CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2003 West Virginia

8–⁠5 (6–⁠1 Big East), coached by Rich Rodriguez.

Schedule and results

West Virginia in 2003, game by game: lost vs. Wisconsin 17–24; won at East Carolina 48–7; lost vs. Cincinnati 13–15; lost at Maryland 7–34; lost at No. 2 Miami 20–22; won vs. Rutgers 34–19; won vs. No. 3 Virginia Tech 28–7; won vs. UCF 36–18; won at Boston College 35–28; won vs. No. 16 Pittsburgh 52–31; won at Syracuse 34–23; won vs. Temple 45–28; lost vs. No. 24 Maryland 7–41+41−34Lost 17–24 vs. Wisconsin-7WisconsinWon 48–7 at East Carolina+41East CarolinaLost 13–15 vs. Cincinnati-2CincinnatiLost 7–34 at Maryland-27MarylandLost 20–22 at No. 2 Miami-2No. 2 MiamiWon 34–19 vs. Rutgers+15RutgersWon 28–7 vs. No. 3 Virginia Tech+21No. 3 Virginia TechWon 36–18 vs. UCF+18UCFWon 35–28 at Boston College+7Boston CollegeWon 52–31 vs. No. 16 Pittsburgh+21No. 16 PittsburghWon 34–23 at Syracuse+11SyracuseWon 45–28 vs. Temple+17TempleLost 7–41 vs. No. 24 Maryland-34No. 24 Maryland
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsWisconsinL 17–⁠2460%
Sep 6atEast CarolinaW 48–⁠757%
Sep 13vsCincinnatiL 13–⁠1559%
Sep 20atMarylandL 7–⁠3436%
Oct 2at2MiamiL 20–⁠2214%
Oct 11vsRutgersW 34–⁠1976%
Oct 22vs3Virginia TechW 28–⁠734%
Nov 1vsUCFW 36–⁠1877%
Nov 8atBoston CollegeW 35–⁠2843%
Nov 15vs16PittsburghW 52–⁠3148%
Nov 22atSyracuseW 34–⁠2354%
Nov 29vsTempleW 45–⁠2891%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs24MarylandGator BowlL 7–⁠4148%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Maryland 41–⁠7 in the Gator Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Big East champions.

In program history: The 20th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 14: 25
  2. Wk 15: 24
  3. Wk 16: 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.

Big East champions6–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Miami

Consensus All-AmericanGrant Wiley, LB

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠1 shared first in Big East
AP final
Unranked peak No. 21
Points
376–⁠297
Coach
Rich Rodriguez
Elo
1635 +83 this season
SP+ rating
12.7 No. 31 of 117; offense No. 32, defense No. 30
SRS
6.5 No. 36 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 54
Defensive coordinator
Jeff Casteel
Offense
Spread option
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 33— allowed
Defense-0.1own 30— 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

Davonzo Tate CB★★★No. 682
Larry Williams CB★★★No. 682
Keilen Dykes SDE★★★No. 682
Devin Kirkland OT★★★No. 682
Andrew Good K★★★No. 682

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

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.767
Receivers12.00.767
Offensive line22.50.783
Defensive line32.30.778
Linebackers12.00.767
Defensive backs52.60.787
Athletes and specialists13.00.800
Whole class142.40.781

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 7Quincy Wilson RBAtlanta Falcons

2003 Big East standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Miami6–⁠111–⁠25
West Virginia6–⁠18–⁠5
Pittsburgh5–⁠28–⁠5
Virginia Tech4–⁠38–⁠5
Boston College3–⁠48–⁠5
Syracuse2–⁠56–⁠6
Rutgers2–⁠55–⁠7
Temple0–⁠71–⁠11

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