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2003 Rice

5–⁠7 (5–⁠3 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Ken Hatfield.

Schedule and results

Rice in 2003, game by game: lost at Houston 14–48; lost at Duke 24–27; lost vs. No. 13 Texas 7–48; lost at Hawai’i 21–41; won vs. San José State 28–24; lost vs. Navy 6–38; lost at Fresno State 28–31; won vs. Nevada 52–42; lost vs. Tulsa 28–31; won at SMU 41–20; won vs. UTEP 45–14; won at Louisiana Tech 49–14+35−41Lost 14–48 at Houston-34HoustonLost 24–27 at Duke-3DukeLost 7–48 vs. No. 13 Texas-41No. 13 TexasLost 21–41 at Hawai’i-20Hawai’iWon 28–24 vs. San José State+4San José StateLost 6–38 vs. Navy-32NavyLost 28–31 at Fresno State-3Fresno StateWon 52–42 vs. Nevada+10NevadaLost 28–31 vs. Tulsa-3TulsaWon 41–20 at SMU+21SMUWon 45–14 vs. UTEP+31UTEPWon 49–14 at Louisiana Tech+35Louisiana Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atHoustonL 14–⁠4846%
Sep 13atDukeL 24–⁠2749%
Sep 20vs13TexasL 7–⁠4825%
Sep 28atHawai’iL 21–⁠4125%
Oct 4vsSan José StateW 28–⁠2455%
Oct 18vsNavyL 6–⁠3857%
Oct 25atFresno StateL 28–⁠3123%
Nov 1vsNevadaW 52–⁠4239%
Nov 8vsTulsaL 28–⁠3151%
Nov 15atSMUW 41–⁠2059%
Nov 22vsUTEPW 45–⁠1478%
Nov 29atLouisiana TechW 49–⁠1438%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Louisiana Tech 49–⁠14; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Western Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 55th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 115 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
5–⁠7
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
343–⁠378
Coach
Ken Hatfield
Elo
1441 −9 this season
SP+ rating
-14.5 No. 98 of 117; offense No. 70, defense No. 104
SRS
−8.1 No. 89 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 87
Offensive coordinator
Scott Wachenheim
Defensive coordinator
Roger Hinshaw

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 26— allowed
Defense0.0own 37— 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

Joel Armstrong DUAL★★★No. 682
Marcus Rucker RB★★★No. 682
Gary Anderson WR★★★No. 682
Lance Luedeker OLB★★No. 1050
Will Galusha CB★★No. 1050

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.800
Running backs32.30.778
Receivers13.00.800
Offensive line32.00.767
Defensive line32.00.767
Linebackers32.00.767
Defensive backs32.00.767
Whole class172.20.773

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 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Boise State8–⁠013–⁠116
Fresno State6–⁠29–⁠5
Tulsa6–⁠28–⁠5
Hawai’i5–⁠39–⁠5
Rice5–⁠35–⁠7
Nevada4–⁠46–⁠6
Louisiana Tech3–⁠55–⁠7
San José State2–⁠63–⁠8
UTEP1–⁠72–⁠11
SMU0–⁠80–⁠12

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