2003 Michigan State Spartans football team

2003 Michigan State Spartans football

Alamo Bowl, L 3–17 vs. Nebraska
Conference	Big Ten Conference
2003 record	8–5 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	John L. Smith
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium (c. 72,027 natural grass)

2003 Big Ten football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
#6 Michigan $		7	–	1		10	–	3
#4 Ohio State %		6	–	2		11	–	2
#18 Purdue		6	–	2		9	–	4
#8 Iowa		5	–	3		10	–	3
#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 representative as 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 PM	Western Michigan*		Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	ESPN+	W 26–21	72,923
September 6	3:40 PM	Rutgers*		Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	ESPN+	W 44–28	72,579
September 13	12:10 PM	Louisiana Tech*		Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	ESPN+	L 19–20	72,387
September 20	2:30 PM	at Notre Dame*		Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN (Megaphone Trophy)	NBC	W 22–16	80,795
September 27	12:10 PM	No. 13 Iowa		Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI	ESPN+	W 20–10	72,276
October 4	12:10 PM	Indiana	No. 25	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Old Brass Spittoon)	ESPN+	W 31–3	72,398
October 11	12:00 PM	at Illinois	No. 21	Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL	ESPN2	W 49–14	47,509
October 18	12:00 PM	at No. 25 Minnesota	No. 15	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome • Minneapolis, MN	ESPN2	W 44–38	38,778
November 1	12:00 PM	No. 11 Michigan	No. 9	Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Paul Bunyan Trophy)	ABC	L 20–27	75,129
November 8	12:00 PM	at No. 7 Ohio State	No. 14	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	ABC	L 23–33	105,194
November 15	12:00 PM	at Wisconsin	No. 21	Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI	ESPN2	L 21–56	79,256
November 22	12:00 PM	Penn State		Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI (Land Grant Trophy)	ESPN	W 41–10	72,119
December 29	9:05 PM	vs. No. 22 Nebraska		Alamodome • San Antonio, TX (Alamo Bowl)	ESPN	L 3–17	56,226
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

The following players were selected in the 2004 NFL Draft.

Michigan State Spartans football

Venues	Old College Field (1902–1922) Spartan Stadium (1923–present)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Indiana (Old Brass Spittoon) Michigan (Paul Bunyan Trophy) Notre Dame (Megaphone Trophy) Penn State (Land Grant Trophy)

Culture & lore	Sparty "Victory for MSU" Marching band Zeke the Wonder Dog Winged football helmet 1966 "Game of the Century" Clockgate 2006 Northwestern game

People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees

Seasons	1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

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