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2003 Purdue

9–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Joe Tiller, finished No. 18 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Purdue in 2003, game by game: lost vs. Bowling Green 26–27; won at No. 20 Wake Forest 16–10; won vs. Arizona 59–7; won vs. Notre Dame 23–10; won vs. Illinois 43–10; won vs. Penn State 28–14; won at No. 14 Wisconsin 26–23; lost at No. 13 Michigan 3–31; won vs. Northwestern 34–14; won vs. No. 10 Iowa 27–14; lost at No. 4 Ohio State 13–16; won at Indiana 24–16; lost vs. No. 5 Georgia 27–34+52−28Lost 26–27 vs. Bowling Green-1Bowling GreenWon 16–10 at No. 20 Wake Forest+6No. 20 Wake ForestWon 59–7 vs. Arizona+52ArizonaWon 23–10 vs. Notre Dame+13Notre DameWon 43–10 vs. Illinois+33IllinoisWon 28–14 vs. Penn State+14Penn StateWon 26–23 at No. 14 Wisconsin+3No. 14 WisconsinLost 3–31 at No. 13 Michigan-28No. 13 MichiganWon 34–14 vs. Northwestern+20NorthwesternWon 27–14 vs. No. 10 Iowa+13No. 10 IowaLost 13–16 at No. 4 Ohio State-3No. 4 Ohio StateWon 24–16 at Indiana+8IndianaLost 27–34 vs. No. 5 Georgia-7No. 5 Georgia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vsBowling GreenL 26–⁠2757%
Sep 13at20Wake ForestW 16–⁠1038%
Sep 20vsArizonaW 59–⁠777%
Sep 27vsNotre DameW 23–⁠1063%
Oct 4vsIllinoisW 43–⁠1076%
Oct 11vsPenn StateW 28–⁠1471%
Oct 18at14WisconsinW 26–⁠2344%
Oct 25at13MichiganL 3–⁠3138%
Nov 1vsNorthwesternW 34–⁠1479%
Nov 8vs10IowaW 27–⁠1453%
Nov 15at4Ohio StateL 13–⁠1631%
Nov 22atIndianaW 24–⁠1684%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs5GeorgiaCapital One BowlL 27–⁠3439%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Georgia 34–⁠27 in the Capital One Bowl; No. 18 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 14th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 19
  2. Wk 3: 16
  3. Wk 5: 25
  4. Wk 6: 22
  5. Wk 7: 22
  6. Wk 8: 18
  7. Wk 9: 13
  8. Wk 10: 10
  9. Wk 11: 18
  10. Wk 12: 16
  11. Wk 13: 11
  12. Wk 14: 16
  13. Wk 15: 12
  14. Wk 16: 11
  15. Final: 18

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
9–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 18 peak No. 10
Points
349–⁠226
Coach
Joe Tiller
Elo
1642 +93 this season
SP+ rating
14.9 No. 26 of 117; offense No. 56, defense No. 11
SRS
11.2 No. 19 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 28
Offensive coordinator
Jim Chaney
Defensive coordinator
Brock Spack
Captains
Nick Hardwick, Landon Johnson, Niko Koutouvides and Stuart Schweigert
Most valuable player
Shaun Phillips
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 36— allowed
Defense-0.1own 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

Kyle Ingraham WR★★★No. 682
Grant Walker ATH★★★No. 682
Byron Williams WR★★★No. 682
Shaun Richardson ILB★★★No. 682
Eugene Bright ATH★★No. 1050

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers32.70.789
Offensive line12.00.767
Linebackers22.50.783
Defensive backs12.00.767
Athletes and specialists32.30.778
Whole class102.40.780

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 3Nick Hardwick CSan Diego Chargers
Rd 3Stuart Schweigert DBOakland Raiders
Rd 3Gilbert Gardner LBIndianapolis Colts
Rd 3Landon Johnson LBCincinnati Bengals
Rd 4Shaun Phillips DESan Diego Chargers
Rd 4Niko Koutouvides LBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 6Kelly Butler OTDetroit Lions
Rd 6Craig Terrill DTSeattle Seahawks
Rd 7Jacques Reeves DBDallas Cowboys

All-Big Ten

3 first team, 5 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.