2003–04 NCAA football bowl games

2003–04 NCAA football bowl games
Gameplay during the BCS National Championship Sugar Bowl for the 2003 season
Season2003
Number of bowls28
All-star games5
Bowl gamesDecember 16, 2003 –
January 4, 2004
National Championship2004 Sugar Bowl
Location of ChampionshipLouisiana Superdome,
New Orleans, Louisiana
ChampionsLSU Tigers (BCS/Coaches) & USC Trojans (AP)
Bowl Challenge Cup winnerACC
Bowl record by conference
Conference Bowls Record Final AP poll
Big Ten 8 3–5 (0.375) 5
Big 12 8 2–6 (0.250) 5
SEC 7 5–2 (0.714) 5
ACC 6 5–1 (0.833) 2
Pac-10 6 4–2 (0.667) 2
Big East 5 2–3 (0.400) 2
Conference USA 5 1–4 (0.200) 1
WAC 4 3–1 (0.750) 1
Mountain West 3 1–2 (0.333) 1
MAC 2 2–0 (1.000) 1
Sun Belt 1 0–1 (0.000) 0
Independents 1 0–1 (0.000) 0

The 2003–04 NCAA football bowl games were a series of 28 post-season games (including the Bowl Championship Series) played in December 2003 and January 2004 for Division I-A football teams and their all-stars. The post-season began with the New Orleans Bowl on December 16, 2003, and concluded on January 31, 2004, with the season-ending Gridiron Classic.

A total of 28 team-competitive games, and two all-star games, were played. To fill the 56 available bowl slots, four teams with non-winning seasons participated in bowl games—all four had a .500 (6–6) season. While teams that did not have winning seasons were invited to bowl games, seven teams with winning records were left out: Northern Illinois (10–2); Connecticut (9-3); Marshall and Toledo (both 8–4); Air Force and Akron (both 7–5); and South Florida (7–4).

Poll rankings

The below table lists top teams (per polls taken after the completion of the regular season and any conference championship games), their win–loss records (prior to bowl games), and the bowls they later played in. The AP column represents rankings per the AP Poll,[1] while the BCS column represents the Bowl Championship Series rankings.[2]

AP BCS Team W–L Bowl
1
3
 USC Trojans
11–1
 Rose Bowl †
2
2
 LSU Tigers
12–1
 Sugar Bowl †
3
1
 Oklahoma Sooners
12–1
 Sugar Bowl †
4
4
 Michigan Wolverines
10–2
 Rose Bowl †
5
6
 Texas Longhorns
10–2
 Holiday Bowl
6
8
 Tennessee Volunteers
10–2
 Peach Bowl
7
5
 Ohio State Buckeyes
10–2
 Fiesta Bowl †
8
10
 Kansas State Wildcats
11–3
 Fiesta Bowl †
9
7
 Florida State Seminoles
10–2
 Orange Bowl †
10
9
 Miami Hurricanes
10–2
 Orange Bowl †
11
12
 Georgia Bulldogs
10–3
 Capital One Bowl
12
14
 Purdue Boilermakers
9–3
 Capital One Bowl
13
13
 Iowa Hawkeyes
9–3
 Outback Bowl
14
11
 Miami (Ohio) RedHawks
12–1
 GMAC Bowl
15
—
 Washington State Cougars
9–3
 Holiday Bowl
16
—
 Ole Miss Rebels
9–3
 Cotton Bowl Classic
17
15
 Florida Gators
8–4
 Outback Bowl
18
—
 Boise State Broncos
12–1
 Fort Worth Bowl
19
—
 TCU Horned Frogs
11–1
 Fort Worth Bowl
20
—
 West Virginia Mountaineers
8–4
 Gator Bowl
21
—
 Oklahoma State Cowboys
9–3
 Cotton Bowl Classic
22
—
 Nebraska Cornhuskers
9–3
 Alamo Bowl
23
—
 Maryland Terrapins
9–3
 Gator Bowl
24
—
 Minnesota Golden Gophers
9–3
 Sun Bowl
25
—
 Utah Utes
9–2
 Liberty Bowl

