2003 NCAA Division I-A football season

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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[1], AP and coaches' poll[2] 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 does not recognize any champions from Division 1-A football, since there is 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 did not 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 [as of 2007] continues over this year's finish.

Contents

[edit] 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

[edit] Bowl Games

Main article: NCAA football bowl games, 2003-04

Rankings given are AP poll positions at time of game

[edit] 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

[edit] Other New Years Day Bowls

[edit] December Bowl Games

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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)

[edit] Other Major Awards

[edit] References

  1. ^ 2003 Bowl Championship Series Standings. Fox Sports. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
  2. ^ 2003 NCAA Football Rankings. ESPN. Retrieved on 2007-09-28.
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