# 2003 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

The 2003 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Frank Solich and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. After the Colorado game, Solich was fired as head coach. Defensive coordinator Bo Pelini served as interim head coach for the Alamo Bowl.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 30 | 2:30 pm | No. 24 Oklahoma State | | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | ABC | W 17–7 | 78,058 |
| September 6 | 11:30 am | Utah State* | No. 23 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | FSN | W 31–7 | 77,284 |
| September 13 | 7:00 pm | Penn State* | No. 18 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | ABC | W 18–10 | 78,008 |
| September 25 | 6:45 pm | at Southern Miss* | No. 15 | M. M. Roberts StadiumHattiesburg, MS | ESPN | W 38–14 | 36,125 |
| October 4 | 12:30 pm | Troy State* | No. 12 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | | W 30–0 | 77,825 |
| October 11 | 6:00 pm | at Missouri | No. 10 | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO (rivalry) | TBS | L 24–41 | 68,349 |
| October 18 | 11:30 am | Texas A&M | No. 18 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | FSN | W 48–12 | 77,604 |
| October 25 | 11:30 am | Iowa State | No. 14 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | PPV | W 28–0 | 77,483 |
| November 1 | 11:00 am | at No. 16 Texas | No. 12 | Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX | ABC | L 7–31 | 83,308 |
| November 8 | 2:30 pm | at Kansas | No. 19 | Memorial StadiumLawrence, KS (rivalry) | FSN | W 24–3 | 50,107 |
| November 15 | 2:30 pm | Kansas State | No. 18 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE (rivalry) | ABC | L 9–38 | 78,014 |
| November 28 | 11:00 am | at Colorado | No. 25 | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO (rivalry) | ABC | W 31–22 | 53,434 |
| December 29 | 8:00 pm | vs. Michigan State* | No. 22 | AlamodomeSan Antonio, TX (Alamo Bowl) | ESPN | W 17–3 | 56,229 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time ||||||||

## Depth chart

Defense :
* FS
* Josh Bullocks
* Jerrell Pippens
| WEAK | MIDDLE | STRONG |
| Demorrio Williams | Barrett Ruud | T.J. Hollowell |
| Chad Buller | Chad Sievers | Ira Cooper |
* SS
* Daniel Bullocks
* Shane Siegel
* CB
* Fabian Washington
* Terrell Butler
| DE | DT | DT | DE |
| Benard Thomas | Ryon Bingham | Le Kevin Smith | Trevor Johnson |
| Titus Adams | Patrick Kabongo | Brandon Teamer | Adam Carriker |
* CB
* Pat Ricketts
* Lornell McPherson
Offense :
* WR
* Mark LeFlore
* Jack O'Holleran Tim Liley
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Richie Incognito | Mike Erickson | Josh Sewell | Jake Andersen | Dan Vil Waldrop |
| Nick Povendo | Tim Green | Kurt Mann | Brandon Koch | Darren DeLone |
* TE
* Matt Herian
* Phil Peetz
* Dusty Keiser
* WR
* Ross Pilkington
* Isaiah Fluellen
* QB
* Jammal Lord
* Joe Dailey
* RB
* Cory Ross Josh Davis
* David Horne
* FB
* Judd Davies
* Steve Kriewald
* Special teams
* PK David Dyches
* P Kyle Larson
* KR Josh Davis
* PR Josh Davis

## Game summaries
### Oklahoma State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Oklahoma State | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Nebraska | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 17 |

### Utah State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Utah State | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Nebraska | 6 | 9 | 13 | 3 | 31 |

### Penn State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Penn State | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| • Nebraska | 3 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 18 |

### Southern Miss

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Nebraska | 17 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 38 |
| Southern Miss | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |

### Troy State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Troy State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Nebraska | 3 | 7 | 13 | 7 | 30 |

### Missouri

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Nebraska | 7 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 24 |
| • Missouri | 7 | 7 | 0 | 27 | 41 |

### Texas A&M

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Texas A&M | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| • Nebraska | 20 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 48 |

### Iowa State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Iowa State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Nebraska | 21 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 28 |

### Texas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Nebraska | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • Texas | 7 | 7 | 3 | 14 | 31 |

### Kansas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Nebraska | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Kansas | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |

### Kansas State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Kansas State | 7 | 0 | 10 | 21 | 38 |
| Nebraska | 0 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 9 |

### Colorado

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Nebraska | 7 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 31 |
| Colorado | 7 | 9 | 6 | 0 | 22 |

### Michigan State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Michigan State | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • Nebraska | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 17 |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV* | 23 | 18 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 19 | 14 | 12 | 19 | 18 | 23 | 25 | 23 | 22 | 19 |
| Coaches Poll | RV | RV | 24 | 18 | 15 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 16 | 15 | 23 | 23 | 21 | 21 | 18 |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 11 | 9 | 18 | 17 | 22 | 23 | 21 | 20 | Not released |

## After the season

Nebraska finished in 2nd place in the Big 12 North Division and tied for 4th conference-wide, with a final record of 10–3 (5–3). Prior to the season, Head Coach Frank Solich was feeling pressure to perform after a 7–7 (3–5) record the previous year (the first non-winning season since 1961), and had significantly revamped his coaching staff for 2003.
Despite the sweeping changes and the improvements they brought, which helped Nebraska to another 9-win season, Solich was fired at the conclusion of the regular season. Defensive Coordinator Bo Pelini was named Interim Head Coach and led the Huskers to a 17–3 Alamo Bowl win over Michigan State. When new Head Coach Bill Callahan was announced in later weeks, most of the existing assistants (including Pelini) were also fired.
Pelini would later return as Callahan's replacement in 2008.

### Awards

| Award | Name(s) |
| All-America 1st team | Josh Bullocks, Kyle Larson |
| All-America honorable mention | Richie Incognito, Demorrio Williams |
| All-Big 12 1st team | Josh Bullocks, Matt Herian, Richie Incognito, Kyle Larson, Demorrio Williams |
| All-Big 12 2nd team | Ryon Bingham, Barrett Ruud |
| All-Big 12 3rd team | Fabian Washington |
| All-Big 12 honorable mention | Daniel Bullocks, Josh Davis, Mike Erickson, Isaiah Fluellen, T. J. Hollowell, Trevor Johnson, Jammal Lord, Josh Sewell, Dan Vili Waldrop |

### NFL and pro players

The following Nebraska players who participated in the 2003 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi-pro team as draftees or free agents.
| Name | Team |
| Titus Adams | New York Jets |
| Ryon Bingham | San Diego Chargers |
| Stewart Bradley | Philadelphia Eagles |
| Daniel Bullocks | Detroit Lions |
| Josh Bullocks | New Orleans Saints |
| Adam Carriker | St. Louis Rams |
| Josh Davis | New York Jets |
| Aaron Golliday | Scottish Claymores |
| T. J. Hollowell | New York Giants |
| Richie Incognito | St. Louis Rams |
| Trevor Johnson | New York Jets |
| Patrick Kabongo | Detroit Lions |
| Sam Koch | Baltimore Ravens |
| Kyle Larson | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Jammal Lord | Houston Texans |
| Jay Moore | San Francisco 49ers |
| Chris Patrick | New York Giants |
| Jerrell Pippens | Chicago Bears |
| Andy Poulosky | Sioux City Bandits |
| Cory Ross | Baltimore Ravens |
| Barrett Ruud | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Bo Ruud | New England Patriots |
| Le Kevin Smith | New England Patriots |
| Fabian Washington | Oakland Raiders |
| Demorrio Williams | Atlanta Falcons |