The 2003 USC Trojans football team represented the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

in 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 ...

. They were named the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) national champions but were denied a spot in the

BCS National Championship Game The BCS National Championship Game, or BCS National Championship, was a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), first played in the 1998 college fo ...

by the BCS selections for the national championship game. The regular season ended with three one-loss teams in BCS contention: Oklahoma,

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

and USC. USC ended the regular season ranked #1 and LSU #2 in both the

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broad ...

and the Coaches' Poll. USC lost one triple-overtime game at

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, which finished 8–6; LSU had a 12-point home loss against a Florida team that went 8–5; Oklahoma, which had been ranked #1 for most of the season, fell to #3 after suffering a 35–7 defeat in the

2003 Big 12 Championship Game The 2003 Big 12 Championship Game was a college football game played on Saturday, December 6, 2003, at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. This was the 8th Big 12 Championship Game and determined the 2003 champion of the Big 12 Conference. The g ...

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

, which finished 11–4. Controversy erupted when the BCS computers selected Oklahoma–LSU as the BCS title game. During the

bowl games 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 National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, Division I Fo ...

, USC had a convincing 28–14 win over #4

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

in the Rose Bowl while LSU beat Oklahoma 21–14 in the Sugar Bowl (designated the BCS title game). USC remained #1 in the final AP Poll with 48 of the 65 votes, and LSU was ranked, by contractual obligation, #1 in the final Coaches' Poll, though three coaches did not follow instructions and voted USC #1 in that poll as well.

Recruiting

With the late arrival of highly touted

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 ...

John David Booty John David Booty (born January 3, 1985) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at USC and was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Booty also played for the Tennessee Titans a ...

, who left high school a year early to attend USC, the Trojans' 2003 recruiting class was considered by some to be the best in the country. Its legacy included many

NFL Draft The National Football League Draft, also called the NFL Draft or (officially) the Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the league's most common source of player recruitment. Each team is given a position in the drafting o ...

picks over several years, including five first-round picks.2003 USC FOOTBALL SIGNEES
USC Trojans - Official Site, Retrieved April 30, 2008.

2006 NFL Draft The 2006 National Football League Draft, the 71st in league history, took place in New York City, New York, at Radio City Music Hall on April 29 and April 30, 2006. For the 27th consecutive year, the draft was telecast on ESPN and ESPN2, with add ...

: *

Reggie Bush Reginald Alfred Bush Jr. (born March 2, 1985) is an American former football running back who now serves as an on-air college football analyst for Fox Sports. He played college football at USC, where he earned consensus All-American honors twi ...

(Round 1, Pick 2) *

Matt Leinart Matthew Stephen Leinart (born May 11, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football at USC, where he won the Heisman Trophy ...

(Round 1, Pick 10) *

LenDale White LenDale Anthony White (born December 20, 1984) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the second round (45th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft. He has also been a member of the Seattle Seahawks and De ...

(Round 2, Pick 45), 2007 NFL Draft: *

Steve Smith Stephen, Steve, Stevie, or Steven Smith may refer to: Academics * Steve Smith (political scientist) (born 1952), British international relations theorist and senior university manager * Stephen Smith (journalist) (born 1956), American journalist, ...

(Round 2, Pick 51) * Eric Wright (Finished career at

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. It includes th ...

, Round 2, Pick 53) *

Ryan Kalil Ryan Joseph Kalil (born March 29, 1985) is an American film and television producer and former NFL center. He played college football at USC, where he was a member of two national championship teams, was named a first-team All-American, and wo ...

(Round 2, Pick 59) 2008 NFL Draft: * Sedrick Ellis (Round 1, Pick 7) * Sam Baker (Round 1, Pick 21) *

Lawrence Jackson Lawrence Christopher Jackson (born August 30, 1985) is a former American football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played colleg ...

(Round 1, Pick 28) *

Terrell Thomas Terrell R. Thomas (born January 8, 1985) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at USC. He was drafted by the New York Giants in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He is also only the second player in NFL ...

(Round 2, Pick 63) *

(Round 5, Pick 137) * Thomas Williams (Round 5, Pick 155) * Chauncey Washington (Round 7, Pick 213)

Schedule

Game summaries

Auburn

USC opened the season visiting Auburn University: the Tigers were also ranked in the top 10 and had been named a pre-season favorite to be the national champion by at least one major news organization. In his first start, quarterback

led the Trojans on a dominating 23–0 performance.Forde, Pat (August 28, 2007
The Dash is off and running
ESPN.com.

Roster

References

{{Pac-12 Conference football champions USC USC Trojans football seasons College football national champions Pac-12 Conference football champion seasons Rose Bowl champion seasons

USC Trojans football The USC Trojans football program represents University of Southern California in the sport of American football. The Trojans compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Pac-12 ...