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2003 Ohio State

11–⁠2 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Jim Tressel, finished No. 4 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ohio State in 2003, game by game: won vs. Washington 28–9; won vs. San Diego State 16–13; won vs. No. 24 NC State 44–38; won vs. Bowling Green 24–17; won vs. Northwestern 20–0; lost at No. 23 Wisconsin 10–17; won vs. No. 9 Iowa 19–10; won at Indiana 35–6; won at Penn State 21–20; won vs. No. 14 Michigan State 33–23; won vs. No. 11 Purdue 16–13; lost at No. 5 Michigan 21–35; won vs. No. 13 Kansas State 35–28+29−14Won 28–9 vs. Washington+19WashingtonWon 16–13 vs. San Diego State+3San Diego StateWon 44–38 vs. No. 24 NC State+6No. 24 NC StateWon 24–17 vs. Bowling Green+7Bowling GreenWon 20–0 vs. Northwestern+20NorthwesternLost 10–17 at No. 23 Wisconsin-7No. 23 WisconsinWon 19–10 vs. No. 9 Iowa+9No. 9 IowaWon 35–6 at Indiana+29IndianaWon 21–20 at Penn State+1Penn StateWon 33–23 vs. No. 14 Michigan State+10No. 14 Michigan StateWon 16–13 vs. No. 11 Purdue+3No. 11 PurdueLost 21–35 at No. 5 Michigan-14No. 5 MichiganWon 35–28 vs. No. 13 Kansas State+7No. 13 Kansas State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsWashingtonW 28–⁠975%
Sep 6vsSan Diego StateW 16–⁠1386%
Sep 13vs24NC StateW 44–⁠3873%
Sep 20vsBowling GreenW 24–⁠1777%
Sep 27vsNorthwesternW 20–⁠089%
Oct 11at23WisconsinL 10–⁠1762%
Oct 18vs9IowaW 19–⁠1063%
Oct 25atIndianaW 35–⁠688%
Nov 1atPenn StateW 21–⁠2074%
Nov 8vs14Michigan StateW 33–⁠2376%
Nov 15vs11PurdueW 16–⁠1369%
Nov 22at5MichiganL 21–⁠3545%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs13Kansas StateFiesta BowlW 35–⁠2843%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Kansas State 35–⁠28 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 4 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 26th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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.

Ray Guy AwardB.J. Sander, P

William V. Campbell TrophyCraig Krenzel, QB

Consensus All-AmericanWill Allen, CB

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 4 peak No. 2
Points
322–⁠229
Coach
Jim Tressel
Elo
1754 +60 this season
SP+ rating
20.2 No. 15 of 117; offense No. 49, defense No. 4
SRS
12.6 No. 14 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 46
Offensive coordinator
Jim Bollman
Defensive coordinator
Mark Dantonio
Captains
Tim Anderson, Michael Jenkins, Craig Krenzel and Will Smith
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 34— allowed
Defense-0.1own 27— 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

Donte Whitner CB★★★★★No. 21
Louis Irizarry TE★★★★★No. 33
Brandon Maupin SDE★★★★No. 123

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers15.00.983
Defensive line14.00.928
Defensive backs15.00.991
Whole class34.70.967

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 1Will Smith DENew Orleans Saints
Rd 1Chris Gamble DBCarolina Panthers
Rd 1Michael Jenkins WRAtlanta Falcons
Rd 3Ben Hartsock TEIndianapolis Colts
Rd 3Tim Anderson DTBuffalo Bills
Rd 3B.J. Sander PGreen Bay Packers
Rd 3Darrion Scott DEMinnesota Vikings
Rd 4Alex Stepanovich CArizona Cardinals
Rd 4Will Allen DBTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 5Craig Krenzel QBChicago Bears
Rd 5Drew Carter WRCarolina Panthers
Rd 5Robert Reynolds LBTennessee Titans
Rd 7Shane Olivea OTSan Diego Chargers
Rd 7Adrien Clarke OGPhiladelphia Eagles

All-Big Ten

8 first team, 3 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 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.