2003 USC Trojans football team

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.

Contents

• Recruiting
• Schedule
• References

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. 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).