2003 LSU Tigers football
Coaches' Poll national champion
BCS national champion
NFF national champion
SEC champion
SEC Western Division co-champion
Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl (BCS NCG), W 21–14 vs. Oklahoma
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionWestern Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 2
Record13–1 (7–1 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJimbo Fisher (4th season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorWill Muschamp (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumTiger Stadium
Seasons
← 2002
2004 →
2003 Southeastern Conference football standings
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

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 (which was contractually obligated to rank the BCS champion No. 1) while USC remained No. 1 in the final AP Poll.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 307:00 p.m.Louisiana–Monroe*No. 14
W 49–789,148
September 69:00 p.m.at Arizona*No. 13
TBSW 59–1346,110
September 137:00 p.m.Western Illinois*No. 12
  • Tiger Stadium
  • Baton Rouge, LA
W 35–787,164
September 202:30 p.m.No. 7 GeorgiaNo. 11
CBSW 17–1092,251
September 278:00 p.m.at Mississippi StateNo. 7
ESPN2W 41–645,835
October 112:30 p.m.FloridaNo. 6
  • Tiger Stadium
  • Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)
CBSL 7–1992,077
October 186:45 p.m.at South CarolinaNo. 10
ESPN2W 33–782,525
October 257:00 p.m.No. 17 AuburnNo. 9
ESPNW 31–792,085
November 17:00 p.m.Louisiana Tech*daggerNo. 7
  • Tiger Stadium
  • Baton Rouge, LA
PPVW 49–1091,879
November 156:45 p.m.at AlabamaNo. 3
ESPNW 27–383,818
November 222:30 p.m.at No. 15 Ole MissNo. 3
CBSW 17–1462,552
November 281:30 p.m.ArkansasNo. 3
CBSW 55–2492,213
December 68:00 p.m.vs. No. 5 GeorgiaNo. 3
CBSW 34–1374,913
January 4, 20047:15 p.m.vs. No. 3 Oklahoma*No. 2
ABCW 21–1479,342
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

Rankings

See also: 2003 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
AP141312117661097433332 (21)2 (17)
Coaches151311107661098433332 (18)1 (60)
BCSNot released127744332Not released

Roster

(LSUSports.net Official Roster)

Quarterbacks

Running backs

H-Backs

Fullbacks

  • 24 Tyler Olivier
  • 49 Michael Ricks
  • 35 Brandon Nowlin
  • 40 Shawn Jordan
  • 44 Kevin Steltz
  • 11 Jason Lile

Wide receivers

 

Tight ends

Center

Offensive line

Defensive line

  • 59 Leo Desselle

Defensive end

 

Defensive tackle

Linebackers

  • 99 Jason LeDoux
  • 45 Willie Demps
  • 35 Mark Martin
  • 19 Darius Ingram
  • 63 Patrick McGibboney
  • 57 Dave Peterson
  • 34 Dorsett Buckels
  • 27 Eric Alexander
  • 40 Barrett Dupuy
  • 52 Joey Noto
  • 47 Dustin Adams[1]
  • 35 Micah Metrailer
  • 91 Alonzo Manuel
  • 56 Kenneth Hollis
  • 42 Phillip Maxwell
  • 46 Cameron Vaughn
  • 58 Lionel Turner
  • 51 Dominic Cooper
  • 54 Brian West
  • 55 Chris McCauley
  • 7 Adrian Mayes

Defensive backs

  • 37 Daniel Francis
  • 38 Vernon Russell, Jr.
  • 6 Ryan Gilbert
  • 28 Jeff Cook
  • 39 Troy Hankton
  • 9 Corey Meredith
  • 28 Greg Hercules
  • 44 Patrick Babinecz
  • 30 LaRon Landry
  • 33 Jonathan Zenon
  • 26 Nick Child
  • 31 Jessie Daniels
  • 41 Marcques Lewis
  

Cornerbacks

Safeties

Punters

Kickers

  • 35 Andre Boagni
  • 6 Colt David
  • 41 Chris Jackson
  • 39 Ryan Gaudet

Long snappers

  • 86 Steve Damen
  • 70 Gant Petty

Game summaries

Louisiana–Monroe

1 234Total
LA-Monroe 0 007 7
• LSU 0 21217 49

[2]

Arizona

1 234Total
• LSU 17 21714 59
Arizona 0 0013 13

[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 234Total
W Illinois 0 070 7
• LSU 6 7157 35
Scoring summary
Q108:18LSUMichael Clayton 10 yd pass from Matt Mauck (Ryan Gaudet kick failed)LSU 6–0
Q20:42LSUShyrone Carey 1 yd run (Chris Jackson kick)LSU 13–0
Q310:08WIUTerrence Hall 3 yd pass from Russ Michna (Justin Langan kick)LSU 13-7
Q35:00LSUSkyler Green 8 yd pass from Matt Mauck (Matt Mauck rush)LSU 21–7
Q32:26LSUSkyler Green 40 yd pass from Matt Mauck (Chris Jackson kick)LSU 28-7
Q48:29AUBD. Henderson 16 yd pass from Matt Mauck (Chris Jackson kick)LSU 35–7

