2003 Northwestern
6–7 (4–4 Big Ten), coached by Randy Walker. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest upsetBeat No. 20 Wisconsin 16–7Oct 25
Wisconsin was ranked No. 20, above it.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 30 | at Kansas | W 28–20 | 48% |
| Sep 6 | vs Air Force | L 21–22 | 45% |
| Sep 13 | vs Miami (OH) | L 14–44 | 45% |
| Sep 20 | at Duke | W 28–10 | 43% |
| Sep 27 | at 4Ohio State | L 0–20 | 11% |
| Oct 4 | vs 21Minnesota | L 17–42 | 31% |
| Oct 11 | at Indiana | W 37–31 | 49% |
| Oct 25 | vs 20Wisconsin | W 16–7 | 32% |
| Nov 1 | at 18Purdue | L 14–34 | 21% |
| Nov 8 | vs Penn State | W 17–7 | 51% |
| Nov 15 | vs 5Michigan | L 10–41 | 24% |
| Nov 22 | at Illinois | W 37–20 | 54% |
| Dec 26Bowls & playoff | vs 20Bowling GreenMotor City Bowl | L 24–28 | 31% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Bowling Green 28–24 in the Motor City Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Big Ten.
In program history: The 68th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).
Players on this team
Barry CofieldDefensive tackle
Brett BasanezQuarterback- Tim McGarigleLinebacker
- Kim ThompsonReceiver
- Shaun HerbertReceiver
- Marquice Cole
- Mark PhilmoreReceiver
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
- 6–7
- Conference
- 4–4 tied for 7th in Big Ten
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 263–326
- Coach
- Randy Walker
- Elo
- 1464 +63 this season
- SP+ rating
- 2.8 No. 52 of 117; offense No. 80, defense No. 35
- SRS
- 0.5 No. 57 of 117 in Division I-A
- Recruiting class
- No. 67
- Offensive coordinator
- Mike Dunbar
- Defensive coordinator
- Greg Colby
- Captains
- Louis Ayeni, Pat Durr, Torri Stuckey and Jason Wright
- Offense
- Spread
- Defense
- 4–3
Drives and havoc
| Points per trip inside the 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.1 | own 27 | — allowed |
| Defense | -0.1 | own 32 | — 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
| Tonjua Jones ATH | ★★ | No. 1050 |
| Mark Koehn TE | ★★ | No. 1050 |
| A.J. Burdex TE | ★★ | No. 1050 |
| Ryan Black ATH | ★★ | No. 1050 |
| Frayne Abernathy WDE | ★★ | No. 1050 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2003 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Receivers | 4 | 2.0 | 0.767 |
| Offensive line | 2 | 2.0 | 0.767 |
| Defensive line | 2 | 2.0 | 0.767 |
| Linebackers | 3 | 2.0 | 0.767 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 2.0 | 0.767 |
| Whole class | 13 | 2.0 | 0.767 |
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.
All-Big Ten
1 second teamSecond team
Jason WrightRBCoaches-2; Media-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| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 7–1 | 10–3 | 6 |
| Ohio State | 6–2 | 11–2 | 4 |
| Purdue | 6–2 | 9–4 | 18 |
 Iowa | 5–3 | 10–3 | 8 |
| Minnesota | 5–3 | 10–3 | 20 |
 Michigan State | 5–3 | 8–5 | |
| Wisconsin | 4–4 | 7–6 | |
| Northwestern | 4–4 | 6–7 | |
| Penn State | 1–7 | 3–9 | |
| Indiana | 1–7 | 2–10 | |
| Illinois | 0–8 | 1–11 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.