2003 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

2003 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Big East co-champion
Gator Bowl, L 7–41 vs. Maryland
Conference	Big East Conference
2003 record	8–5 (6–1 Big East)
Head coach	Rich Rodriguez
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Jeff Casteel
Base defense	3–3–5
Home stadium	Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium (Capacity: 63,500)

2003 Big East football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#5 Miami (FL) $+		6	–	1					11	–	2
West Virginia +		6	–	1					8	–	5
Pittsburgh		5	–	2					8	–	5
Virginia Tech		4	–	3					8	–	5
Boston College		3	–	4					8	–	5
Syracuse		2	–	5					6	–	6
Rutgers		2	–	5					5	–	7
Temple		0	–	7					1	–	11
$ – BCS representative as conference champion + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2003 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. They were led by head coach Rich Rodriguez and played their home games at Mountaineer Field at Milan Puskar Stadium in Morgantown, West Virginia.

They rebounded from a 1–4 start to end the season 8–5 and captured a share of the Big East Conference Championship, the school's first since 1993. The team earned a trip to the 2004 Gator Bowl, where they lost a rematch to the rival Maryland Terrapins 41–7.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	12:00 PM	No. 20 Wisconsin*		Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV	ESPN	L 17–24	60,663
September 6	7:00 PM	at East Carolina		Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC		W 48–7	36,088
September 13	12:00 PM	Cincinnati*		Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV	ESPN+	L 13–15	51,189
September 20	6:05 PM	at Maryland*		Byrd Stadium • College Park, MD		L 7–34	51,973
October 2	7:30 PM	at No. 2 Miami (FL)		Miami Orange Bowl • Miami, FL	ESPN	L 20–22	54,621
October 11	12:00 PM	Rutgers		Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV	ESPN+	W 34–19	50,896
October 22	7:30 PM	No. 3 Virginia Tech		Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV (Black Diamond Trophy)	ESPN	W 28–7	56,319
November 1	1:00 PM	Central Florida*		Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV		W 36–18	42,712
November 8	12:00 PM	at Boston College		Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, MA	ESPN+	W 35–28	39,723
November 15	7:00 PM	No. 16 Pittsburgh		Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV (Backyard Brawl)	ESPN2	W 52–31	67,715
November 22	12:00 PM	at Syracuse		Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY (Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy)	ESPN2	W 34–23	41,801
November 29	12:00 PM	Temple		Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV	ESPN+	W 45–28	35,942
January 1	12:30 PM	vs. No. 24 Maryland*	No. 23	Alltel Stadium • Jacksonville (Gator Bowl)	NBC	L 7–41	78,892
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from Coaches Poll. All times are in Eastern Time.

References

• West Virginia Yearly Results