2003 NCAA Division I-A football season

American college football season August 2023 December 2025 2003 Sugar Bowl Game 2004 from Flickr 29799042.jpg Gameplay during the BCS National Championship Sugar Bowl for the 2003 season 117 Oklahoma 28 December 16, 2003 January 4, 2004 USC Bowl Championship Series 2004 Sugar Bowl Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana LSU Jason White (quarterback, Oklahoma) The 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with an abundance of controversy, resulting in the claim of a split national championship. This was the first claimed split title since the inception of the BCS, something the BCS intended to eliminate. Due to on-field circumstances, the BCS becoming a means of having a single champion going forward, followed by the four-team title playoff system's institution in 2014, and finally the twelve team title playoff system's institution in 2024. As of 2025 this is the most recent Division 1-A season to end with split national champions between the AP Poll and Coaches Poll. Several teams have been selected National Champions by designated selectors such as 2017 UCF and 2024 Oregon. At season's end, three BCS Automatic Qualifying (AQ) conference teams finished the regular season with one loss, with only two spots available in the BCS National Championship Game. Three BCS Non-Automatic Qualifying (Non-AQ) conference teams also finished with one loss, TCU, Boise State and Miami (OH), stirring the debate of the BCS being unfair to BCS Non-AQ conference teams. LSU defeated Oklahoma in the 2004 Sugar Bowl, securing the BCS National Championship, as the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll was contractually obligated to vote the winner of the BCS National Championship Game No. 1, although three coaches violated this agreement by keeping USC atop their ballots. Meanwhile, when AP No. 1 USC beat (number 4) Michigan in the 2004 Rose Bowl, the AP voters kept USC in the top spot. Army became the first team in NCAA Division I-A football modern history to finish the season 0–13. The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award sponsored by ESPN chose USC coach Pete Carroll as their award recipient, while the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award, voted on by an association of sportswriters, chose LSU coach Nick Saban. The Orange Bowl game was noteworthy in that Miami and Florida State previously had scheduled to play each other on Labor Day in 2004 in Miami's first game as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Playing in the Orange Bowl ensured that their next meeting would be each of their very next games and their first of the 2004 season. BCS selection process controversy USC had lost in triple overtime at California on September 27, LSU lost at home to Florida on October 11, and Oklahoma, which had been No. 1 in every BCS rating,http://msn.foxsports.com/id/7894697_37_1.pdf 2003 Bowl Championship Series Standings Fox Sports 2007-09-28 https://web.archive.org/web/20080528135828/http://msn.foxsports.com/id/7894697_37_1.pdf 2008-05-28 dead AP and Coaches' Pollhttps://www.espn.com/college-football/rankings?seasonYear=2003&weekNumber=1&seasonType=2 2003 NCAA Football Rankings ESPN 2007-09-28 of the season, lost to Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship Game, 35–7 on December 6. Although USC, then 11–1, finished ranked No. 1 in both the AP and Coaches' Polls, with LSU (12–1) ranked No. 2 and Oklahoma (12–1) No. 3, Oklahoma surpassed both USC and LSU on several BCS computer factors. Oklahoma's schedule strength was ranked 11th to LSU's 29th and USC's 37th. Oklahoma's schedule