The 2003 California Golden Bears football team was an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
team that represented the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
in the
Pacific-10 Conference
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...
(Pac-10) during 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 ...
. In their second year under head coach
Jeff Tedford
Jeffrey Raye Tedford (born November 2, 1961) is an American football coach and former player who is currently serving as the head coach at Fresno State, a position which he also previously held from 2017 to 2019. From 2002 to 2012, Tedford was th ...
, the Golden Bears compiled an 8–6 record (5–3 in Pac-10, tied for third) and outscored their opponents 457 to 341.
The Bears were led on the field by sophomore quarterback
Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Rodgers began his college football career at Butte College in 2002 before transferring to the ...
, a Butte College, junior college transfer who became the starter on September 20 against 2003 Illinois Fighting Illini football team, Illinois.
In his second start the following week, Rodgers led Cal to a 21–7 halftime lead over third-ranked 2004 USC Trojans football team, USC before being replaced due to injury in the second half by Reggie Robertson.
The Bears won in triple overtime, 34–31.
In late December, Cal defeated 2003 Virginia Tech Hokies football team, Virginia Tech 52–49 in the 2003 Insight Bowl, Insight Bowl at Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix; Rodgers passed for 394 yards and was the game's offensive MVP.
Rodgers tied Cal's season record with five 300-yard games and set a Cal record for the lowest percentage of passes intercepted at 1.43%.
The Golden Bears' statistical leaders included Rodgers with 2,903 passing yards, Adimchinobe Echemandu with 1,195 rushing yards, and Geoff McArthur with 1,504 receiving yards.
Schedule
Game summaries
vs. Kansas State
USC
*Source:''
ESPN
*"They always take us lightly", said receiver Jonathan Makonnen, who had seven catches for 104 yards. "They really don't respect us. They're a talented team, but they were kind of lackadaisical out there."
*"I'm not knocking Leinart or their running backs, but I didn't see a whole lot of firepower from them", said Echemandu, the first player to rush for 100 yards against USC in 16 games. "Mike Williams is basically their whole offense."
*The loss was USC's last until the 2006 Rose Bowl, 2006 National Championship Game, in which Texas Longhorns football, Texas snapped USC's 34-game win streak.
*Aaron Rogers was the starter as Cal's quarterback, but due to injury he was replaced in the second half by Reggie Robertson.
[
]
Washington
Stanford
*Source:''
ESPN
*CAL: Aaron Rodgers 26/37, 359 Yds
*CAL: Geoff McArthur 16 Rec, 245 Yds (single game record – Dameane Douglas, 1998)
*CAL: bowl eligible for first time since 1996
Roster
References
2003 Pacific-10 Conference football season, California
California Golden Bears football seasons
Guaranteed Rate Bowl champion seasons
2003 in sports in California, California Golden Bears football
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