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2003 USC Trojans football team

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{{{year}}} [[{{{team}}} football]]
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 1
2003 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 1 USC $   7 – 1     12 – 1  
No. 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

The 2003 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A 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 National Championship Game by 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 game 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. 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 with 48 of the 65 votes, 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] Their offensive players include QB#10 Matt Cassel (JR), QB#11 Matt Leinart (SO), RB#40 Brandon Hancock (SO), RB#34 Hershel Dennis (SO), WR#7 Sandy Fletcher (SR), WR#19 Greig Carlson (SO), WR#31 William Buchanon (SO), WR#83 Keary Colbert (SR), WR#82 Chris McFoy (FR), WR#15 Jason Mitchell (SO), WR#2 Steve Smith (FR), RB#23 Chauncey Washington (FR), RB#35 Lee Webb (JR), RB#21 Lendale White (FR), WR#1 Mike Williams (SO), RB#28 Andre Woodert (FR), TE#44 Gregg Guenther (SO), and RB#37 David Kirtman (SO).

Recruiting

With the late arrival of highly touted quarterback John David Booty, who left high school a year early to attend USC, the Trojans' 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]

2004 NFL Draft:

2006 NFL Draft:

2007 NFL Draft:

2008 NFL Draft:

Schedule

The Trojans finished the season with a 12–1 record, 7–1 in the Pac-10.[5]

August 303:00 PMat No. 6 Auburn*No. 8

CBSW 23–0 86,063 September 65:00 PMBYU*No. 5

ABCW 35–18 75,315 September 131:00 PMHawaii*No. 4

  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA

FSNW 61–32 73,654 September 273:30 PMat CaliforniaNo. 3

FSNL 31–34 3OT51,208 October 412:30 PMat Arizona StateNo. 10

ABCW 37–17 56,527 October 117:00 PMStanfordNo. 9

  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA

FSNW 44–21 68,341 October 1811:30 AMat Notre Dame*No. 4

NBCW 45–14 80,795 October 2512:30 PMat WashingtonNo. 4

ABCW 43–23 72,015 November 14:00 PMNo. 6 Washington StatedaggerNo. 3

  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA

ABCW 43–16 82,478 November 154:00 PMat ArizonaNo. 2

TBSW 45–0 39,201 November 2212:30 PMUCLANo. 2

ABCW 47–22 93,172 December 61:30 PMOregon StateNo. 2

  • Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
  • Los Angeles, CA

ABCW 52–28 73,864 January 1, 20041:30 PMvs. No. 4 Michigan*No. 1

ABCW 28–14 93,849

Template:CFB Schedule End

Game summaries

Auburn

1 234Total
• USC 10 067 23
Auburn 0 000 0
Scoring summary
112:38USCMike Williams 5 yard pass from Matt Leinart (Ryan Killeen kick)USC 7-0
13:21USCRyan Killeen 28 yard field goalUSC 10-0
311:50USCRyan Killeen 42 yard field goalUSC 13-0
37:22USCRyan Killeen 35 yard field goalUSC 16-0
413:51USCHershel Dennis 14 yard run (Ryan Killeen kick)YSC 23-0

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 dominating 23–0 performance.[6]

References

  1. ^ Miller, Ted (May 20, 2008). "BCS system leaves long trail of wounded victims". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
  2. ^ Newberg, Jamie (May 22, 2003). "Upon further review ..." SI.com. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
  3. ^ "USC wins on recruiting trail by grabbing California talent". USA Today. February 6, 2003.
  4. ^ 2003 USC FOOTBALL SIGNEES, USC Trojans - Official Site, Retrieved April 30, 2008.
  5. ^ "2003 FINAL USC Football Statistics - University of Southern California Official Athletic Site". Usctrojans.cstv.com. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
  6. ^ Forde, Pat (August 28, 2007) The Dash is off and running, ESPN.com.
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