rank was 0.44 to LSU's 1.16 and USC's 1.48. As such, although the timing of Oklahoma's loss affected the human voters, the computers kept Oklahoma at No. 1 in the BCS poll. LSU was ranked No. 2 by the BCS based on its No. 2 ranking in the AP Poll, Coaches' Poll, six of seven computer rankings (with the remaining one ranking them No. 1), and strength-of-schedule calculations. USC's No. 3 BCS ranking resulted from its No. 1 AP ranking, No. 1 Coaches' Poll ranking, and No. 3 ranking in five of seven computer rankings (with the two remaining computer rankings at No. 1 and No. 4), and schedule strength, though separated by only 0.16 points. Ted Waitt, CEO of Gateway Computers, offered the NCAA $31 million for a national championship game between USC and Louisiana State.http://siouxcityjournal.com/news/opinion/editorial/ted-waitt-s-million-football-offer-kicks-off-controversy/article_acad6999-cfe2-5268-a620-db79ddfff197.html Ted Waitt's $31 million football offer kicks off controversy Sioux City Journal 2004-01-16 2017-01-02 Rules changes The NCAA Rules Committee adopted the following rules changes for the 2003 season: The "Halo Rule" (two-yard restricted area around the kick/punt returner) is abolished. The penalty for kick-catch interference remains at 15 yards if the returner is contacted before he has a chance to catch the punt/kick. Backs not positioned within the "tackle box" are prohibited from blocking below the waist anywhere behind the scrimmage line, and up to a point 10 yards downfield. The game clock will start on all kickoffs once touched in the field of play, repealing a rule change adopted in the 1997 season where the clock started on the kick (except during the final 2:00 of each half). Giving the offended team the option to enforce all personal fouls committed during and after a touchdown play either on the PAT or on the ensuing kickoff. Conference and program changes No teams upgraded from Division I-AA, leaving the number of Division I-A schools fixed at 117. Two Independent schools joined conferences in 2003. South Florida joined Conference USA as its 11th member, while Utah State joined the Sun Belt Conference as its 8th member. School 2002 Conference 2003 Conference South Florida Bulls I-A Independent Conference USA Utah State Aggies I-A Independent Sun Belt Regular season top 10 matchups Rankings reflect the AP Poll. Rankings for Week 8 and beyond will list BCS Rankings first and AP Poll second. Teams that failed to be a top 10 team for one poll or the other will be noted. Week 1 No. 8 USC defeated No. 6 Auburn, 23–0 (Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama) Week 6 No. 2 Miami defeated No. 5 Florida State, 22–14 (Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida) Week 7 No. 8 Ohio State defeated No. 9 Iowa, 19–10 (Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio) Week 9 No. 4/3 USC defeated No. 8/6 Washington State, 43–16 (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California) No. 16/10 Virginia Tech defeated No. 2/2 Miami, 31–7 (Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, Virginia) Week 12 No. 9/5 Michigan defeated No. 2/4 Ohio State, 35–21 (Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan) Week 14 No. 3/3 LSU defeated No. 7/5 Georgia, 34–13 (2003 SEC Championship Game, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia) Conference standings I-AA team wins over I-A teams Italics denotes I-AA teams. no no August 28 no Florida Atlantic Middle Tennessee Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, Tennessee no 20–19 23,261 FCS wins vs. FBS teams: All-time victories, upsets, wins vs. ranked teams