2003 Michigan State Spartans football team

2003 Michigan State Spartans football
2003 Michigan State Spartans football
Alamo Bowl, L 3–17 vs. Nebraska
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	8–5 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	John L. Smith (1st season);
Offensive coordinator	Dave Baldwin (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Chris Smeland (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium

2003 Big Ten Conference football standings

Team	W		L	W		L
No. 6 Michigan $	7	–	1	10	–	3
No. 4 Ohio State %	6	–	2	11	–	2
No. 18 Purdue	6	–	2	9	–	4
No. 8 Iowa	5	–	3	10	–	3
No. 20 Minnesota	5	–	3	10	–	3
Michigan State	5	–	3	8	–	5
Wisconsin	4	–	4	7	–	6
Northwestern	4	–	4	6	–	7
Penn State	1	–	7	3	–	9
Indiana	1	–	7	2	–	10
Illinois	0	–	8	1	–	11

% – BCS at-large representative $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 2003 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Spartans play their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. This was the first year for head coach John L. Smith, who would win Big Ten coach of the year in his debut, but would later be fired after the 2006 season.

The Spartans were coming off a 4–8 season and had just let go of head coach Bobby Williams.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	3:40 p.m.	Western Michigan*		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN Plus	W 26–21	72,923
September 6	3:40 p.m.	Rutgers*		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN Plus	W 44–28	72,579
September 13	12:10 p.m.	Louisiana Tech*		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN Plus	L 19–20	72,387
September 20	2:30 p.m.	at Notre Dame*		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	NBC	W 22–16	80,795
September 27	12:10 p.m.	No. 13 Iowa		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN Plus	W 20–10	72,276
October 4	12:10 p.m.	Indiana	No. 25	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	ESPN Plus	W 31–3	72,398
October 11	12:00 p.m.	at Illinois	No. 21	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	ESPN2	W 49–14	47,509
October 18	12:00 p.m.	at No. 25 Minnesota	No. 15	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN	ESPN2	W 44–38	38,778
November 1	12:00 p.m.	No. 11 Michigan	No. 9	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	ABC	L 20–27	75,129
November 8	12:00 p.m.	at No. 7 Ohio State	No. 14	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	L 23–33	105,194
November 15	12:00 p.m.	at Wisconsin	No. 21	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPN2	L 21–56	79,256
November 22	12:00 p.m.	Penn State		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	ESPN	W 41–10	72,119
December 29	9:05 p.m.	vs. No. 22 Nebraska*		Alamodome San Antonio, TX (Alamo Bowl)	ESPN	L 3–17	56,226
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

2003 Michigan State Spartans football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`19`	Irving Campbell	Fr
OT	`75`	Pete Clifford	Fr
RB	`21`	DeAndra' Cobb	Jr
C	`69`	Kyle Cook	Fr
C	`51`	Chris Morris	So
QB	`11`	Stephen Reaves	Fr
QB	`5`	Drew Stanton	Fr
QB	`9`	Jeff Smoker	Sr
WR	`6`	Matt Trannon	So
G	`76`	Will Whitticker	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DT	`95`	Matthias Askew	Jr
CB	`22`	Darren Barnett	So
LB	`30`	Jehuu Caulcrick	Fr
DE	`59`	Clifford Dukes	Jr
LB	`41`	David Herron	Fr
LB	`42`	Mike Labinjo	Sr
DT	`99`	Brandon McKinney	Jr
LB	`48`	Seth Mitchell	So
DE	`88`	Luc Mullinder	Sr
DE	`52`	Clifton Ryan	Fr
DB	`36`	Eric Smith	So
LB	`44`	Ronald Stanley	Jr
DT	`91`	Kevin Vickerson	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P	`8`	Brandon Fields	Fr
K	`16`	Dave Rayner	Jr

John L. Smith – Head Coach
Jim McElwain – Assistant head coach/wide receivers coach/Special Teams coordinator
Dave Baldwin – Offensive coordinator/Tight end coach
Doug Nussmeier – Quarterbacks coach
Reggie Mitchell – Running backs coach/recruiting coordinator
Jeff Stoutland – Offensive line coach
Chris Smeland – Defensive coordinator/safeties coach
Steve Stripling – Defensive line coach
Mike Cox – Linebackers coach
Paul Haynes – Defensive backs coach
Robert Saleh – Graduate Assistant

The following players were selected in the 2004 NFL Draft.