2003 LSU Tigers football team

2003 Southeastern Conference football standings
	Eastern Division
	Western Division
	Championship: LSU 34, Georgia 13
	# – BCS National Champion; $ – BCS representative as conference champion; x – Division champion/co-champions; y – Championship game participant; Rankings from AP Poll

2003 LSU Tigers football
2003 LSU Tigers football
BCS national champion; SEC champion; SEC Western Division co-champion; Sugar Bowl champion
SEC Championship Game, W 34–13 vs. Georgia
Sugar Bowl (BCS NCG), W 21–14 vs. Oklahoma
Conference	Southeastern Conference
	Western Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 2
2003 record	13–1 (7–1 SEC)
Head coach	Nick Saban (4th season);
Offensive coordinator	Jimbo Fisher (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Will Muschamp (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Tiger Stadium; (Capacity: 91,600)
	Seasons ← 2002 2004 →

The 2003 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University (LSU) during the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. Coached by Nick Saban, the LSU Tigers played their home games at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Tigers compiled an 11–1 regular season record and then defeated the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game, Afterward, LSU was invited to play the Oklahoma Sooners in the Sugar Bowl for the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) national title. LSU won the BCS National Championship Game, the first national football championship for LSU since 1958.

The 2003 college football regular season ended with three one-loss teams in BCS contention: the LSU Tigers, Oklahoma Sooners, and USC Trojans. USC ended the regular season ranked No. 1 and LSU No. 2 in both the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. Media controversy ensued when the BCS computer-based selection system chose LSU and Oklahoma as the participants in the BCS title game, largely based on an assessment of the relative difficulty of the three teams' 2003 schedules. During the bowl games, LSU beat No. 3 Oklahoma 21–14 in the Sugar Bowl (designated as the BCS National Championship Game for the 2003–04 season), while USC defeated the No. 4 Michigan Wolverines 28–14 in the Rose Bowl. LSU was ranked No. 1 in the final Coaches' Poll, and USC remained No. 1 in the final AP Poll.

Schedule[]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	7:00 p.m.	Louisiana–Monroe*	No. 14	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 49–7	89,148
September 6	9:00 p.m.	at Arizona*	No. 13	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	TBS	W 59–13	46,110
September 13	7:00 p.m.	Western Illinois*	No. 12	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 35–7	87,164
September 20	2:30 p.m.	No. 7 Georgia	No. 11	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (College GameDay)	CBS	W 17–10	92,251
September 27	8:00 p.m.	at Mississippi State	No. 7	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS (rivalry)	ESPN2	W 41–6	45,835
October 11	2:30 p.m.	Florida	No. 6	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	CBS	L 7–19	92,077
October 18	6:45 p.m.	at South Carolina	No. 10	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	ESPN2	W 33–7	82,525
October 25	7:00 p.m.	No. 17 Auburn	No. 9	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (Tiger Bowl)	ESPN	W 31–7	92,085
November 1	7:00 p.m.	Louisiana Tech*	No. 7	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	PPV	W 49–10	91,879
November 15	6:45 p.m.	at Alabama	No. 3	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	ESPN	W 27–3	83,818
November 22	2:30 p.m.	at No. 15 Ole Miss	No. 3	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (Magnolia Bowl)	CBS	W 17–14	62,552
November 28	1:30 p.m.	Arkansas	No. 3	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (Battle for the Golden Boot)	CBS	W 55–24	92,213
December 6	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 5 Georgia	No. 3	Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA (SEC Championship Game) (College GameDay)	CBS	W 34–13	74,913
January 4, 2004	7:15 p.m.	vs. No. 3 Oklahoma*	No. 2	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl) (College GameDay)	ABC	W 21–14	79,342
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Roster[]

(LSUSports.net Official Roster)