https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/fcs-wins-vs-fbs-teams-all-time-victories-upsets NCAA.com September 7, 2025 October 2, 2025 September 4 no 4 (I-AA) Western Illinois Eastern Michigan Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, Michigan no 34–12 11,123 September 6 no Cal Poly UTEP Sun Bowl El Paso, Texas no 34–13 26,224 September 6 no Eastern Washington Idaho Kibbie Dome Moscow, Idaho no 8–5 13,556 September 6 no Stephen F. Austin UL Monroe Malone Stadium Monroe, Louisiana no 23–21 15,056 September 6 no 9 (I-AA) Villanova Temple Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Mayor's Cup no 23–20 2OT 30,090 September 13 no Colgate Buffalo University at Buffalo Stadium Amherst, New York no 38–15 20,324 September 20 no 15 (I-AA) Northwestern State UL Monroe Malone Stadium Monroe, Louisiana no 14–10 16,035 September 27 no Idaho 9 (I-AA) Montana Washington–Grizzly Stadium Missoula, Montana Little Brown Stein no 41–28 23,679 October 25 no 3 (I-AA) Delaware Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, Maryland no 21–17 34,982 Bowl Championship Series rankings 2003 NCAA Division I-A football rankings WEEKNo. 1No. 2EVENTOCT 20OklahomaMiamiOCT 27OklahomaMiamiVirginia Tech 31, Miami 7NOV 3OklahomaUSCNOV 10OklahomaUSCNOV 17OklahomaOhio StateMichigan 35, Ohio State 21NOV 24OklahomaUSCDEC 1OklahomaUSCLSU 34, Georgia 13FINALOklahomaLSU Bowl games 2003–04 NCAA football bowl games Rankings given are AP poll positions at time of game BCS bowls Sugar Bowl, BCS National Championship Game: No. 2 (BCS No. 2) LSU 21, No. 3 (BCS No. 1) Oklahoma 14 Rose Bowl: No. 1 (Pac-10 Champ) Southern California 28, No. 4 (Big 10 Champ) Michigan 14 Orange Bowl: No. 10 (Big East Champ) Miami 16, No. 9 (ACC Champ) Florida State 14 Fiesta Bowl: No. 6 (At Large) Ohio State 35, No. 8 (Big 12 Champ) Kansas State 28 Other January bowls Cotton Bowl Classic: No. 16 Mississippi 31, No. 21 Oklahoma State 28 Capital One Bowl: No. 11 Georgia 34, No. 12 Purdue 27 (OT) Gator Bowl: No. 23 Maryland 41, No. 20 West Virginia 7 Outback Bowl: No. 13 Iowa 37, No. 17 Florida 17 Peach Bowl: Clemson 27, No. 6 Tennessee 14 Humanitarian Bowl: Georgia Tech 52, Tulsa 10 December Bowl games Houston Bowl: Texas Tech 38, Navy 14 Liberty Bowl: No. 25 (MWC Champ) Utah 17, (C-USA Champ) Southern Mississippi 0 Continental Tire Bowl: Virginia 23, Pittsburgh 16 Independence Bowl: Arkansas 27, Missouri 14 Silicon Valley Football Classic: Fresno State 17, UCLA 9 Sun Bowl: No. 24 Minnesota 31, Oregon 30 Music City Bowl: Auburn 28, Wisconsin 14 Holiday Bowl: No. 15 Washington State 28, No. 5 Texas 20 San Francisco Bowl: Boston College 35, Colorado State 21 Alamo Bowl: No. 22 Nebraska 17, Michigan State 3 Insight Bowl: California 52, Virginia Tech 49 Tangerine Bowl: NC State 56, Kansas 26 Motor City Bowl: Bowling Green 28, Northwestern 24 Hawai'i Bowl: Hawai'i 54, Houston 48 (3 OT) Fort Worth Bowl: No. 18 (WAC Champ) Boise State 34, No. 19 TCU 31 Las Vegas Bowl: Oregon State 55, New Mexico 14 GMAC Bowl: No. 14 (MAC Champ) Miami (Ohio) 49, Louisville 28 New Orleans Bowl: Memphis 27, (Sun Belt Champ) North Texas 17 Final AP Poll Team Final Record Points 1. USC (48) 12–1 1,608 2. LSU (17) 13–1 1,576 3. Oklahoma 12–2 1,476 4. Ohio State 11–2 1,411 5. Miami (FL) 11–2 1,329 6. Michigan 10–3 1,281 7. Georgia 11–3 1,255 8. Iowa 10–3 1,107 9. Washington State 10–3 1,060 10. Miami (OH) 13–1 932 11. Florida State 10–3 905 12. Texas 10–3 887 13. Mississippi 10–3 845 14. Kansas State 11–4 833 15. Tennessee 10–3 695 16. Boise State 13–1 645 17. Maryland 10–3 564 18. Purdue 9–4 526 19. Nebraska 10–3 520 20. Minnesota 10–3 368 21. Utah 10–2 308 22. Clemson 9–4 