2003 Wisconsin Badgers football team

The 2003 Wisconsin Badgers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their 14th year under head coach Barry Alvarez, the Badgers compiled a 7–6 record (4–4 in conference games), finished in a tie for seventh place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 355 to 306. The Badgers defeated unranked West Virginia and Akron to open the season. In week 3, the Badgers, ranked No. 14, were upset by unranked UNLV, 23–5. They then won four consecutive games, including a 17–10 victory over No. 3 defending national champion Ohio State, breaking the Buckeyes' 19-game winning streak. They then lost five of their six final games, concluding with a 28–14 loss to unranked Auburn in the Music City Bowl. The Badgers were not ranked in the final polls.

Key players included:

• Wide receiver Lee Evans led the team in both receiving (64 catches for 1,213 yards) and scoring (78 points). Against Michigan State, he had 10 receptions for 258 yards and five touchdowns.
• Quarterback Jim Sorgi threw for 2,251 pasing yards and 17 touchdowns.
• Running back Dwayne Smith led the team with 857 rushing yards.
• Free safety Jim Leonhard led the Big Ten with seven interceptions. He also led the team with 63 solo tackles and 98 total tackles. Leonhard was selected by ESPN as a first-team All-American.

The team played its home games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

Schedule

Game summaries

West Virginia

Akron

UNLV

North Carolina

Illinois

Penn State

Ohio State

Purdue

Northwestern

Minnesota

Michigan State

Iowa

Auburn

Personnel

Roster

Regular starters

2004 NFL draft

References