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 eliminate. Due to on-field circumstances, the BCS becoming a means of having a single champion going forward, followed by the four-team title playoff system's institution in 2014, and finally the twelve team title playoff system's institution in 2024. As of 2025 this is the most recent Division 1-A season to end with split national champions between the AP Poll and Coaches Poll. Several teams have been selected National Champions by designated selectors such as 2017 UCF and 2024 Oregon.

At season's end, three BCS Automatic Qualifying (AQ) conference teams finished the regular season with one loss, with only two spots available in the BCS National Championship Game. Three BCS Non-Automatic Qualifying (Non-AQ) conference teams also finished with one loss, TCU, Boise State and Miami (OH), stirring the debate of the BCS being unfair to BCS Non-AQ conference teams.

LSU defeated Oklahoma in the 2004 Sugar Bowl, securing the BCS National Championship, as the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll was contractually obligated to vote the winner of the BCS National Championship Game No. 1, although three coaches violated this agreement by keeping USC atop their ballots. Meanwhile, when AP No. 1 USC beat (number 4) Michigan in the 2004 Rose Bowl, the AP voters kept USC in the top spot.

Army became the first team in NCAA Division I-A football modern history to finish the season 0–13.

The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award sponsored by ESPN chose USC coach Pete Carroll as their award recipient, while the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award, voted on by an association of sportswriters, chose LSU coach Nick Saban.

The Orange Bowl game was noteworthy in that Miami and Florida State previously had scheduled to play each other on Labor Day in 2004 in Miami's first game as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Playing in the Orange Bowl ensured that their next meeting would be each of their very next games and their first of the 2004 season.

BCS selection process controversy

USC had lost in triple overtime at California on September 27, LSU lost at home to Florida on October 11, and Oklahoma, which had been No. 1 in every BCS rating, AP and Coaches' Poll of the season, lost to Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship Game, 35–7 on December 6. Although USC, then 11–1, finished ranked No. 1 in both the AP and Coaches' Polls, with LSU (12–1) ranked No. 2 and Oklahoma (12–1) No. 3, Oklahoma surpassed both USC and LSU on several BCS computer factors. Oklahoma's schedule strength was ranked 11th to LSU's 29th and USC's 37th. Oklahoma's schedule rank was 0.44 to LSU's 1.16 and USC's 1.48. As such, although the timing of Oklahoma's loss affected the human voters, the computers kept Oklahoma at No. 1 in the BCS poll. LSU was ranked No. 2 by the BCS based on its No. 2 ranking in the AP Poll, Coaches' Poll, six of seven computer rankings (with the remaining one ranking them No. 1), and strength-of-schedule calculations. USC's No. 3 BCS ranking resulted from its No. 1 AP ranking, No. 1 Coaches' Poll ranking, and No. 3 ranking in five of seven computer rankings (with the two remaining computer rankings at No. 1 and No. 4), and schedule strength, though separated by only 0.16 points.

Ted Waitt, CEO of Gateway Computers, offered the NCAA $31 million for a national championship game between USC and Louisiana State.

Rules changes The NCAA Rules Committee adopted the following rules changes for the 2003 season: The "Halo Rule" (two-yard restricted area around the kick/punt returner) is abolished. The penalty for kick-catch interference remains at 15 yards if the returner is contacted before he has a chance to catch the punt/kick. Backs not positioned within the "tackle box" are prohibited from blocking below the waist anywhere behind the scrimmage line, and up to a point 10 yards downfield. The game clock will start on all kickoffs once touched in the field of play, repealing a rule change adopted in the 1997 season where the clock started on the kick (except during the final 2:00 of each half). Giving the offended team the option to enforce all personal fouls committed during and after a touchdown play either on the PAT or on the ensuing kickoff.

Conference and program changes No teams upgraded from Division I-AA, leaving the number of Division I-A schools fixed at 117. Two Independent schools joined conferences in 2003. South Florida joined Conference USA as its 11th member, while Utah State joined the Sun Belt Conference as its 8th member.

