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2003 UCF

3–⁠9 (2–⁠6 Mid-American Conference), coached by Mike Kruczek, then Alan Gooch (interim, last 2 games).

Schedule and results

UCF in 2003, game by game: lost at Virginia Tech 28–49; won vs. Florida Atlantic 33–29; lost at Syracuse 14–38; lost at Kent State 16–36; won vs. Buffalo 19–10; lost at Ohio 0–28; lost at Akron 24–38; won vs. Central Michigan 31–13; lost at West Virginia 18–36; lost at Eastern Michigan 13–19; lost vs. Marshall 7–21; lost vs. No. 15 Miami (OH) 21–56+18−35Lost 28–49 at Virginia Tech-21Virginia TechWon 33–29 vs. Florida Atlantic+4Florida AtlanticLost 14–38 at Syracuse-24SyracuseLost 16–36 at Kent State-20Kent StateWon 19–10 vs. Buffalo+9BuffaloLost 0–28 at Ohio-28OhioLost 24–38 at Akron-14AkronWon 31–13 vs. Central Michigan+18Central MichiganLost 18–36 at West Virginia-18West VirginiaLost 13–19 at Eastern Michigan-6Eastern MichiganLost 7–21 vs. Marshall-14MarshallLost 21–56 vs. No. 15 Miami (OH)-35No. 15 Miami (OH)
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31atVirginia TechL 28–⁠4932%
Sep 13vsFlorida AtlanticW 33–⁠2985%
Sep 20atSyracuseL 14–⁠3846%
Sep 27atKent StateL 16–⁠3662%
Oct 4vsBuffaloW 19–⁠1085%
Oct 11atOhioL 0–⁠2856%
Oct 18atAkronL 24–⁠3839%
Oct 25vsCentral MichiganW 31–⁠1368%
Nov 1atWest VirginiaL 18–⁠3623%
Nov 8atEastern MichiganL 13–⁠1970%
Nov 19vsMarshallL 7–⁠2129%
Nov 28vs15Miami (OH)L 21–⁠5616%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Miami (OH) 56–⁠21; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 10th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 29th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 40 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
3–⁠9
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 10th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
224–⁠373
Coach
Mike Kruczek, then Alan Gooch (interim, last 2 games)
Elo
1352 −185 this season
SP+ rating
-21.8 No. 109 of 117; offense No. 112, defense No. 94
SRS
−17.0 No. 108 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 70
Offensive coordinator
Robert McFarland
Defensive coordinator
Bill D’Ottavio

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 28— allowed
Defense-0.2own 33— 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

Evandall Williams FB★★No. 1050
Troy Washington CB★★No. 1050
Sheldon Shakespeare CB★★No. 1050
Ron Williams RB★★No. 1050
R. Pullings ILB★★No. 1050

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs22.00.767
Receivers32.00.767
Offensive line22.00.767
Defensive line12.00.767
Linebackers22.00.767
Defensive backs42.00.767
Whole class142.00.767

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.

Drafted in 2004

The 2004 draft
Rd 7Michael Gaines TECarolina Panthers

2003 Mid-American Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Miami (OH)8–⁠013–⁠110
Bowling Green7–⁠111–⁠323
Northern Illinois6–⁠210–⁠2
Marshall6–⁠28–⁠4
Toledo6–⁠28–⁠4
Akron5–⁠37–⁠5
Western Michigan4–⁠45–⁠7
Kent State4–⁠45–⁠7
Ball State3–⁠54–⁠8
Eastern Michigan2–⁠63–⁠9
UCF2–⁠63–⁠9
Central Michigan1–⁠73–⁠9
Ohio1–⁠72–⁠10
Buffalo1–⁠71–⁠11

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