| Year: | 2003 |
| Number Of Teams: | 117 |
| Preseason Ap: | Oklahoma |
| Number Of Bowls: | 28 |
| Bowl Start: | December 16, 2003 |
| Bowl End: | January 4, 2004 |
| Ap Poll: | USC |
| Championship System: | Bowl Championship Series |
| Championship Bowl: | 2004 Sugar Bowl |
| Championship Location: | Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Champions: | LSU |
| Heisman: | 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, and finally the four-team title playoff system's institution in 2014, as of 2024 this is the most recent Division 1-A season to end with split national champions.
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.
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,[1] AP and Coaches' Poll[2] 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.[3]
The NCAA Rules Committee adopted the following rules changes for the 2003 season:
No teams upgraded from Division I-AA, leaving the number of Division I-A schools fixed at 117.
| School | 2002 Conference | 2003 Conference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conference USA | |||
| Sun Belt |
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.
See main article: 2003 NCAA Division I-A football rankings.
| WEEK | No. 1 | No. 2 | EVENT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OCT 20 | Oklahoma | Miami | ||
| OCT 27 | Oklahoma | Miami | Virginia Tech 31, Miami 7 | |
| NOV 3 | Oklahoma | USC | ||
| NOV 10 | Oklahoma | USC | ||
| NOV 17 | Oklahoma | Ohio State | Michigan 35, Ohio State 21 | |
| NOV 24 | Oklahoma | USC | ||
| DEC 1 | Oklahoma | USC | LSU 34, Georgia 13 | |
| FINAL | Oklahoma | LSU |
Rankings given are AP poll positions at time of game
No. 1 (Pac-10 Champ) Southern California 28, No. 4 (Big 10 Champ) Michigan 14
No. 10 (Big East Champ) Miami 16, No. 9 (ACC Champ) Florida State 14
No. 6 (At Large) Ohio State 35, No. 8 (Big 12 Champ) Kansas State 28
No. 16 Mississippi 31, No. 21 Oklahoma State 28
No. 11 Georgia 34, No. 12 Purdue 27 (OT)
No. 23 Maryland 41, No. 20 West Virginia 7
No. 13 Iowa 37, No. 17 Florida 17
Clemson 27, No. 6 Tennessee 14
Georgia Tech 52, Tulsa 10
Texas Tech 38, Navy 14
No. 25 (MWC Champ) Utah 17, (C-USA Champ) Southern Mississippi 0
Virginia 23, Pittsburgh 16
Fresno State 17, UCLA 9
No. 24 Minnesota 31, Oregon 30
No. 15 Washington State 28, No. 5 Texas 20
Boston College 35, Colorado State 21
No. 22 Nebraska 17, Michigan State 3
California 52, Virginia Tech 49
Bowling Green 28, Northwestern 24
No. 18 (WAC Champ) Boise State 34, No. 19 TCU 31
Oregon State 55, New Mexico 14
No. 14 (MAC Champ) Miami (Ohio) 49, Louisville 28
Memphis 27, (Sun Belt Champ) North Texas 17
| Team | Final Record | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. USC (48) | 12–1 | 1,608 | |
| 2. LSU (17) | 13–1 | 1,576 | |
| 12–2 | 1,476 | ||
| 11–2 | 1,411 | ||
| 11–2 | 1,329 | ||
| 10–3 | 1,281 | ||
| 11–3 | 1,255 | ||
| 10–3 | 1,107 | ||
| 10–3 | 1,060 | ||
| 13–1 | 932 | ||
| 10–3 | 905 | ||
| 10–3 | 887 | ||
| 10–3 | 845 | ||
| 11–4 | 833 | ||
| 10–3 | 695 | ||
| 13–1 | 645 | ||
| 10–3 | 564 | ||
| 9–4 | 526 | ||
| 10–3 | 520 | ||
| 10–3 | 368 | ||
| 10–2 | 308 | ||
| 9–4 | 230 | ||
| 11–3 | 189 | ||
| 8–5 | 165 | ||
| 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.
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 | |
| 12–2 | 1,429 | ||
| 11–2 | 1,370 | ||
| 11–2 | 1,306 | ||
| 11–3 | 1,183 | ||
| 10–3 | 1,140 | ||
| 10–3 | 1,119 | ||
| 10–3 | 983 | ||
| 10–3 | 929 | ||
| 10–3 | 894 | ||
| 13–1 | 800 | ||
| 11–4 | 746 | ||
| 10–3 | 730 | ||
| 13–1 | 704 | ||
| 10–3 | 684 | ||
| 10–3 | 553 | ||
| 10–3 | 532 | ||
| 9–4 | 510 | ||
| 10–3 | 462 | ||
| 10–2 | 327 | ||
| 9–4 | 219 | ||
| 11–3 | 170 | ||
| 11–2 | 145 | ||
| 8–5 | 124 |
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.
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 | |
| WR | 253 | 233 | 128 | 1,353 | |||
| QB | 95 | 132 | 161 | 710 | |||
| RB | 27 | 66 | 128 | 341 | |||
| RB | 15 | 30 | 29 | 134 | |||
| QB | 5 | 27 | 58 | 127 | |||
| QB | 18 | 20 | 24 | 118 | |||
| USC | WR | 12 | 12 | 18 | 78 | ||
| QB | 5 | 9 | 14 | 47 | |||
| QB | 1 | 7 | 21 | 38 |
Jason White, Oklahoma
Pete Carroll, USC