A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| 2003 LSU Tigers football | |
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Coaches' Poll national champion BCS national champion NFF national champion SEC champion SEC Western Division co-champion Sugar Bowl champion | |
SEC Championship Game, W 34–13 vs. Georgia | |
| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| Western Division | |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 1 |
| AP | No. 2 |
| Record | 13–1 (7–1 SEC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Jimbo Fisher (4th season) |
| Offensive scheme | Pro-style |
| Defensive coordinator | Will Muschamp (2nd season) |
| Base defense | 4–3 |
| Home stadium | Tiger Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
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| August 30 | 7:00 p.m. | Louisiana–Monroe* | No. 14 | W 49–7 | 89,148 | ||
| September 6 | 9:00 p.m. | at Arizona* | No. 13 | TBS | W 59–13 | 46,110 | |
| September 13 | 7:00 p.m. | Western Illinois* | No. 12 |
| W 35–7 | 87,164 | |
| September 20 | 2:30 p.m. | No. 7 Georgia | No. 11 |
| CBS | W 17–10 | 92,251 |
| September 27 | 8:00 p.m. | at Mississippi State | No. 7 | ESPN2 | W 41–6 | 45,835 | |
| October 11 | 2:30 p.m. | Florida | No. 6 |
| CBS | L 7–19 | 92,077 |
| October 18 | 6:45 p.m. | at South Carolina | No. 10 | ESPN2 | W 33–7 | 82,525 | |
| October 25 | 7:00 p.m. | No. 17 Auburn | No. 9 |
| ESPN | W 31–7 | 92,085 |
| November 1 | 7:00 p.m. | Louisiana Tech* | No. 7 |
| PPV | W 49–10 | 91,879 |
| November 15 | 6:45 p.m. | at Alabama | No. 3 | ESPN | W 27–3 | 83,818 | |
| November 22 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 15 Ole Miss | No. 3 | CBS | W 17–14 | 62,552 | |
| November 28 | 1:30 p.m. | Arkansas | No. 3 |
| CBS | W 55–24 | 92,213 |
| December 6 | 8:00 p.m. | vs. No. 5 Georgia | No. 3 | CBS | W 34–13 | 74,913 | |
| January 4, 2004 | 7:15 p.m. | vs. No. 3 Oklahoma* | No. 2 | ABC | W 21–14 | 79,342 | |
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Rankings
| Week | |||||||||||||||||
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| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | 14 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 (21) | 2 (17) |
| Coaches | 15 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 (18) | 1 (60) |
| BCS | Not released | 12 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | Not released | |||||||
Roster
Game summaries
Louisiana–Monroe
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Arizona
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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.
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