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2003 Utah

10–⁠2 (6–⁠1 Mountain West Conference), coached by Urban Meyer, finished No. 21 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Utah in 2003, game by game: won vs. Utah State 40–20; lost at Texas A&M 26–28; won vs. California 31–24; won at Colorado State 28–21; won vs. No. 19 Oregon 17–13; won vs. San Diego State 27–6; won at UNLV 28–10; lost vs. New Mexico 35–47; won at Air Force 45–43; won vs. Wyoming 47–17; won at BYU 3–0; won vs. Southern Miss 17–0+30−12Won 40–20 vs. Utah State+20Utah StateLost 26–28 at Texas A&M-2Texas A&MWon 31–24 vs. California+7CaliforniaWon 28–21 at Colorado State+7Colorado StateWon 17–13 vs. No. 19 Oregon+4No. 19 OregonWon 27–6 vs. San Diego State+21San Diego StateWon 28–10 at UNLV+18UNLVLost 35–47 vs. New Mexico-12New MexicoWon 45–43 at Air Force+2Air ForceWon 47–17 vs. Wyoming+30WyomingWon 3–0 at BYU+3BYUWon 17–0 vs. Southern Miss+17Southern Miss
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vsUtah StateW 40–⁠2070%
Sep 6atTexas A&ML 26–⁠2840%
Sep 11vsCaliforniaW 31–⁠2458%
Sep 27atColorado StateW 28–⁠2142%
Oct 3vs19OregonW 17–⁠1357%
Oct 11vsSan Diego StateW 27–⁠675%
Oct 18atUNLVW 28–⁠1053%
Oct 25vsNew MexicoL 35–⁠4769%
Nov 1atAir ForceW 45–⁠4345%
Nov 15vsWyomingW 47–⁠1780%
Nov 22atBYUW 3–⁠066%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsSouthern MissLiberty BowlW 17–⁠049%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Southern Miss 17–⁠0 in the Liberty Bowl; No. 21 in the final AP poll; Mountain West Conference champions.

In program history: The 20th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 10: 24
  2. Final: 21

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.

Mountain West Conference champions6–⁠1 in the conference

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠1 first in Mountain West Conference
AP final
No. 21 peak No. 21
Points
344–⁠229
Coach
Urban Meyer
Elo
1640 +130 this season
SP+ rating
13.4 No. 29 of 117; offense No. 46, defense No. 23
SRS
10.3 No. 27 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 75
Offensive coordinator
Mike Sanford
Defensive coordinator
Kyle Whittingham
Offense
Spread option
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 36— allowed
Defense0.0own 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

Martail Burnett S★★★No. 682
Ryan Smith CB★★No. 1050
Alex Puccinelli WDE★★No. 1050
Tony Castaldi ILB★★No. 1050
Kyle Brady S★★No. 1050

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Defensive line12.00.767
Linebackers12.00.767
Defensive backs42.30.775
Whole class62.20.772

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 Mountain West Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Utah6–⁠110–⁠221
New Mexico5–⁠28–⁠5
Colorado State4–⁠37–⁠6
Air Force3–⁠47–⁠5
San Diego State3–⁠46–⁠6
BYU3–⁠44–⁠8
UNLV2–⁠56–⁠6
Wyoming2–⁠54–⁠8

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