The 2003 Outback Bowl was a

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 ...

held on January 1, 2003, at

Raymond James Stadium Raymond James Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Tampa, Florida that opened in 1998 and is home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL) and the University of South Florida (USF) Bulls college football program. The se ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. The

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

, third-place finishers in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

, defeated the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

, who finished second the Eastern Division of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC), 38–30. Michigan

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

Chris Perry was named the game's MVP.

Game summary

Michigan got on the board first after a 4-yard touchdown run by Chris Perry to open up a 7–0 lead. In the second quarter, Florida running back

Earnest Graham Earnest Graham Jr. (born January 15, 1980) is an American former college and professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football for the University of Florida ...

scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7. Later in the second quarter, Graham scored again on a 1-yard run, but a two-point conversion attempt by Ran Carthon failed. Florida led 13–7. Chris Perry scored again on a 1-yard run to give Michigan a 14–13 lead. Florida kicker Matt Leach connected on a 29-yard field goal to retake the lead for the Gators, 16–14.

John Navarre John Robert Navarre (born September 9, 1980) is a former American football quarterback who was a three-year starter for the Michigan Wolverines from 2001 to 2003, leading the Wolverines to the 2003 Big Ten Conference championship in his final year ...

threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver

Ronald Bellamy Ronald Bellamy (born December 28, 1981) is an American football coach and former wide receiver, who is the current wide receivers coach for the Michigan Wolverines. He played college football at Michigan from 1999 to 2002. He was originally sign ...

to give Michigan a 21-16 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Florida

quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Ame ...

Rex Grossman Rex Daniel Grossman III (born August 23, 1980) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, most notably with the Chicago Bears. He played college football at Florida, where he rece ...

threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver

Keiwan Ratliff Keiwan Jevar Ratliff (born April 19, 1981) is an American former football cornerback who played seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL) during the 2000s. He played college football for the University of Florida, and was recognized a ...

to put Florida up 23–21. Michigan answered with two more touchdown runs by Chris Perry, from 7 and 12 yards out, to lead 35–23. In the fourth quarter, Grossman found wide receiver Aaron Walker for a 3-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 35–30. Adam Finley connected on a 33-yard field goal to increase Michigan's lead to 38–30, which held up as the final score.

Scoring summary

First quarter

*Michigan - Chris Perry, 4-yard run (Adam Finley kick)

Second quarter

*Florida -

, 2-yard run (Matt Leach kick) *Florida - Earnest Graham, 1-yard run ( Ran Carthon run failed) *Michigan - Chris Perry, 1-yard run (Adam Finley kick) *Florida - Matt Leach, 29-yard field goal *Michigan -

, 8-yard pass from

(John Hines kick)

Third quarter

*Florida -

, 33-yard pass from

(Matt Leach kick) *Michigan - Chris Perry, 7-yard run (Adam Finley kick) *Michigan - Chris Perry, 12-yard run (Adam Finley kick)

Fourth quarter

*Florida - Aaron Walker, 3-yard pass from Rex Grossman (Matt Leach kick) *Michigan - Adam Finley, 33-yard field goal

References

External links

ESPN game summary

{{Michigan Wolverines bowl game navbox ReliaQuest Bowl

Outback Bowl The ReliaQuest Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, usually on New Year's Day. The event has been formerly called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1986 to 1995 and the Outback Bowl from 1996 to ...

21st century in Tampa, Florida Florida Gators football bowl games Michigan Wolverines football bowl games January 2003 sports events in the United States