† denotes a BCS bowl game

Schedule

Non BCS Contests[3][4]
Date Game Site Time
(US EST) 		TV Matchup
(pre-game record) 		AP
pre-game
rank 		USA Today
pre-game
rank
12/16 New Orleans Bowl Louisiana Superdome
New Orleans, Louisiana 		7 PM ESPN2 Memphis 27 (8–4),
North Texas 17 (9–3) 		NR
NR 		NR
NR
12/18 GMAC Bowl Ladd–Peebles Stadium
Mobile, Alabama 		7:30 PM ESPN2 Miami (Ohio) 49 (12–1),
Louisville 28 (9–3) 		#14
NR 		#15
NR
12/22 Tangerine Bowl Citrus Bowl
Orlando, Florida 		5:30 PM ESPN North Carolina State 56 (7–5),
Kansas 26 (6–6) 		NR
NR 		NR
NR
12/23 Fort Worth Bowl Amon G. Carter Stadium
Fort Worth, Texas 		7:30 PM ESPN2 Boise State 34 (12–1),
TCU 31 (11–1) 		#18
#19 		#16
#19
12/24 Las Vegas Bowl Sam Boyd Stadium
Whitney, Nevada 		7:30 PM ESPN Oregon State 55 (7–5),
New Mexico 14 (8–4) 		NR
NR 		NR
NR
12/25 Hawai'i Bowl Aloha Stadium
Honolulu, Hawaii 		8:00 PM ESPN Hawaii 54 (8–5),
Houston 48 (7–5) 		NR
NR 		NR
NR
12/26 Motor City Bowl Ford Field
Detroit, Michigan 		5:00 PM ESPN Bowling Green 28 (10–3),
Northwestern 24 (6–6) 		NR
NR 		NR
NR
12/26 Insight Bowl Bank One Ballpark
Phoenix, Arizona 		8:30 PM ESPN California 52 (7–6),
Virginia Tech 49 (8–4) 		NR
NR 		NR
NR
12/27 Continental Tire Bowl Bank of America Stadium
Charlotte, North Carolina 		11:00 AM ESPN2 Virginia 23 (7–5),
Pittsburgh 16 (8–4) 		NR
NR 		NR
NR
12/29 Alamo Bowl Alamodome
San Antonio, Texas 		9:00 PM ESPN Nebraska 17 (9–3),
Michigan State 3 (8–4) 		#22
NR 		#21
NR
12/30 Houston Bowl Reliant Stadium
Houston, Texas 		4:30 PM ESPN Texas Tech 38 (7–5),
Navy 14 (8–4) 		NR
NR 		NR
NR
12/30 Holiday Bowl Qualcomm Stadium
San Diego, California 		8:00 PM ESPN Washington State 28 (9–3),
Texas 20 (10–2) 		#15
#5 		#14
#5
12/30 Silicon Valley Football Classic Spartan Stadium
San Jose, California 		10:30 PM ESPN2 Fresno State 17 (8–5),
UCLA 9 (6–6) 		NR
NR 		NR
NR
12/31 Music City Bowl LP Field
Nashville, Tennessee 		12:00 PM ESPN Auburn 28 (7–5),
Wisconsin 14 (7–5) 		NR
NR 		NR
NR
12/31 Sun Bowl Sun Bowl Stadium
El Paso, Texas 		2:00 PM CBS Minnesota 31 (9–3),
Oregon 30 (8–4) 		#24
NR 		#20
NR
12/31 Liberty Bowl Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
Memphis, Tennessee 		3:30 PM ESPN Utah 17 (9–2),
Southern Miss 0 (9–3) 		#25
NR 		#25
NR
12/31 Independence Bowl Independence Stadium
Shreveport, Louisiana 		7:30 PM ESPN Arkansas 27 (8–4),
Missouri 14 (8–4) 		NR
NR 		NR
NR
12/31 San Francisco Bowl Pacific Bell Park
San Francisco, California 		10:30 PM ESPN2 Boston College 32 (7–5),
Colorado State 21 (7–5) 		NR
NR 		NR
NR
1/1 Outback Bowl Raymond James Stadium
Tampa, Florida 		11:00 AM ESPN Iowa 37, (9–3)
Florida 17 (8–4) 		#13
#17 		#12
#17
1/1 Gator Bowl Alltel Stadium
Jacksonville, Florida 		12:30 PM NBC Maryland 41, (9–3)
West Virginia 7 (8–4) 		#23
#20 		#24
#23
1/1 Capital One Bowl Citrus Bowl
Orlando, Florida 		1:00 PM ABC Georgia 34, (10–3)
Purdue 27 (9–3) 		#11
#12 		#11
#13
1/2 Cotton Bowl Classic Cotton Bowl
Dallas, Texas 		2:00 PM FOX Mississippi 31, (9–3)
Oklahoma State 28 (9–3) 		#16
#21 		#18
#22
1/2 Peach Bowl Georgia Dome
Atlanta, Georgia 		4:30 PM ESPN Clemson 27 (8–5),
Tennessee 14 (10–2) 		NR
#6 		NR
#7
1/3 Humanitarian Bowl Bronco Stadium
Boise, Idaho 		12 PM ESPN Georgia Tech 52 (6–6),
Tulsa 10 (8–4) 		NR
NR 		NR
NR
Bowl Championship Series[3][4]
Date Game Site Time
(US EST) 		TV Matchup AP rank BCS rank
1/1 Rose Bowl Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California 		4:30 PM ABC USC 28 (11–1) (Pac-10 Champion),
Michigan (Big Ten Champion) 14 (10–2) 		#1
#4 		#3
#4
1/1 Orange Bowl Dolphin Stadium
Miami Gardens, Florida 		8:30 PM ABC Miami 16 (10–2) (Big East Champion),
Florida State (ACC Champion) 14 (10–2) 		#10
#9 		#9
#7
1/2 Fiesta Bowl Sun Devil Stadium
Tempe, Arizona 		8 PM ABC Ohio State 35 (10–2),
Kansas State 28 (11–3) (Big 12 Champion) 		#7
#8 		#5
#10
1/4 Sugar Bowl (BCS National Championship Game) Louisiana Superdome
New Orleans, Louisiana 		8 PM ABC LSU 21 (12–1) (SEC Champion),
Oklahoma 14 (12–1) 		#2
#3 		#2
#1

