CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2003 New Mexico

8–⁠5 (5–⁠2 Mountain West Conference), coached by Rocky Long.

Schedule and results

New Mexico in 2003, game by game: won vs. Texas State 72–8; lost at Texas Tech 28–42; lost vs. BYU 7–10; lost at No. 24 Washington State 13–23; won vs. New Mexico State 24–17; won vs. Utah State 34–7; won at San Diego State 30–7; won at No. 24 Utah 47–35; lost vs. UNLV 35–37; won vs. Colorado State 37–34; won vs. Air Force 24–12; won at Wyoming 26–3; lost vs. Oregon State 14–55+64−41Won 72–8 vs. Texas State+64Texas StateLost 28–42 at Texas Tech-14Texas TechLost 7–10 vs. BYU-3BYULost 13–23 at No. 24 Washington State-10No. 24 Washington StateWon 24–17 vs. New Mexico State+7New Mexico StateWon 34–7 vs. Utah State+27Utah StateWon 30–7 at San Diego State+23San Diego StateWon 47–35 at No. 24 Utah+12No. 24 UtahLost 35–37 vs. UNLV-2UNLVWon 37–34 vs. Colorado State+3Colorado StateWon 24–12 vs. Air Force+12Air ForceWon 26–3 at Wyoming+23WyomingLost 14–55 vs. Oregon State-41Oregon State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsTexas StateW 72–⁠881%
Sep 6atTexas TechL 28–⁠4230%
Sep 13vsBYUL 7–⁠1057%
Sep 20at24Washington StateL 13–⁠2320%
Sep 27vsNew Mexico StateW 24–⁠1760%
Oct 4vsUtah StateW 34–⁠770%
Oct 18atSan Diego StateW 30–⁠753%
Oct 25at24UtahW 47–⁠3531%
Nov 1vsUNLVL 35–⁠3772%
Nov 7vsColorado StateW 37–⁠3455%
Nov 15vsAir ForceW 24–⁠1260%
Nov 22atWyomingW 26–⁠368%
Dec 24Bowls & playoffvsOregon StateLas Vegas BowlL 14–⁠5555%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oregon State 55–⁠14 in the Las Vegas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 109 on file).

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
5–⁠2 2nd in Mountain West Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
391–⁠290
Coach
Rocky Long
Elo
1560 +69 this season
SP+ rating
8.6 No. 44 of 117; offense No. 52, defense No. 37
SRS
7.0 No. 35 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 93
Offensive coordinator
Dan Dodd
Defensive coordinator
Osia Lewis
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 30— allowed
Defense0.0own 36— 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

Lenny Miles ATH★★★No. 318
Niam Adams OLB★★No. 1050
Bryan Easterly SDE★★No. 1050
Josh Lancaster OLB★★No. 1050
Major Mosley WR★★No. 1050

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs22.00.767
Receivers22.00.767
Offensive line22.00.767
Defensive line22.00.767
Linebackers42.00.767
Defensive backs22.00.767
Athletes and specialists22.50.800
Whole class162.10.771

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.

2003 Mountain West Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Utah6–⁠110–⁠221
New Mexico5–⁠28–⁠5
Colorado State4–⁠37–⁠6
Air Force3–⁠47–⁠5
San Diego State3–⁠46–⁠6
BYU3–⁠44–⁠8
UNLV2–⁠56–⁠6
Wyoming2–⁠54–⁠8

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