# 2003 Michigan State Spartans football team

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 StadiumEast Lansing, MI | ESPN Plus | W 26–21 | 72,923 |
| September 6 | 3:40 p.m. | Rutgers* | | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | ESPN Plus | W 44–28 | 72,579 |
| September 13 | 12:10 p.m. | Louisiana Tech* | | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | ESPN Plus | L 19–20 | 72,387 |
| September 20 | 2:30 p.m. | at Notre Dame* | | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | NBC | W 22–16 | 80,795 |
| September 27 | 12:10 p.m. | No. 13 Iowa | | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI | ESPN Plus | W 20–10 | 72,276 |
| October 4 | 12:10 p.m. | Indiana | No. 25 | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI (rivalry) | ESPN Plus | W 31–3 | 72,398 |
| October 11 | 12:00 p.m. | at Illinois | No. 21 | Memorial StadiumChampaign, IL | ESPN2 | W 49–14 | 47,509 |
| October 18 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 25 Minnesota | No. 15 | Hubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeMinneapolis, MN | ESPN2 | W 44–38 | 38,778 |
| November 1 | 12:00 p.m. | No. 11 Michigan | No. 9 | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI (rivalry) | ABC | L 20–27 | 75,129 |
| November 8 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 7 Ohio State | No. 14 | Ohio StadiumColumbus, OH | ABC | L 23–33 | 105,194 |
| November 15 | 12:00 p.m. | at Wisconsin | No. 21 | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | ESPN2 | L 21–56 | 79,256 |
| November 22 | 12:00 p.m. | Penn State | | Spartan StadiumEast Lansing, MI (rivalry) | ESPN | W 41–10 | 72,119 |
| December 29 | 9:05 p.m. | vs. No. 22 Nebraska* | | AlamodomeSan Antonio, TX (Alamo Bowl) | ESPN | L 3–17 | 56,226 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | 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 | Final |
| AP | — | — | RV | — | RV | 25 | 21 | 15 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 21 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| Coaches | — | — | RV | — | RV | RV | 23 | 18 | 12 | 10 | 15 | 22 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 13 | 10 | 20 | 24 | — | — | — | — | Not released |

## Coaching staff

* 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

## 2004 NFL draft

The following players were selected in the 2004 NFL draft.
| Player | Round | Pick | Position | NFL team |
| Matthias Askew | 4 | 114 | Defensive Tackle | Cincinnati Bengals |
| Jeff Smoker | 6 | 201 | Quarterback | St. Louis Rams |