2003 NCAA Division I - A football season The 2003 NCAA Division I - A football season ended with an abundance of controversy , resulting in a split national championship . This was the first split title since the inception of the BCS , something the BCS intended to eliminate . At season ' s end , three major conference teams finished the regular season with one loss , with only two spots available in the BCS National Championship Game . Three non - BCS teams also finished with one loss , TCU , Boise State and Miami ( OH ) , stirring the debate of the BCS being unfair to mid - major teams . USC had lost a triple overtime thriller at on September 27 , LSU lost at home to Florida on October 11 , and Oklahoma , which had been # 1 in every BCS rating , AP and Coaches ' Poll of the season , had been shocked by Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship Game , 35 - 7 on December 6 . Although USC , then 11 - 1 , finished ranked # 1 in both the AP and Coaches ' Polls , with LSU ( 12 - 1 ) ranked # 2 and Oklahoma ( 12 - 1 ) # 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 , despite the timing of Oklahoma ' s loss affecting the human voters , the computers kept Oklahoma at # 1 in the BCS poll . LSU was ranked # 2 by the BCS based on its # 2 ranking in the AP Poll , Coaches Poll , 6 of 7 computer rankings ( with the remaining one ranking them # 1 ) , and strength of schedule calculations . USC ' s # 3 BCS ranking resulted from it being ranked # 1 the AP and Coaches Poll , but # 3 in 5 of 7 computer rankings ( with the 2 remaining computer rankings at # 1 and # 4 ) and schedule strength , though separated by only 0 . 16 points . LSU defeated Oklahoma in the 2004 Sugar Bowl , securing the BCS National Championship , as the ESPN / USA Today Coaches ' Poll is contractually obligated to vote the winner of the BCS National Championship Game # 1 . Meanwhile , when AP # 1 USC beat Michigan in the 2004 Rose Bowl , the AP voters kept USC in the top spot , and USC secured the AP title . On January 9 , 2004 , Ted Waitt , CEO of Gateway Computers offered the NCAA $ 31 million for a national championship game between USC and Louisiana State . The NCAA did not consider the offer , leaving the year without an unarguable national champion . Army became the first team in Division 1A NCAA 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 Bryant Coach of the Year 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 . 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 . Texas was also affected by the BCS controversy . Oklahoma ' s late loss kept Texas from appearing in one of the BCS games . Had Oklahoma won the Big 12 championship , the two at - large teams would have been Ohio State and Texas . But with the loss , Kansas State received the Big 12 bid and Oklahoma one of the at - large bids , leaving # 5 Texas on the outside looking in . Texas lost to Washington State in the Holiday Bowl . Two Independent schools joined conferences in 2003 . South Florida left to join Conference USA as its 11th member , while Utah State left the Independent ranks to join the Sun Belt Conference as its 8th member . Bowl games . " Rankings given are AP poll positions at time of game " Final AP Poll . Others receiving votes : 26 . 109 , 27 . 73 , 28 . Virginia 36 , 29 . 30 , 30 . Auburn 8 , 31 . Oregon State 8 , 32 . Pittsburgh 7 , 33 . 7 , 34 . West Virginia 4 , 35 . Connecticut 2 . Final Coaches Poll . Three coaches voted for USC as the # 1 team , even though the polled coaches are required to vote the BCS champion as # 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 . Also receiving votes Heisman Trophy voting . " The Heisman Trophy is given to the most outstanding player of the year "