The 2003 GMAC Bowl was an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

. It was part of the

2003 NCAA Division I-A football season The 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with an abundance of controversy, resulting in the claim of a split national championship. This was the first claimed split title since the inception of the BCS, something the BCS intended to elimi ...

. The game featured the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

, and the

Miami RedHawks The Miami RedHawks are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Miami is a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Divis ...

Game summary

Miami started the scoring with quarterback

Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. (; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college footba ...

throwing a 28-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver

Michael Larkin The "Manchester Martyrs" () is a term used by Irish nationalists to refer to three men—William Philip Allen, Michael Larkin and Michael O'Brien—who were executed following their conviction of murder in 1867 after an attack on a police van in ...

to post an early 7–0 lead. Later in the quarter, running back Cal Murray scored on a two-yard touchdown run to give the Redhawks a 14–0 lead. Ben Roethlisberger threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver

Martin Nance Martin Nance (born May 26, 1983) is a marketing executive and entrepreneur who formerly played as an American football wide receiver. A graduate of Miami University, the University of Michigan and Harvard Business School, he played college footb ...

to give Miami a 21–0 first quarter lead. Early in the second quarter, Lionel Gates scored a rushing touchdown for Louisville to make it 21–7. Ben Roethlisberger threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Matt Brandt, and the lead was 28–7. Roethlisberger threw another touchdown pass to Michael Larkin, to give Miami a 35–7 lead. Louisville running back

Michael Bush Michael Warren Bush, Jr. (born June 16, 1984) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Louisville. In addition to the Raiders, B ...

threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver JR Russell to make it 35–14. Before halftime, quarterback Stefan LeFors threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Russell, and the halftime score was Miami 35, Louisville 21. Stefan Lefors threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Russell in the third quarter, to make the score 35–28 Miami, but Louisville would get no closer. Mike Smith scored on a 3-yard touchdown run, and Matt Pusateri returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown to make the final score 49–28.

Statistics

References

External links

USA Today summary

ESPN summary
{{DEFAULTSORT:2003 Gmac Bowl

Gmac Bowl The LendingTree Bowl is a postseason NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game that has been played annually in Mobile, Alabama since 1999. In 2021, the game was moved from Ladd-Peebles Stadium to Hancock Whitney Stadium, on the c ...

LendingTree Bowl Louisville Cardinals football bowl games Miami RedHawks football bowl games GMAC