2003 NCAA Division I-A football season Totally Explained

Everything about 2003 Ncaa Division I-a Football Season totally explained

The 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) causing an abundance of controversy.
   Three BCS teams finished with one loss, and the system had to choose two to play in the title game. USC had lost a triple overtime thriller at California on September 27. LSU lost at home to Florida on October 11. Oklahoma had been #1 in every BCS rating, AP and coaches' poll of the season, but then lost badly to Kansas State in the Big 12 title game on December 6. USC finished #1 in both polls, but both USC and LSU fell short on several computer factors. Oklahoma had better schedule strength (11 to LSU's 29 and USC's 37), schedule rank (0.44 to LSU's 1.16 and USC's 1.48), and quality wins. As such, despite the timing of Oklahoma's loss affecting the human voters, the computers kept Oklahoma at #1 in the BCS poll, with LSU and USC separated by only 0.16 points.
   LSU defeated Oklahoma in the BCS National Championship Game, securing them the BCS National Championship and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Title. USC, meanwhile, beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl. The majority of AP voters refused to drop their end-of-season #1 after the bowl win, although there was a precedent for doing so. In 1997, the coaches' poll dropped an undefeated Michigan team after the Rose Bowl in favor of Nebraska and retiring coach Tom Osborne.
   The legitimacy of claiming 2003 to be a split championship season is challenged by a number of fans, most especially those from LSU. Supporters of this argument claim that by agreeing to participate in the current system, schools also recognize that the BCS produces an indisputable national champion. They also note that the AP was a party to the agreement, under which the polls were merely a component. The other side argues that the BCS is no more an authoritative body than the Bowl Coalition or the Bowl Alliance, and there were split titles under those systems as well. Also, the NCAA doesn't recognize any champions from Division 1-A football, since there's no undisputed postseason system. It is important to remember that the bowls are not NCAA events, merely exhibitions, although since the award giving bodies began factoring in the bowls in their final polls, these exhibitions have risen in importance.
   On January 9, 2003, Ted Waitt, CEO of Gateway Computers offered the NCAA $31 million for a national championship game between USC and Louisiana State. The NCAA didn't consider the offer, leaving the year without an unarguable national champion.
   The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award sponsored by ESPN chose USC coach Pete Carroll as their award recipient, while the Paul Bryant Coach of the Year 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. 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.
   Texas was also affected by the BCS controversy. Oklahoma's late loss kept Texas from appearing in one of the BCS games. Had Oklahoma won the Big 12 championship, the two at-large teams would have been Ohio State and Texas. But with the loss, Kansas State received the Big 12 bid and Oklahoma one of the at-large bids, leaving #5 Texas on the outside looking in. Texas lost to Washington State in the Holiday Bowl.
   Two non-BCS teams also finished with one loss, Boise State and Miami (OH), stirring the debate of the BCS being unfair to mid-major teams.
   Despite being several years in the past, the debate still [asof 2007] continues over this year's finish.

Bowl Championship Series Rankings

WEEK	#1	#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

Bowl Games

Rankings given are AP poll positions at time of game

BCS Bowls

Sugar Bowl, BCS National Championship Game: #2 (BCS #1) LSU 21, #3 (BCS #2) Oklahoma 14
Rose Bowl: #1 (Pac10 Champ) Southern California 28, #4 (Big10 Champ) Michigan 14
Orange Bowl: #10 (Big East Champ) Miami 16, #9 (ACC Champ) Florida State 14
Fiesta Bowl: #7 (At Large) Ohio State 35, #8 (BigXII Champ) Kansas State 28

Other New Years Day Bowls

Cotton Bowl: #16 Mississippi 31, #21 Oklahoma State 28

Capital One Bowl: #11 Georgia 34, #12 Purdue 27 (OT)

Gator Bowl: #23 Maryland 41, West Virginia 7

Outback Bowl: #13 Iowa 37, #17 Florida 17

Peach Bowl: Clemson 27, #6 Tennessee 14

Humanitarian Bowl: Georgia Tech 52, Tulsa 10

December Bowl Games

Houston Bowl: Texas Tech 38, Navy 14

Liberty Bowl: #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 Classic: Fresno State 17, UCLA 9

Sun Bowl: #24 Minnesota 31, Oregon 30

Music City Bowl: Auburn 28, Wisconsin 14

Holiday Bowl: #15 Washington State 28, #5 Texas 20

San Francisco Bowl: Boston College 35, Colorado State 21

Alamo Bowl: Nebraska 17, Michigan State 3

Insight Bowl: California 52, Virginia Tech 49

Tangerine Bowl: NC State 56, Kansas 26

Motor City Bowl: (MAC Champ) Bowling Green 28, Northwestern 24

Hawai'i Bowl: Hawai'i 54, Houston 48 (3 OT)

Fort Worth Bowl: #18 (WAC Champ) Boise State 34, #19 TCU 31

Las Vegas Bowl: Oregon State 55, New Mexico 14

GMAC Bowl: #14 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-Florida	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-Ohio	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, 31. Oregon State 8, 32. Pittsburgh 7, 33. N.C. State 7, 34. West Virginia 4, 35. Connecticut 2.

Final Coaches Poll

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 (Fla.)	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 (Ohio)	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

Dropped out
   No. 22 Oklahoma State (9-4), No. 23 West Virginia (8-5).
    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 (8-5) 1; Missouri (8-5) 1; North Texas (9-4) 1.

Heisman Trophy Voting

The Heisman Trophy is given to the most outstanding player of the year
Winner: Jason White (Jr.), QB, Oklahoma (1,481 points)

2 Larry Fitzgerald (So.), WR, Pittsburgh (1,353 points)

3 Eli Manning (Sr.), QB, Mississippi (710 points)

4 Chris Perry(Sr.), RB, Michigan (341 points)

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, Fla.

Lombardi Award (top lineman): 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: 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, USCFurther Information

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