230 23. Bowling Green 11–3 189 24. Florida 8–5 165 25. Texas Christian 11–2 126 Others receiving votes: 26. Oklahoma State 109, 27. Arkansas 73, 28. Virginia 36, 29. Northern Illinois 30, 30. Auburn 8, 30. Oregon State 8, 32. Pittsburgh 7, 32. N.C. State 7, 34. West Virginia 4, 35. Connecticut 2. Final Coaches Poll Three coaches voted for USC as the No. 1 team, even though the polled coaches are required to vote the BCS champion as No. 1. Because the votes were not public, it is not known which three coaches placed those votes. However, it is known that USC coach Pete Carroll could not have voted for his own team since he was not a voting coach that season. Team Final Record Points 1. LSU (60) 13–1 1,572 2. USC (3) 12–1 1,514 3. Oklahoma 12–2 1,429 4. Ohio State 11–2 1,370 5. Miami (FL) 11–2 1,306 6. Georgia 11–3 1,183 7. Michigan 10–3 1,140 8. Iowa 10–3 1,119 9. Washington State 10–3 983 10. Florida State 10–3 929 11. Texas 10–3 894 12. Miami (OH) 13–1 800 13. Kansas State 11–4 746 14. Mississippi 10–3 730 15. Boise State 13–1 704 16. Tennessee 10–3 684 17. Minnesota 10–3 553 18. Nebraska 10–3 532 19. Purdue 9–4 510 20. Maryland 10–3 462 21. Utah 10–2 327 22. Clemson 9–4 219 23. Bowling Green 11–3 170 24. TCU 11–2 145 25. Florida 8–5 124 Also receiving votes Northern Illinois (10–2) 80; Arkansas (9–4) 74; Oklahoma State (9–4) 63; Auburn (8–5) 20; North Carolina State (8–5) 17; Oregon State (8–5) 15; West Virginia (8–5) 14; Southern Mississippi (9–4) 12; Fresno State (9–5) 6; Hawaii (9–5) 6; Pittsburgh (8–5) 5; Texas Tech (8–5) 4; Marshall (8–4) 3; Virginia (8–5) 3; Boston College (8–5) 2; California (8–6) 1; Connecticut (9–3) 1; Memphis (9–4) 1; Michigan State Spartans (8–5) 1; Missouri (8–5) 1; North Texas (9–4) 1. Heisman Trophy voting The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player Player School Position 1st 2nd 3rd Total Jason White Oklahoma QB 319 204 116 1,481 Larry Fitzgerald Pittsburgh WR 253 233 128 1,353 Eli Manning Ole Miss QB 95 132 161 710 Chris Perry Michigan RB 27 66 128 341 Darren Sproles Kansas State RB 15 30 29 134 Matt Leinart USC QB 5 27 58 127 Philip Rivers NC State QB 18 20 24 118 Mike Williams USC WR 12 12 18 78 Ben Roethlisberger Miami (OH) QB 5 9 14 47 B. J. Symons Texas Tech QB 1 7 21 38 Other major awards Maxwell Award (College Player of the Year): Eli Manning, Mississippi Walter Camp Award (top back): Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh AP Player Of the Year: Jason White, Oklahoma Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback): Jason White, Oklahoma Johnny Unitas Award (Sr. quarterback): Eli Manning, Mississippi Doak Walker Award (running back): Chris Perry, Michigan Fred Biletnikoff Award (wide receiver): Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh John Mackey Award (tight end): Kellen Winslow, Miami, Florida Lombardi Award (top lineman/linebacker): Tommie Harris, Oklahoma Dave Rimington Trophy (center): Jake Grove, Virginia Tech Outland Trophy (interior lineman): Robert Gallery, Iowa Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player): Teddy Lehman, Oklahoma Dick Butkus Award (linebacker): Teddy Lehman, Oklahoma Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back): Derrick Strait, Oklahoma Lou Groza Award (placekicker): Jonathan Nichols, Mississippi Ray Guy (punter): B.J. Sander, Ohio State Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (Coach of the Year): Nick Saban, LSU The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award: Pete Carroll, USC Attendances # Team G Total Average 1 Michigan 7 776,429 110,918 2 Penn State 7 739,403 105,629 3 Tennessee 7 735,269 105,038 4 Ohio State 8 838,963 