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2003 Nebraska

10–⁠3 (5–⁠3 Big 12), coached by Frank Solich, then Bo Pelini (interim, bowl game), finished No. 19 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 2003, game by game: won vs. Oklahoma State 17–7; won vs. Utah State 31–7; won vs. Penn State 18–10; won at Southern Miss 38–14; won vs. Troy 30–0; lost at Missouri 24–41; won vs. Texas A&M 48–12; won vs. Iowa State 28–0; lost at No. 16 Texas 7–31; won at Kansas 24–3; lost vs. Kansas State 9–38; won at Colorado 31–22; won vs. Michigan State 17–3+36−29Won 17–7 vs. Oklahoma State+10Oklahoma StateWon 31–7 vs. Utah State+24Utah StateWon 18–10 vs. Penn State+8Penn StateWon 38–14 at Southern Miss+24Southern MissWon 30–0 vs. Troy+30TroyLost 24–41 at Missouri-17MissouriWon 48–12 vs. Texas A&M+36Texas A&MWon 28–0 vs. Iowa State+28Iowa StateLost 7–31 at No. 16 Texas-24No. 16 TexasWon 24–3 at Kansas+21KansasLost 9–38 vs. Kansas State-29Kansas StateWon 31–22 at Colorado+9ColoradoWon 17–3 vs. Michigan State+14Michigan State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsOklahoma StateW 17–⁠757%
Sep 6vsUtah StateW 31–⁠778%
Sep 13vsPenn StateW 18–⁠1058%
Sep 25atSouthern MissW 38–⁠1452%
Oct 4vsTroyW 30–⁠075%
Oct 11atMissouriL 24–⁠4160%
Oct 18vsTexas A&MW 48–⁠1269%
Oct 25vsIowa StateW 28–⁠079%
Nov 1at16TexasL 7–⁠3134%
Nov 8atKansasW 24–⁠368%
Nov 15vsKansas StateL 9–⁠3851%
Nov 28atColoradoW 31–⁠2249%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsMichigan StateAlamo BowlW 17–⁠357%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Michigan State 17–⁠3 in the Alamo Bowl; No. 19 in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Big 12.

In program history: The tied 58th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 23
  2. Wk 4: 18
  3. Wk 5: 15
  4. Wk 6: 15
  5. Wk 7: 12
  6. Wk 8: 10
  7. Wk 9: 18
  8. Wk 10: 14
  9. Wk 11: 12
  10. Wk 12: 19
  11. Wk 13: 18
  12. Wk 14: 23
  13. Wk 15: 25
  14. Wk 16: 23
  15. Final: 19

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 12
AP final
No. 19 peak No. 10
Points
322–⁠188
Coach
Frank Solich, then Bo Pelini (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1644 +106 this season
SP+ rating
14.7 No. 27 of 117; offense No. 74, defense No. 5
SRS
11.1 No. 20 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 35
Offensive coordinator
Barney Cotton
Defensive coordinator
Bo Pelini
Offense
I formation
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 36— 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

Adrain Turner CB★★★No. 682
Andy Birkel WR★★★No. 682
J.B. Phillips TE★★★No. 682
Tierre Green S★★No. 1050
Greg Austin OG★★No. 1050

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers23.00.800
Offensive line12.00.767
Defensive backs22.50.783
Whole class52.60.787

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 4Demorrio Williams LBAtlanta Falcons
Rd 6Jammal Lord RBHouston Texans
Rd 6Josh Sewell CDenver Broncos
Rd 7Ryon Bingham DTSan Diego Chargers
Rd 7Trevor Johnson DENew York Jets

All-Big 12

5 first team, 2 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 12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma8–⁠012–⁠23
Texas7–⁠110–⁠312
Kansas State6–⁠211–⁠414
Nebraska5–⁠310–⁠319
Oklahoma State5–⁠39–⁠4
Missouri4–⁠48–⁠5
Texas Tech4–⁠48–⁠5
Kansas3–⁠56–⁠7
Colorado3–⁠55–⁠7
Texas A&M2–⁠64–⁠8
Baylor1–⁠73–⁠9
Iowa State0–⁠82–⁠10

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