2003 USC Trojans football team
| 2003 USC Trojans football | |||
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| Associated Press National Champions Rose Bowl Champions Pac-10 Champions |
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| Rose Bowl vs. Michigan, W 28–14 | |||
| Conference | Pacific-10 Conference | ||
| Ranking | |||
| Coaches | #2 | ||
| AP | #1 | ||
| 2003 record | 12–1 (7–1 Pac-10) | ||
| Head coach | Pete Carroll | ||
| Offensive coordinator | Norm Chow | ||
| Home stadium | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | ||
Seasons
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| 2003 Pacific-10 football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #1 USC † | 7 | – | 1 | 12 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #9 Washington State | 6 | – | 2 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon | 5 | – | 3 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| California | 5 | – | 3 | 8 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oregon State | 4 | – | 4 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Washington | 4 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UCLA | 4 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona State | 2 | – | 6 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stanford | 2 | – | 6 | 4 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arizona | 1 | – | 7 | 2 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll |
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The 2003 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2003-2004 NCAA Division I-A college football season. They were named the Associated Press and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) National Champions but were denied a spot in the BCS Championship Game due to controversy with the BCS selections for the national championship game.
The regular season ended with three one-loss teams in BCS contention: Oklahoma, LSU and USC. USC ended the regular season ranked #1 and LSU #2 in both the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. USC lost one triple-overtime at California, which finished 8–6; LSU had a 12-point home loss against a Florida team that went 8–5; Oklahoma, which had been ranked #1 for most of the season, fell to #3 after suffering a 35–7 defeat in the 2003 Big 12 Championship Game to Kansas State, which finished 11–4. Controversy erupted when the BCS computers selected Oklahoma-LSU as the BCS title game; leading to protests from USC supporters. During the bowl games, USC had a convincing 28–14 win over #4 Michigan in the Rose Bowl while LSU beat Oklahoma 21–14 in the Sugar Bowl (designated the BCS title game). USC remained #1 in the final AP Poll and LSU was ranked, by contractual obligation, #1 in the final Coaches' Poll, though three coaches did not follow instructions and voted USC #1 in that poll as well.[1]
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[edit] Recruiting
With the late arrival of highly touted quarterback John David Booty, who left high school a year early to attend USC, the Trojan's 2003 recruiting class was considered by some to be the best in the country.[2][3]
Its legacy included many NFL Draft picks over several years, including five first round picks.[4]
- Will Poole (Round 4, Pick 102)
- Mike Williams (Round 1,Pick 10)
- Reggie Bush (Round 1, Pick 2)
- LenDale White (Round 2, Pick 45),
- Steve Smith (Round 2, Pick 51)
- Eric Wright (Finished career at UNLV, Round 2, Pick 53)
- Ryan Kalil (Round 2, Pick 59)
- Sedrick Ellis (Round 1, Pick 7)
- Sam Baker (Round 1, Pick 21)
- Lawrence Jackson (Round 1, Pick 28)
- Terrell Thomas (Round 2, Pick 63)
- John David Booty (Round 5, Pick 137)
- Thomas Williams (Round 5, Pick 155)
- Chauncey Washington (Round 7, Pick 213)
[edit] Schedule
The Trojans finished the season with a 12–1 record, 7–1 in the Pac-10.[1]
| Date | Opponent# | Rank# | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | ||
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| August 30 | at #6 Auburn* | #8 | Jordan-Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL | CBS | W 23–0 | 86,063 | ||
| September 6 | BYU* | #5 | Los Angeles Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA | ABC | W 35–18 | 75,315 | ||
| September 13 | Hawaii* | #4 | Los Angeles Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA | FSN | W 61–32 | 73,654 | ||
| September 27 | at California | #3 | Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA | FSN | L 31–34 3OT | 51,208 | ||
| October 4 | at Arizona State | #10 | Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ | ABC | W 37–17 | 71,027 | ||
| October 11 | Stanford | #9 | Los Angeles Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA | FSN | W 44–21 | 68,341 | ||
| October 18 | at Notre Dame* | #4 | Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, IN | NBC | W 45–14 | 80,795 | ||
| October 25 | at Washington | #4 | Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA | ABC | W 43–23 | 72,015 | ||
| November 1 | #6 Washington State |
#3 | Los Angeles Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA | ABC | W 43–16 | 82,478 | ||
| November 15 | at Arizona | #2 | Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ | TBS | W 45–0 | 39,201 | ||
| November 22 | UCLA | #2 | Los Angeles Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA | ABC | W 47–22 | 93,172 | ||
| December 6 | Oregon State | #2 | Los Angeles Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA | ABC | W 52–28 | 73,864 | ||
| January 1, 2004 | vs. #4 Michigan* | #1 | Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) | ABC | W 28–14 | 93,849 | ||
| *Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to game. |
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[edit] Game notes
[edit] Auburn
USC opened the season visiting Auburn University: the Tigers were also ranked in the top-10 and had been named a pre-season favorite to be the national champion by at least one major news organization. In his first start, quarterback Matt Leinart led the Trojans on a domineering 23–0 performance.[5]
[edit] 2003 Team Players in the NFL
- Marcell Allmond
- Kevin Arbet
- Collin Ashton
- Sam Baker
- Darnell Bing
- John David Booty
- William Buchanon
- Reggie Bush
- Dominique Byrd
- Matt Cassel
- Shaun Cody
- Keary Colbert
- Sedrick Ellis
- Matt Grootegoed
- Gregg Guenther
- Alex Holmes
- Ryan Kalil
- Norm Katnik
- Ryan Killeen
- David Kirtman
- Lawrence Jackson
- Winston Justice
- Jason Leach
- Matt Leinart
- Oscar Lua
- Tom Malone
- Fred Matua
- Chris McFoy
- Jason Mitchell
- Mike Patterson
- Will Poole
- Drew Radovich
- LaJuan Ramsey
- Jacob Rogers
- Frostee Rucker
- Dallas Sartz
- Steve Smith
- Matt Spanos
- Lofa Tatupu
- Terrell Thomas
- Kenechi Udeze
- Lenny Vandermade
- John Walker
- Chauncey Washington
- Lee Webb
- LenDale White
- Kyle Williams
- Mike Williams
- Thomas Williams
- Eric Wright
- Manuel Wright
- Justin Wyatt
[edit] References
- ^ Ted Miller, BCS system leaves long trail of wounded victims, ESPN.com, May 20, 2008, Accessed May 20, 2008.
- ^ Jamie Newberg, Upon further review ..., SI.com, May 22, 2003, Accessed April 30, 2008.
- ^ USC wins on recruiting trail by grabbing California talent, USA TODAY, February 6, 2003.
- ^ 2003 USC FOOTBALL SIGNEES, USC Trojans - Official Site, Accessed April 30, 2008.
- ^ Pat Forde, The Dash is off and running, ESPN.com, August 28, 2007
- USC Football Archive (2003 Season), USC Athletic Department.
- 2003 NCAA Football Rankings, ESPN.com.
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