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2003 Virginia

8–⁠5 (4–⁠4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Al Groh.

Schedule and results

Virginia in 2003, game by game: won vs. Duke 27–0; lost at South Carolina 7–31; won at Western Michigan 59–16; won vs. Wake Forest 27–24; won at North Carolina 38–13; lost at Clemson 27–30; lost vs. No. 7 Florida State 14–19; won vs. Troy 24–0; lost at NC State 37–51; lost at Maryland 17–27; won vs. Georgia Tech 29–17; won vs. No. 21 Virginia Tech 35–21; won vs. Pittsburgh 23–16+43−24Won 27–0 vs. Duke+27DukeLost 7–31 at South Carolina-24South CarolinaWon 59–16 at Western Michigan+43Western MichiganWon 27–24 vs. Wake Forest+3Wake ForestWon 38–13 at North Carolina+25North CarolinaLost 27–30 at Clemson-3ClemsonLost 14–19 vs. No. 7 Florida State-5No. 7 Florida StateWon 24–0 vs. Troy+24TroyLost 37–51 at NC State-14NC StateLost 17–27 at Maryland-10MarylandWon 29–17 vs. Georgia Tech+12Georgia TechWon 35–21 vs. No. 21 Virginia Tech+14No. 21 Virginia TechWon 23–16 vs. Pittsburgh+7Pittsburgh
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsDukeW 27–⁠083%
Sep 6atSouth CarolinaL 7–⁠3154%
Sep 13atWestern MichiganW 59–⁠1656%
Sep 27vsWake ForestW 27–⁠2461%
Oct 4atNorth CarolinaW 38–⁠1370%
Oct 11atClemsonL 27–⁠3051%
Oct 18vs7Florida StateL 14–⁠1945%
Oct 25vsTroyW 24–⁠072%
Nov 1atNC StateL 37–⁠5139%
Nov 13atMarylandL 17–⁠2734%
Nov 22vsGeorgia TechW 29–⁠1760%
Nov 29vs21Virginia TechW 35–⁠2147%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsPittsburghContinental Tire BowlW 23–⁠1647%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Pittsburgh 23–⁠16 in the Continental Tire Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 13th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 18
  2. Wk 3: 15
  3. Wk 8: 25

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
8–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 4th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 15
Points
364–⁠265
Coach
Al Groh
Elo
1632 +59 this season
SP+ rating
15.9 No. 25 of 117; offense No. 38, defense No. 21
SRS
10.4 No. 25 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 11
Offensive coordinator
Ron Prince
Defensive coordinator
Al Golden

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 32— allowed
Defense0.0own 27— 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

Jordy Lipsey OC★★★★No. 45
Kevin McCabe PRO★★★★No. 132
Emmanuel Byers WR★★★No. 682
Marvin Richardson OLB★★★No. 682
Deyon Williams WR★★No. 1050

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.901
Receivers22.50.783
Offensive line14.00.979
Defensive line12.00.767
Linebackers22.50.783
Whole class72.90.826

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 3Matt Schaub QBAtlanta Falcons

All-ACC

1 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 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida State7–⁠110–⁠311
Maryland6–⁠210–⁠317
Clemson5–⁠39–⁠422
NC State4–⁠48–⁠5
Virginia4–⁠48–⁠5
Georgia Tech4–⁠47–⁠6
Wake Forest3–⁠55–⁠7
Duke2–⁠64–⁠8
North Carolina1–⁠72–⁠10

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