2003 USC Trojans football team
| 2003 USC Trojans football | |
|---|---|
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AP national champion Pac-10 champion Rose Bowl champion | |
| Conference | Pacific-10 Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 2 |
| AP | No. 1 |
| 2003 record | 12–1 (7–1 Pac-10) |
| Head coach | Pete Carroll |
| Offensive coordinator | Norm Chow |
| Captain | Keary Colbert |
| Captain | Melvin Simmons |
| Home stadium | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (c. 92,000, grass) |
| 2003 Pacific-10 football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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]
- Will Poole (Round 4, Pick 102)
- Reggie Bush (Round 1, Pick 2)
- Matt Leinart (Round 1, Pick 10)
- 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)
Schedule
The Trojans finished the season with a 12–1 record, 7–1 in the Pac-10.[5]
| Date | Time | Opponent# | Rank# | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 30 | 3:00 PM | at No. 6 Auburn* | No. 8 | Jordan-Hare Stadium • Auburn, AL | CBS | W 23–0 | 86,063 | ||
| September 6 | 5:00 PM | BYU* | No. 5 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA | ABC | W 35–18 | 75,315 | ||
| September 13 | 1:00 PM | Hawaii* | No. 4 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA | FSN | W 61–32 | 73,654 | ||
| September 27 | 3:30 PM | at California | No. 3 | California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA | FSN | L 31–34 3OT | 51,208 | ||
| October 4 | 12:30 PM | at Arizona State | No. 10 | Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ | ABC | W 37–17 | 56,527 | ||
| October 11 | 7:00 PM | Stanford | No. 9 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA | FSN | W 44–21 | 68,341 | ||
| October 18 | 11:30 AM | at Notre Dame* | No. 4 | Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN (Battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh) | NBC | W 45–14 | 80,795 | ||
| October 25 | 12:30 PM | at Washington | No. 4 | Husky Stadium • Seattle, WA | ABC | W 43–23 | 72,015 | ||
| November 1 | 4:00 PM | No. 6 Washington State |
No. 3 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA | ABC | W 43–16 | 82,478 | ||
| November 15 | 4:00 PM | at Arizona | No. 2 | Arizona Stadium • Tucson, AZ | TBS | W 45–0 | 39,201 | ||
| November 22 | 12:30 PM | UCLA | No. 2 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA (Battle for the Victory Bell) | ABC | W 47–22 | 93,172 | ||
| December 6 | 1:30 PM | Oregon State | No. 2 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum • Los Angeles, CA | ABC | W 52–28 | 73,864 | ||
| January 1, 2004 | 1:30 PM | vs. No. 4 Michigan* | No. 1 | Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) | ABC | W 28–14 | 93,849 | ||
| *Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Pacific Time. | |||||||||
Game notes
Auburn
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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
- ↑ Miller, Ted (May 20, 2008). "BCS system leaves long trail of wounded victims". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 20, 2008.
- ↑ Newberg, Jamie (May 22, 2003). "Upon further review ...". SI.com. Retrieved 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, Retrieved April 30, 2008.
- ↑ "2003 FINAL USC Football Statistics - University of Southern California Official Athletic Site". Usctrojans.cstv.com. Retrieved 2016-09-06.
- ↑ Forde, Pat (August 28, 2007) The Dash is off and running, ESPN.com.