Conference bowl representation

Conference Bowl Appearances Top 25 (December 7 Polls)
 #  Record % Winners Losers  #  Teams AP Rank CP Rank
 Mid-American 2 2–0  1.000  Miami (Ohio)
Bowling Green 		1 Miami (Ohio) #14 #15
 ACC 6 5–1  0.833  Maryland
Georgia Tech
Clemson
NC State
Virginia 		Florida State 2 Florida State #9 #8
Maryland #23 #24
 Western Athletic 4 3–1  0.750  Boise State
Hawaii
Fresno State 		Tulsa 1 Boise State #18 #16
 SEC 7 5–2  0.714  LSU
Georgia
Mississippi
Auburn
Arkansas 		Tennessee
Florida 		5 LSU #2 #2
Tennessee #6 #7
Georgia #11 #11
Mississippi #16 #18
Florida #17 #17
 Pac-10 6 4–2  0.667  USC
Washington State
Oregon State
California 		Oregon
UCLA 		2 USC #1 #1
Washington State #15 #14
 Big East 5 2–3  0.400  Miami
Boston College 		West Virginia
Virginia Tech
Pittsburgh 		2 Miami #10 #9
West Virginia #20 #23
 Big 10 8 3–5  0.375  Ohio State
Iowa
Minnesota 		Michigan
Purdue
Michigan State
Wisconsin
Northwestern 		5 Michigan #4 #4
Ohio State #7 #6
Iowa #13 #12
Purdue #12 #13
Minnesota #24 #20
 Mountain West 3 1–2  0.333  Utah New Mexico
Colorado State 		1 Utah #25 #25
 Big 12 8 2–6  0.250  Nebraska
Texas Tech 		Oklahoma
Texas
Kansas State
Oklahoma State
Kansas
Missouri 		5 Oklahoma #3 #3
Texas #5 #5
Kansas State #8 #10
Nebraska #22 #21
Oklahoma State #21 #22
 Conference USA 5 1–4  0.200  Memphis TCU
Louisville
Houston
Southern Miss 		1 TCU #19 #19
 Sun Belt 1 0–1  0.000  North Texas 0 none
 Independents 1 0–1  0.000  Navy 0 none

All-star games

Date Game Winning Team Losing Team Venue City
January 10, 2004 East–West Shrine Game West Team 28 East Team 7 SBC Park San Francisco, California
January 17, 2004 Las Vegas All-American Classic West Team 14 East Team 7 Sam Boyd Stadium Las Vegas, Nevada
January 17, 2004 Hula Bowl South (Aina) 26 North (Kai) 7 War Memorial Stadium Wailuku, Hawaii
January 24, 2004 Senior Bowl South Team 28 North Team 10 Ladd–Peebles Stadium Mobile, Alabama
January 31, 2004 Gridiron Classic North All-Stars 35 South All-Stars 31 The Villages Polo Stadium The Villages, Florida

References

  1. ^ "AP Poll". Tampa Bay Times. December 8, 2003. p. 49. Retrieved December 5, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Bowl Championship Series Rankings". Tampa Bay Times. December 8, 2003. p. 49. Retrieved December 5, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b "ESPN College FB Scoreboard (2003)". Retrieved January 1, 2009.
  4. ^ a b "2003-2004 Bowl Results (about.com)". Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved January 1, 2009.