School 2002 Conference 2003 Conference South Florida Bulls I-A Independent Conference USA Utah State Aggies I-A Independent Sun Belt

Regular season top 10 matchups Rankings reflect the AP Poll. Rankings for Week 8 and beyond will list BCS Rankings first and AP Poll second. Teams that failed to be a top 10 team for one poll or the other will be noted. Week 1 No. 8 USC defeated No. 6 Auburn, 23–0 (Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama) Week 6 No. 2 Miami defeated No. 5 Florida State, 22–14 (Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida) Week 7 No. 8 Ohio State defeated No. 9 Iowa, 19–10 (Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio) Week 9 No. 4/3 USC defeated No. 8/6 Washington State, 43–16 (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California) No. 16/10 Virginia Tech defeated No. 2/2 Miami, 31–7 (Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, Virginia) Week 12 No. 9/5 Michigan defeated No. 2/4 Ohio State, 35–21 (Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan) Week 14 No. 3/3 LSU defeated No. 7/5 Georgia, 34–13 (2003 SEC Championship Game, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia)

Conference standings

I-AA team wins over I-A teams Italics denotes I-AA teams.

Bowl Championship Series rankings

WEEKNo. 1No. 2EVENTOCT 20OklahomaMiamiOCT 27OklahomaMiamiVirginia Tech 31, Miami 7NOV 3OklahomaUSCNOV 10OklahomaUSCNOV 17OklahomaOhio StateMichigan 35, Ohio State 21NOV 24OklahomaUSCDEC 1OklahomaUSCLSU 34, Georgia 13FINALOklahomaLSU

Bowl games

Rankings given are AP poll positions at time of game

BCS bowls Sugar Bowl, BCS National Championship Game: No. 2 (BCS No. 2) LSU 21, No. 3 (BCS No. 1) Oklahoma 14 Rose Bowl: No. 1 (Pac-10 Champ) Southern California 28, No. 4 (Big 10 Champ) Michigan 14 Orange Bowl: No. 10 (Big East Champ) Miami 16, No. 9 (ACC Champ) Florida State 14 Fiesta Bowl: No. 6 (At Large) Ohio State 35, No. 8 (Big 12 Champ) Kansas State 28

Other January bowls Cotton Bowl Classic: No. 16 Mississippi 31, No. 21 Oklahoma State 28 Capital One Bowl: No. 11 Georgia 34, No. 12 Purdue 27 (OT) Gator Bowl: No. 23 Maryland 41, No. 20 West Virginia 7 Outback Bowl: No. 13 Iowa 37, No. 17 Florida 17 Peach Bowl: Clemson 27, No. 6 Tennessee 14 Humanitarian Bowl: Georgia Tech 52, Tulsa 10

December Bowl games Houston Bowl: Texas Tech 38, Navy 14 Liberty Bowl: No. 25 (MWC Champ) Utah 17, (C-USA Champ) Southern Mississippi 0 Continental Tire Bowl: Virginia 23, Pittsburgh 16 Independence Bowl: Arkansas 27, Missouri 14 Silicon Valley Football Classic: Fresno State 17, UCLA 9 Sun Bowl: No. 24 Minnesota 31, Oregon 30 Music City Bowl: Auburn 28, Wisconsin 14 Holiday Bowl: No. 15 Washington State 28, No. 5 Texas 20 San Francisco Bowl: Boston College 35, Colorado State 21 Alamo Bowl: No. 22 Nebraska 17, Michigan State 3 Insight Bowl: California 52, Virginia Tech 49 Tangerine Bowl: NC State 56, Kansas 26 Motor City Bowl: Bowling Green 28, Northwestern 24 Hawai'i Bowl: Hawai'i 54, Houston 48 (3 OT) Fort Worth Bowl: No. 18 (WAC Champ) Boise State 34, No. 19 TCU 31 Las Vegas Bowl: Oregon State 55, New Mexico 14 GMAC Bowl: No. 14 (MAC Champ) Miami (Ohio) 49, Louisville 28 New Orleans Bowl: Memphis 27, (Sun Belt Champ) North Texas 17

Final AP Poll Team Final Record Points 1. USC (48) 12–1 1,608 2. LSU (17) 13–1 1,576 3. Oklahoma 12–2 1,476 4. Ohio State 11–2 1,411 5. Miami (FL) 11–2 1,329 6. Michigan 10–3 1,281 7. Georgia 11–3 1,255 8. Iowa 10–3 1,107 9. Washington State 10–3 1,060 10. Miami (OH) 13–1 932 11. Florida State 10–3 905 12. Texas 10–3 887 13. Mississippi 10–3 845 14. Kansas State 11–4 833 15. Tennessee 10–3 695 16. Boise State 13–1 645 17. Maryland 10–3 564 18. Purdue 9–4 526 19. Nebraska 10–3 520 20. Minnesota 10–3 368 21. Utah 10–2 308 22. Clemson 9–4 230 23. Bowling Green 11–3 189 24. Florida 8–5 165 25. Texas Christian 11–2 126

Others receiving votes: 26. Oklahoma State 109, 27. Arkansas 73, 28. Virginia 36, 29. Northern Illinois 30, 30. Auburn 8, 30. Oregon State 8, 32. Pittsburgh 7, 32. N.C. State 7, 34. West Virginia 4, 35. Connecticut 2.

