 13 Florida State 44–50; lost vs. Maryland 24–26; won vs. Kansas 56–26+39−14Won 59–20 vs. Western Carolina+39Western CarolinaLost 24–38 at Wake Forest-14Wake ForestLost 38–44 at No. 3 Ohio State-6No. 3 Ohio StateWon 49–21 vs. Texas Tech+28Texas TechWon 47–34 vs. North Carolina+13North CarolinaLost 21–29 at Georgia Tech-8Georgia TechWon 31–24 vs. UConn+7UConnWon 17–15 vs. Clemson+2ClemsonWon 28–21 at Duke+7DukeWon 51–37 vs. Virginia+14VirginiaLost 44–50 at No. 13 Florida State-6No. 13 Florida StateLost 24–26 vs. Maryland-2MarylandWon 56–26 vs. Kansas+30Kansas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsWestern CarolinaW 59–⁠2091%
Sep 6atWake ForestL 24–⁠3854%
Sep 13at3Ohio StateL 38–⁠4427%
Sep 20vsTexas TechW 49–⁠2153%
Sep 27vsNorth CarolinaW 47–⁠3483%
Oct 4atGeorgia TechL 21–⁠2958%
Oct 11vsUConnW 31–⁠2471%
Oct 16vsClemsonW 17–⁠1564%
Oct 25atDukeW 28–⁠2181%
Nov 1vsVirginiaW 51–⁠3761%
Nov 15at13Florida StateL 44–⁠5036%
Nov 22vsMarylandL 24–⁠2655%
Dec 22Bowls & playoffvsKansasTangerine BowlW 56–⁠2675%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Kansas 56–⁠26 in the Tangerine Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 10th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 16
  2. Wk 3: 14
  3. Wk 4: 24

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.

Led the nationPhilip Rivers: passer rating (170.5)

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 4th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 14
Points
489–⁠385
Coach
Chuck Amato
Elo
1633 +16 this season
SP+ rating
17.3 No. 18 of 117; offense No. 6, defense No. 68
SRS
10.7 No. 22 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 17
Offensive coordinator
Noel Mazzone
Defensive coordinator
Chuck Amato

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 29— allowed
Defense0.0own 30— 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

Marcus Stone DUAL★★★★No. 113
Yomi Ojo OT★★★No. 682
Maurice Charles SDE★★No. 1050
Guerlin Dervil OLB★★No. 1050
Phillip Holloman CB★★No. 1050

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.933
Offensive line13.00.800
Defensive line12.00.767
Linebackers12.00.767
Defensive backs12.00.767
Whole class52.60.807

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 1Philip Rivers QBNew York Giants
Rd 3Sean Locklear OGSeattle Seahawks
Rd 4Jerricho Cotchery WRNew York Jets

All-ACC

4 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

  • Pat ThomasLBAP-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 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida State7–⁠110–⁠311
Maryland6–⁠210–⁠317
Clemson5–⁠39–⁠422
NC State4–⁠48–⁠5
Virginia4–⁠48–⁠5
Georgia Tech4–⁠47–⁠6
Wake Forest3–⁠55–⁠7
Duke2–⁠64–⁠8
North Carolina1–⁠72–⁠10

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