104,870 5 Georgia 6 552,348 92,058 6 LSU 7 636,817 90,974 7 Florida 6 541,060 90,177 8 Auburn 7 596,422 85,203 9 Texas 6 500,034 83,339 10 Oklahoma 7 582,413 83,202 11 Florida State 6 498,895 83,149 12 Alabama 8 659,106 82,388 13 South Carolina 8 646,754 80,844 14 Notre Dame 6 484,770 80,795 15 Wisconsin 7 549,404 78,486 16 Southern California 6 466,824 77,804 17 Nebraska 7 544,276 77,754 18 Texas A&M 7 533,703 76,243 19 Clemson 7 532,551 76,079 20 Michigan State 7 509,811 72,830 21 Washington 7 503,341 71,906 22 Iowa 7 460,584 65,798 23 Kentucky 7 454,457 64,922 24 Arkansas 7 445,119 63,588 25 Virginia Tech 7 434,214 62,031 26 Brigham Young 6 369,003 61,501 27 Virginia 6 362,545 60,424 28 Pittsburgh 6 355,183 59,197 29 Purdue 7 410,176 58,597 30 Miami Hurricanes 7 406,946 58,135 31 Oregon 6 346,207 57,701 32 UCLA 6 339,813 56,636 33 Mississippi 7 395,561 56,509 34 Arizona State 6 325,488 54,248 35 Missouri 6 319,721 53,287 36 North Carolina State 7 372,919 53,274 37 Georgia Tech 6 317,172 52,862 38 West Virginia 7 365,436 52,205 39 Maryland 6 307,418 51,236 40 Colorado 6 302,538 50,423 41 Texas Tech 6 297,650 49,608 42 Illinois 6 288,581 48,097 43 Mississippi State 6 286,000 47,667 44 North Carolina 6 282,800 47,133 45 Kansas State 8 376,878 47,110 46 Oklahoma State 7 314,107 44,872 47 Stanford 6 269,221 44,870 48 Iowa State 7 313,757 44,822 49 Minnesota 7 309,038 44,148 50 Arizona 7 299,352 42,765 51 Boston College 6 255,622 42,604 52 Syracuse 7 288,238 41,177 53 Hawaii 7 285,540 40,791 54 Louisville 6 240,279 40,047 55 Air Force 6 235,259 39,210 56 Kansas 7 271,251 38,750 57 Memphis 7 270,673 38,668 58 Fresno State 6 231,618 38,603 59 California 6 229,831 38,305 60 Connecticut 6 222,356 37,059 61 Army 7 255,605 36,515 62 TCU 6 216,931 36,155 63 Oregon State 7 252,993 36,142 64 Utah 6 210,801 35,134 65 Indiana 6 209,900 34,983 66 Washington State 5 166,653 33,331 67 New Mexico 7 232,737 33,248 68 East Carolina 6 198,073 33,012 69 Colorado State 6 183,786 30,631 70 South Florida 6 183,069 30,512 71 Navy 5 149,682 29,936 72 Baylor 7 208,960 29,851 73 Northwestern 6 172,578 28,763 74 Southern Miss 6 171,870 28,645 75 Vanderbilt 7 197,977 28,282 76 Wake Forest 7 197,911 28,273 77 Boise State 6 168,590 28,098 78 Marshall 5 139,186 27,837 79 Rutgers 6 164,032 27,339 80 Tulane 6 153,808 25,635 81 Miami RedHawks 5 125,661 25,132 82 Toledo 6 147,820 24,637 83 UNLV 6 146,191 24,365 84 UCF 5 121,574 24,315 85 Temple 5 120,687 24,137 86 Northern Illinois 7 165,026 23,575 87 UAB 5 116,190 23,238 88 San Diego State 6 135,669 22,612 89 Nevada 6 133,546 22,258 90 Tulsa 6 132,789 22,132 91 Cincinnati 6 131,766 21,961 92 Houston 6 130,844 21,807 93 Bowling Green 7 147,013 21,002 94 Troy State 4 83,596 20,899 95 Louisiana Tech 5 103,890 20,778 96 Rice 6 123,071 20,512 97 Duke 7 140,181 20,026 98 UTEP 7 140,065 20,009 99 North Texas 5 93,469 18,694 100 Western Michigan 6 110,872 18,479 101 Arkansas State 5 87,439 17,488 102 Southern Methodist 6 104,609 17,435 103 New Mexico State 5 80,343 16,069 104 Ohio 6 94,944 15,824 105 Wyoming 6 94,214 15,702 106 San Jose State 5 75,398 15,080 107 Utah State 5 74,604 14,921 108 Louisiana-Lafayette 6 83,970 13,995 109 Central Michigan 6 83,442 13,907 110 Akron 6 82,869 13,812 111 Buffalo 6 74,513 12,419 112 Ball State 6 74,034 12,339 113 Idaho 5 60,319 12,064 114 Louisiana-Monroe 5 56,492 11,298 115 Eastern Michigan 7 78,808 11,258 116 Middle Tennessee 6 66,127 11,021 117 Kent State 6 51,144 8,524 Source:2003 NCAA COLLEGE FOOTBALL ATTENDANCE http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/Attendance/2003.pdf References Category:2004 controversies in the United States