Final Coaches Poll Three coaches voted for USC as the No. 1 team, even though the polled coaches are required to vote the BCS champion as No. 1. Because the votes were not public, it is not known which three coaches placed those votes. However, it is known that USC coach Pete Carroll could not have voted for his own team since he was not a voting coach that season. Team Final Record Points 1. LSU (60) 13–1 1,572 2. USC (3) 12–1 1,514 3. Oklahoma 12–2 1,429 4. Ohio State 11–2 1,370 5. Miami (FL) 11–2 1,306 6. Georgia 11–3 1,183 7. Michigan 10–3 1,140 8. Iowa 10–3 1,119 9. Washington State 10–3 983 10. Florida State 10–3 929 11. Texas 10–3 894 12. Miami (OH) 13–1 800 13. Kansas State 11–4 746 14. Mississippi 10–3 730 15. Boise State 13–1 704 16. Tennessee 10–3 684 17. Minnesota 10–3 553 18. Nebraska 10–3 532 19. Purdue 9–4 510 20. Maryland 10–3 462 21. Utah 10–2 327 22. Clemson 9–4 219 23. Bowling Green 11–3 170 24. TCU 11–2 145 25. Florida 8–5 124

Also receiving votes

Northern Illinois (10–2) 80; Arkansas (9–4) 74; Oklahoma State (9–4) 63; Auburn (8–5) 20; North Carolina State (8–5) 17; Oregon State (8–5) 15; West Virginia (8–5) 14; Southern Mississippi (9–4) 12; Fresno State (9–5) 6; Hawaii (9–5) 6; Pittsburgh (8–5) 5; Texas Tech (8–5) 4; Marshall (8–4) 3; Virginia (8–5) 3; Boston College (8–5) 2; California (8–6) 1; Connecticut (9–3) 1; Memphis (9–4) 1; Michigan State Spartans (8–5) 1; Missouri (8–5) 1; North Texas (9–4) 1.

Heisman Trophy voting The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player

Player School Position 1st 2nd 3rd Total Jason White Oklahoma QB 319 204 116 1,481 Larry Fitzgerald Pittsburgh WR 253 233 128 1,353 Eli Manning Ole Miss QB 95 132 161 710 Chris Perry Michigan RB 27 66 128 341 Darren Sproles Kansas State RB 15 30 29 134 Matt Leinart USC QB 5 27 58 127 Philip Rivers NC State QB 18 20 24 118 Mike Williams USC WR 12 12 18 78 Ben Roethlisberger Miami (OH) QB 5 9 14 47 B. J. Symons Texas Tech QB 1 7 21 38

Other major awards Maxwell Award (College Player of the Year): Eli Manning, Mississippi Walter Camp Award (top back): Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh AP Player Of the Year: Jason White, Oklahoma Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback): Jason White, Oklahoma Johnny Unitas Award (Sr. quarterback): Eli Manning, Mississippi Doak Walker Award (running back): Chris Perry, Michigan Fred Biletnikoff Award (wide receiver): Larry Fitzgerald, Pittsburgh John Mackey Award (tight end): Kellen Winslow, Miami, Florida Lombardi Award (top lineman/linebacker): Tommie Harris, Oklahoma Dave Rimington Trophy (center): Jake Grove, Virginia Tech Outland Trophy (interior lineman): Robert Gallery, Iowa Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player): Teddy Lehman, Oklahoma Dick Butkus Award (linebacker): Teddy Lehman, Oklahoma Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back): Derrick Strait, Oklahoma Lou Groza Award (placekicker): Jonathan Nichols, Mississippi Ray Guy (punter): B.J. Sander, Ohio State Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (Coach of the Year): Nick Saban, LSU The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award: Pete Carroll, USC

Attendances