Quarterbacks

12 Marcus Randall
15 Matt Flynn
18 Matt Mauck
4 JaMarcus Russell
8
19

Running Backs

22
2
23
25 Justin Vincent
10 Joseph Addai
32
22 Alley Broussard

H-Backs

Fullbacks

24
49
35
40 Shawn Jordan
44
11

Wide Receivers

86
13
14 Michael Clayton
9 Devery Henderson
87
4 Michael Russo
81 Dwayne Bowe
85 Craig Davis
17 Bennie Brazell
38
8
80
5 Skyler Green
1

Tight Ends

47 Eric Edwards
82 David Jones
84
83
88
89 Keith Zinger

Center

59
55 Ben Wilkerson
61

Offensive Line

65
62
69
75 Brian Johnson
71 Nate Livings
68
72 Stephen Peterman
67
74
64 Rudy Niswanger
62
73
66
76 Andrew Whitworth
63
60
78
77 Peter Dyakowski

Defensive Line

59

Defensive End

79
84 Marcus Spears
52 Ryan Willis
96
97
94 Marquise Hill
48 Kirston Pittman
53 Tory Collins

Defensive Tackle

98
92
50
89
90 Melvin Oliver
95 Kyle Williams
93 Chad Lavalais

Linebackers

99
45 Willie Demps
35
19
63
57
34
27 Eric Alexander
40
52
47 ^[1]
35
91
56
42 Phillip Maxwell
46
58
51
54 Brian West
55
7 Adrian Mayes

Defensive Backs

37 Daniel Francis
38
6
28
39
9
28
44
30 LaRon Landry
33 Jonathan Zenon
26
31
41

Cornerbacks

13 Corey Webster
24
29 Travis Daniels
1 Ronnie Prude
21 Randall Gay

Safeties

8 Jack Hunt
43

Punters

16 Ross Cockrell
80 Donnie Jones
36

Kickers

35
6 Colt David
41
39

Long Snappers

86
70

Game summaries[]

Louisiana-Monroe[]

^[2]

Arizona[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• LSU	17	21	7	14	59
Arizona	0	0	0	13	13

Date: September 6
Location: Arizona Stadium, Tucson, Arizona
Game start: 10:00 p.m. EST

^[3]

Western Illinois[]

Western Illinois was ranked No. 1 in I-AA and played the Tigers close, only down 13-7 in the 3rd quarter. The Tigers had fumbled twice in the red zone, missed an extra point and a field goal and botched a punt. QB Matt Mauck had a career game to extend the lead in the second half. He set career highs with 305 yards passing and four touchdowns, giving LSU its first 3-0 start in five years.

	1	2	3	4	Total
W Illinois	0	0	7	0	7
• LSU	6	7	15	7	35

Date: September 13
Location: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST
Game attendance: 87,164
Game weather: 79 deg F, Wind E 5-10, 74% humidity

^[4]^[5]

Georgia[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Georgia	3	0	0	7	10
• LSU	0	7	3	7	17

Date: September 20
Location: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST

^[6]

Mississippi State[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• LSU	7	17	10	7	41
Mississippi St	0	0	0	6	6

Date: September 27
Location: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Mississippi
Game start: 9:00 p.m. EST

^[7]

Florida[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Florida	10	3	6	0	19
LSU	7	0	0	0	7

Date: October 11
Location: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST

^[8]

South Carolina[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• LSU	6	13	7	7	33
South Carolina	0	0	7	0	7

Date: October 18
Location: Williams-Brice Stadium, Columbia, South Carolina
Game start: 7:45 p.m. EST

^[9]

Auburn[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Auburn	0	0	0	7	7
• LSU	21	0	10	0	31

Date: October 25
Location: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Game start: 7:45 p.m. EST

^[10]

Louisiana Tech[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Louisiana Tech	0	3	7	0	10
• LSU	28	21	0	0	49

Date: November 1
Location: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST

^[11]

Alabama[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• LSU	10	7	7	3	27
Alabama	0	0	0	3	3

Date: November 15
Location: Bryant–Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Game start: 7:45 p.m. EST

^[12]

Ole Miss[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• LSU	3	7	0	7	17
Ole Miss	7	0	0	7	14

