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2003 Ole Miss

10–⁠3 (7–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by David Cutcliffe, finished No. 13 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ole Miss in 2003, game by game: won at Vanderbilt 24–21; lost at Memphis 34–44; won vs. UL Monroe 59–14; lost vs. Texas Tech 45–49; won at No. 24 Florida 20–17; won vs. Arkansas State 55–0; won vs. Alabama 43–28; won vs. No. 21 Arkansas 19–7; won vs. South Carolina 43–40; won at Auburn 24–20; lost vs. No. 3 LSU 14–17; won at Mississippi State 31–0; won vs. No. 22 Oklahoma State 31–28+55−10Won 24–21 at Vanderbilt+3VanderbiltLost 34–44 at Memphis-10MemphisWon 59–14 vs. UL Monroe+45UL MonroeLost 45–49 vs. Texas Tech-4Texas TechWon 20–17 at No. 24 Florida+3No. 24 FloridaWon 55–0 vs. Arkansas State+55Arkansas StateWon 43–28 vs. Alabama+15AlabamaWon 19–7 vs. No. 21 Arkansas+12No. 21 ArkansasWon 43–40 vs. South Carolina+3South CarolinaWon 24–20 at Auburn+4AuburnLost 14–17 vs. No. 3 LSU-3No. 3 LSUWon 31–0 at Mississippi State+31Mississippi Sta…Won 31–28 vs. No. 22 Oklahoma State+3No. 22 Oklahoma State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atVanderbiltW 24–⁠2162%
Sep 6atMemphisL 34–⁠4457%
Sep 13vsUL MonroeW 59–⁠1480%
Sep 27vsTexas TechL 45–⁠4948%
Oct 4at24FloridaW 20–⁠1729%
Oct 11vsArkansas StateW 55–⁠078%
Oct 18vsAlabamaW 43–⁠2847%
Oct 25vs21ArkansasW 19–⁠755%
Nov 1vsSouth CarolinaW 43–⁠4066%
Nov 8atAuburnW 24–⁠2039%
Nov 22vs3LSUL 14–⁠1743%
Nov 27atMississippi StateW 31–⁠077%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs22Oklahoma StateCotton BowlW 31–⁠2851%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Oklahoma State 31–⁠28 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 13 in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 26th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 11: 20
  2. Wk 12: 20
  3. Wk 13: 17
  4. Wk 14: 15
  5. Wk 15: 17
  6. Wk 16: 17
  7. Final: 13

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.

SEC West champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with LSU

Heisman voteEli Manning, third

Maxwell AwardEli Manning, QB; also the Unitas Golden Arm

Lou Groza AwardJonathan Nichols, K

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 13 peak No. 13
Points
442–⁠285
Coach
David Cutcliffe
Elo
1635 +116 this season
SP+ rating
14.5 No. 28 of 117; offense No. 18, defense No. 40
SRS
10.2 No. 29 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 34
Offensive coordinator
John Latina
Defensive coordinator
Chuck Driesbach
Captains
Charlie Anderson, Chris Collins, Eli Manning and Jesse Mitchell
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
3–⁠4

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 34— allowed
Defense0.0own 26— 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

Robert Lane DUAL★★★★★No. 26
Viciente DeLoach SDE★★★No. 682
Charles Clark S★★★No. 682
Thomas Eckers OG★★★No. 682
Kareem Moore S★★★No. 682

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks15.00.988
Receivers22.00.767
Offensive line32.30.778
Defensive line22.50.783
Defensive backs23.00.800
Whole class102.70.802

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 1Eli Manning QBSan Diego Chargers
Rd 4Stacy Andrews OTCincinnati Bengals
Rd 6Von Hutchins DBIndianapolis Colts
Rd 6Charlie Anderson LBHouston Texans

All-SEC

4 first team, 1 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 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
LSU7–⁠113–⁠12
Ole Miss7–⁠110–⁠313
Georgia6–⁠211–⁠37
Tennessee6–⁠210–⁠315
Florida6–⁠28–⁠524
Auburn5–⁠38–⁠5
Arkansas4–⁠49–⁠4
South Carolina2–⁠65–⁠7
Alabama2–⁠64–⁠9
Kentucky1–⁠74–⁠8
Mississippi State1–⁠72–⁠10
Vanderbilt1–⁠72–⁠10

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