2003 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

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2003 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
WKU Hilltoppers wordmark.png
NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal, L 17–34 at Wofford
ConferenceGateway Football Conference
Ranking
Sports NetworkNo. 7
2003 record9–4 (5–2 Gateway)
Head coach
Home stadiumL. T. Smith Stadium
Seasons
← 2002
2004 →
2003 Gateway Football Conference standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 5 Northern Iowa +^   6 – 1     10 – 3  
No. 9 Southern Illinois +^   6 – 1     10 – 2  
No. 6 Western Illinois ^   5 – 2     9 – 4  
No. 7 Western Kentucky ^   5 – 2     9 – 4  
Illinois State   3 – 4     6 – 6  
Youngstown State   2 – 5     5 – 7  
Southwest Missouri State   1 – 6     4 – 7  
Indiana State   0 – 7     3 – 9  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 2003 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University in the 2003 NCAA Division I-AA football season and were led by first-year head coach David Elson. Coming off winning the NCAA Division I-AA Championship the previous year, this team contended for Gateway Football Conference championship but ended up finishing tied for 3rd.[1] They made the school's fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs, beating Jacksonville State in the first round before losing to Wofford in the quarterfinals. The Hilltoppers finished the season ranked number 7 in final 1AA postseason national poll.[2]

This team included future NFL players Anthony Oakley and Brian Claybourn. Matt Lange and Buster Ashley were named to the AP All American team and Justin Haddix was Gateway Conference Freshman of The Year. The All-Conference team included Ashley, Jeremy Chandler, Claybourn, Erik Dandy, Lange, Karl Maslowski, Casey Rooney, Antonio Veals, Daniel Withrow, Chad Kincaid, Oakley, and Charles Thompson.[3]

Schedule[]

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
August 28Union (KY)*No. 5
W 51–39,325
September 6West Virginia Tech*No. 5
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
W 67–310,325
September 20Eastern Kentucky*No. 3
W 36–318,317
September 27at Auburn*No. 3
L 3–4885,046
October 4at No. 2 Western IllinoisNo. 6
L 28–3318,263[4]
October 11Southwest MissouriNo. 9
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
W 9–68,383
October 18at Illinois StateNo. 9
W 27–248,945
October 25at Indiana StateNo. 8
W 59–143,708
November 1No. 3 Southern IllinoisdaggerNo. 8
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
L 24–2813,430[5]
November 8No. 6 Northern IowaNo. 12
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
W 24–37,518
November 15at Youngstown StateNo. 9
W 37–1312,858
November 29No. 17 Jacksonville State*No. 9
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)
W 45–73,573
December 6at No. 2 Wofford*No. 9
L 17–347,500
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

References[]

  1. ^ 2019 MVC Football Records, retrieved 30 April 2020
  2. ^ "Final Division I-AA Poll". The Gettysburg Times. Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. December 23, 2003. p. B2. Retrieved May 20, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.open access
  3. ^ WKU Football Media Guide retrieved 31 March 2020.
  4. ^ Grant, Michael (October 5, 2003). "WKU falls in thriller, 33-28". The Courier-Journal. p. C1. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Rally pushes Salukis over 'Toppers". The Paducah Sun. Associated Press. November 2, 2003. p. 5B. Retrieved December 29, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
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