2003 Sugar Bowl

August 2023 May 2026 2003 Louisiana Superdome - Unbranded - 26 July 2021 (cropped).jpg The Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, hosted the Sugar Bowl. Nokia Sugar Bowl BCS Bowl Game69th Sugar Bowl 2002 Georgia Bulldogs University of Georgia Florida State Seminoles Florida State University 12–1 SEC 9–4 ACC Mark Richt Bobby Bowden 4 4 3 16 16 14 3 14 6 3 0 7 6 0 January 1 Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana Musa Smith (RB, Georgia) Georgia by 7.5 Chuck McFerrin (Pac-10) 74,269 ABC List of announcers of major college bowl games Brad Nessler, Bob Grieseand Lynn Swann 9.2 The 2003 Sugar Bowl, a 2002–03 BCS game, was played on January 1, 2003. This 69th edition to the Sugar Bowl featured the Georgia Bulldogs, and the Florida State Seminoles. Georgia came into the game 12–1 and ranked 3rd in the BCS, whereas Florida State came into the game 9–4 and ranked 14th in the BCS. Sponsored by Nokia, the game was officially known as the Nokia Sugar Bowl. Teams The Sugar Bowl during the BCS era usually selected the SEC champion, meaning that the winner of the SEC in 2002, Georgia received an invitation to the Sugar Bowl. Their opponent would be ACC champion Florida State. Georgia Bulldogs 2002 Georgia Bulldogs football team Georgia defeated Arkansas in the 2002 SEC Championship Game to earn a BCS berth as their conference's champion. Georgia entered the bowl with a 12–1 record (7–1 in conference). Florida State Seminoles 2002 Florida State Seminoles football team Florida State won the ACC title outright by virtue of their 7–1 conference record. At the time, the ACC champion would go to the Orange Bowl, however the Orange Bowl chose Iowa and USC instead, leaving the Seminoles to play in the Sugar Bowl. Florida State entered the bowl with an 9–4 record (7–1 in conference). Game summary Kicker Billy Bennett kicked a 23-yard field goal with 10 minutes left in the opening quarter to account for the quarter's only points. In the second quarter, FSU quarterback Fabian Walker threw a 5-yard slant pass to Anquan Boldin as FSU took a 7–3 lead. Florida State was driving again in the second quarter before cornerback Bruce Thornton stepped in front of a Walker pass and raced 73 yards to the opposite end zone, to give Georgia a 10–7 lead. Quarterback D.J. Shockley threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Terrence Edwards before halftime to give the Bulldogs a 17–7 half time lead. Bennett accounted for two more Georgia field goals in the third quarter, as Georgia posted a 23–7 lead. On the final play of the third quarter, wide receiver Boldin (who had replaced Walker) threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Craphonso Thorpe. The ensuing two-point conversion failed, and the lead was 23–13. Bennett kicked another field goal in the fourth quarter, as Georgia held off Florida State. Georgia's running back Musa Smith won the MVP award. Seminoles quarterback Chris Rix and defensive tackle Darnell Dockett did not play after being suspended for the game. Rix had missed a final exam, which pressed Walker into his first collegiate start.https://www.espn.com/ncf/bowls02/s/sugar_walkerwoes.html Bulldogs rattle Walker early in his first start AP ESPN.com ESPN January 1, 2003 August 21, 2026 Dockett pled guilty to a misdemeanor theft charge.http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/122302/col_11300206.shtml Seminoles' Dockett suspended for bowl The Times-Union December 23, 2002 October 8, 2013 September 26, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20131008224500/http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/122302/col_11300206.shtml live Scoring summary UGA FSU 1 4:19 UGA 9 62 4:04 FG 23 Billy Bennett 3 0 2 13:41 FSU 8 69 3:42 RecTD Anquan Boldin Fabian Walker 5 good Xavier Beitia 3 7 2 6:41 UGA 1 71 0:10 IntTD Bruce Thornton 71 good Billy Bennett 10 7 2 3:43 UGA 1 37 0:07 RecTD Terrence Edwards D.J. Shockley 37 good Billy Bennett 17 7 3 11:06 UGA 9 68 3:54 FG 42 Billy Bennett 20 7 3 8:49 UGA 4 9 2:04 FG 25 Billy Bennett 23 7 3 0:00 FSU 5 66 2:29 RecTD Craphonso Thorpe Anquan Boldin 40 run failed 23 13 4 10:17 UGA 11 62 4:43 FG 35 Billy Bennett 26 13 26 13 Statistics No. 3 Bulldogs 3 14 6 3 No. 14 Seminoles 7 0 6 0 Georgia Bulldogs UGA Florida State Seminoles FSU 11 51–276 36–151 125 10–15–0 26:09 18 67–262 41–115 147 13–26–2 33:51 Georgia Bulldogs Georgia Florida State Seminoles Florida State David Greene 9/14, 88 yds Musa Smith 23 car, 145 yds Terrence Edwards 3 rec, 60 yds, 1 TD Anquan Boldin 6/14, 78 yds, 1 TD Leon Washington 10 car, 48 yds Craphonso Thorpe 1 rec, 40 yds, 1 TD Aftermath Georgia completed the season 13–1. They ranked #3 in both major polls. Florida State finished the season 9–5 and #21/#24 in the polls. References Sugar Bowl Category:Sugar Bowl Category:Florida State Seminoles football bowl games Category:Georgia Bulldogs football bowl games Sugar Bowl Category:January 2003 sports events in the United States Category:2000s in New Orleans