2003 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

The 2003 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season.

2003 Pittsburgh Panthers football
Continental Tire Bowl, L 16–23 vs. Virginia Cavaliers
Conference	Big East Conference
2003 record	8–5 (5–2 Big East)
Head coach	Walt Harris (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	J. D. Brookhart (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Paul Rhoads (4th season)
Base defense	Multiple 8-man front
Home stadium	Heinz Field (Capacity: 64,450)

2003 Big East Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 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

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 6	7:00 p.m.	Kent State*	No. 10	Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA		W 43–3	56,531
September 13	12:30 p.m.	Ball State*	No. 11	Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA		W 42–21	44,117
September 20	7:00 p.m.	at Toledo*	No. 9	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH		L 31–35	31,711
September 27	3:30 p.m.	at Texas A&M*	No. 17	Kyle Field College Station, TX	ABC	W 37–26	79,116
October 11	6:00 p.m.	Notre Dame*	No. 15	Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	ESPN	L 14–20	66,421
October 18	1:30 p.m.	at Rutgers		Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ		W 42–32	28,101
October 25	12:00 p.m.	Syracuse		Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	ESPN+	W 34–14	61,421
November 1	1:00 p.m.	at Boston College	No. 25	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA		W 24–13	41,983
November 8	7:45 p.m.	No. 5 Virginia Tech	No. 25	Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA (College GameDay)	ESPN	W 31–28	66,207
November 15	7:00 p.m.	at West Virginia	No. 16	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (Backyard Brawl)	ESPN2	L 31–52	67,715
November 22	1:30 p.m.	at Temple	No. 21	Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, PA		W 30–16	22,934
November 29	8:00 p.m.	No. 10 Miami (FL)	No. 20	Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA	ABC	L 14–28	60,486
December 27	11:00 a.m.	vs. Virginia*		Ericsson Stadium Charlotte, NC (Continental Tire Bowl)	ESPN	L 16–23	51,236
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Coaching staff

2003 Pittsburgh Panthers football staff
	Coaching Staff Walt Harris – Head Coach Bob Junko – Assistant Head Coach/Defensive tackles J.D. Brookhart – Offensive Coordinator/Wide Receivers Paul Rhoads – Defensive Coordinator/Secondary Dino Babers – Running Backs Curtis Bray – Linebackers Bryan Deal – Recruiting Coordinator/Specialists/Quarterbacks Tom Freeman – Offensive Line/Run Game Coordinator Bob Ligashesky – Tight Ends/Special Teams Charlie Partridge – Defensive Ends			Support Staff Chris LaSala – Assistant Athletic Director/Football Operations Matt Williamson – Recruiting Assistant Scott McCurley – Graduate Assistant Ben McAdoo – Graduate Assistant			Strength and Conditioning Staff Dave Kennedy – Strength and Conditioning Coach Dave Langworthy – Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach

Awards and honors

• Larry Fitzgerald: Fred Biletnikoff Award,[1] Walter Camp Award[2]

Team Players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
Larry Fitzgerald	Wide receiver	1	3	Arizona Cardinals
Shawntae Spencer	Defensive back	2	58	San Francisco 49ers
Kris Wilson	Tight end	2	61	Kansas City Chiefs
Claude Harriott	Defensive end	5	147	Chicago Bears
Andy Lee	Punter	6	188	San Francisco 49ers
Brandon Miree	Running back	7	247	Denver Broncos

[3]

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved 2011-07-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. http://football.about.com/cs/history/a/waltercampaward.htm
3. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/2004.htm