[4][5]

Georgia

1 234Total
Georgia 3 007 10
• LSU 0 737 17
Scoring summary
Q16:20UGABilly Bennett 33 yard field goalUGA 3–0
Q23:10LSUShyrone Carey 21 yard run (Ryan Gaudet kick)LSU 7–3
Q36:23LSURyan Gaudet 47 yard field goalLSU 10–3
Q44:25UGATyson Browning 93 yard pass from David Greene (Billy Bennett kick)Tie 10–10
Q41:22LSUSkyler Green 34 yard pass from Matt Mauck (Ryan Gaudet kick)LSU 17–10

[6]

Mississippi State

1 234Total
• LSU 7 17107 41
Mississippi St 0 006 6

[7]

Florida

1 234Total
• Florida 10 360 19
LSU 7 000 7

[8]

South Carolina

1 234Total
• LSU 6 1377 33
South Carolina 0 070 7

[9]

Auburn

1 234Total
Auburn 0 007 7
• LSU 21 0100 31
Scoring summary
Q113:01LSUDevery Henderson 64 yard pass from Matt Mauck (Ryan Gaudet kick)LSU 7–0
Q17:43LSUMichael Clayton 18 yard pass from Matt Mauck (Ryan Gaudet kick)LSU 14–0
Q12:58LSUAlley Broussard 5 yard run (Ryan Gaudet kick)LSU 21–0
Q38:28LSURyan Gaudet 33 yard field goalLSU 24–0
Q33:46LSUDevery Henderson 16 yard pass from Matt Mauck (Ryan Gaudet kick)LSU 31–0
Q46:10AUBAnthony Mix 6 yard pass from Jason Campbell (Philip Yost kick)LSU 31–7

[10]

Louisiana Tech

1 234Total
Louisiana Tech 0 370 10
• LSU 28 2100 49

[11]

Alabama

1 234Total
• LSU 10 773 27
Alabama 0 003 3
Scoring summary
Q110:34LSUChris Jackson 20 yard field goalLSU 3–0
Q19:16LSUMichael Clayton 23 yard pass from Matt Mauck (Chris Jackson kick)LSU 10–0
Q22:03LSUEric Edwards 3 yard pass from Matt Mauck (Chris Jackson kick)LSU 17–0
Q39:15LSUAlley Broussard 4 yard run (Chris Jackson kick)LSU 24–0
Q410:11LSUChris Jackson 33 yard field goalLSU 27–0
Q46:39ALABrian Bostick 27 yard field goalLSU 27–3

[12]

Ole Miss

1 234Total
• LSU 3 707 17
Ole Miss 7 007 14
Scoring summary
Q113:54MISSTravis Johnson 6 yard interception return (Jonathan Nichols kick)MISS 7–0
Q16:44LSUChris Jackson 45 yard field goalMISS 7–3
Q22:42LSUMichael Clayton 9 yard pass from Matt Mauck (Chris Jackson kick)LSU 10–7
Q414:50LSUDevery Henderson 53 yard pass from Matt Mauck (Chris Jackson kick)LSU 17–7
Q410:51MISSBrandon Jacobs 10 yard pass from Eli Manning (Jonathan Nichols kick)LSU 17–14

[13]

Arkansas

1 234Total
Arkansas 10 707 24
• LSU 10 24210 55

[14]

SEC Championship Game

1 234Total
• LSU 8 9710 34
Georgia 0 3100 13

[15]

Sugar Bowl

1 234Total
Oklahoma 0 707 14
• LSU 7 770 21
Scoring summary
Q111:38LSUSkyler Green 24 yard run (Ryan Gaudet kick)LSU 7–0
Q27:31OKLAKejuan Jones 1 yard run (Trey DiCarlo kick)Tie 7–7
Q24:21LSUJustin Vincent 18 yard run (Ryan Gaudet kick)LSU 14–7
Q314:13LSUMarcus Spears 20 yard interception return (Ryan Gaudet kick)LSU 21–7
Q411:01OKLAKejuan Jones 1 yard run (Trey DiCarlo kick)LSU 21–14

LSU Tigers in the 2004 NFL 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 Archived 2007-12-23 at the Wayback Machine

References

  1. ^ "LSU Football Spring Guide" (PDF). LSU. LSU. Retrieved September 12, 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
Categories