Date: November 22
Location: Vaught–Hemingway Stadium, Oxford, Mississippi
Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST

^[13]

Arkansas[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Arkansas	10	7	0	7	24
• LSU	10	24	21	0	55

Date: November 28
Location: Tiger Stadium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Game start: 2:30 p.m. EST

^[14]

SEC Championship Game[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• LSU	8	9	7	10	34
Georgia	0	3	10	0	13

Date: December 6
Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta
Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST
Television network: CBS

^[15]

Sugar Bowl[]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oklahoma	0	7	0	7	14
• LSU	7	7	7	0	21

Date: January 4
Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST
Television network: ABC

LSU Tigers in the 2004 National Football League Draft[]

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Overall	NFL team
Michael Clayton	Wide Receiver	1	15	15	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Devery Henderson	Wide Receiver	2	18	50	New Orleans Saints
Marquise Hill	Defensive End	2	31	63	New England Patriots
Stephen Peterman	Offensive Guard	3	20	83	Dallas Cowboys
Chad Lavalais	Defensive Tackle	5	10	142	Atlanta Falcons
Donnie Jones	Punter	7	23	224	Seattle Seahawks
Matt Mauck	Quarterback	7	24	225	Denver Broncos

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/2004.htm

References[]

^ "LSU Football Spring Guide" (PDF). LSU. LSU. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
^ ESPN
^ ESPN
^ ESPN Game Summary
^ Sidearm Sports - Scoring Summary
^ ESPN
^ ESPN
^ ESPN
^ ESPN
^ ESPN
^ ESPN
^ ESPN
^ ESPN
^ ESPN
^ ESPN

[1] "LSU Football Spring Guide" (PDF). LSU. LSU. Retrieved 12 September 2018.

[2] ESPN

[3] ESPN

[4] ESPN Game Summary

[5] Sidearm Sports - Scoring Summary

[6] ESPN

[7] ESPN

[8] ESPN

[9] ESPN

[10] ESPN

[11] ESPN

[12] ESPN

[13] ESPN

[14] ESPN

[15] ESPN

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

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Bowl Alliance	1995: Nebraska 1996: Florida 1997: Michigan (AP, FWAA, NFF) / Nebraska (Bowl Alliance, Coaches)
Bowl Championship Series	1998: Tennessee 1999: Florida State 2000: Oklahoma 2001: Miami (FL) 2002: Ohio State 2003: LSU (BCS, Coaches, NFF) / USC (AP, FWAA) 2004: USC (vacated) 2005: Texas 2006: Florida 2007: LSU 2008: Florida 2009: Alabama 2010: Auburn 2011: Alabama 2012: Alabama 2013: Florida State
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2003 LSU Tigers football

BCS national champion SEC champion SEC Western Division co-champion Sugar Bowl champion
SEC Championship Game, W 34–13 vs. Georgia
Sugar Bowl (BCS NCG), W 21–14 vs. Oklahoma
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Western Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 2
2003 record	13–1 (7–1 SEC)
Head coach	Nick Saban (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Jimbo Fisher (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Will Muschamp (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Tiger Stadium (Capacity: 91,600)
Seasons ← 2002 2004 →

2003 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
Eastern Division
No. 7 Georgia xy		6	–	2		11	–	3
No. 15 Tennessee x		6	–	2		10	–	3
No. 24 Florida x		6	–	2		8	–	5
South Carolina		2	–	6		5	–	7
Vanderbilt		1	–	7		2	–	10
Kentucky		1	–	7		4	–	8
Western Division
No. 2 LSU xy$#		7	–	1		13	–	1
No. 13 Ole Miss x		7	–	1		10	–	3
Auburn		5	–	3		8	–	5
Arkansas		4	–	4		9	–	4
Alabama		2	–	6		4	–	9
Mississippi State		1	–	7		2	–	10
Championship: LSU 34, Georgia 13
# – BCS National Champion $ – BCS representative as conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll