The 2003 FedEx Orange Bowl was the 69th edition of the

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

, played at Pro Player Stadium in

Miami Gardens, Florida Miami Gardens is a city in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb of Miami and located north of Greater Downtown Miami, downtown Miami with city boundaries that stretch from Interstate 95 in Florida, I-95 and N ...

, on Thursday, January 2. It matched the third-ranked

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 20 sports, 7 for men and 13 for women; The teams participate in Division I of the Nati ...

of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

and the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

of the

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

. Tied at halftime, favored USC pulled away in the second half to win, 38–17. Televised in the United States on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

, the game was part of the 2002–03

Bowl Championship Series The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) was a college football post-season selection system that created four or five bowl game match-ups involving eight or ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of America ...

(BCS) of the

2002 NCAA Division I-A football season The 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with a double overtime national championship game. Ohio State and Miami both came into the Fiesta Bowl undefeated. The underdog Buckeyes defeated the defending-champion Hurricanes 31–24, ...

and represented the concluding game of the season for both teams.

Teams

Prior to the BCS, the New Year's Day pairings never would have occurred. The Rose Bowl normally features the champions of the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

(in 2002, the

Ohio State Buckeyes The Ohio State Buckeyes are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Ohio State University, located in Columbus, Ohio. The athletic programs are named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Ohio and after the state tree, ...

) and the Pac-10. However, because the Buckeyes had finished No. 2 in the BCS, they were set to play in the

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area since 1971. From its beginning until 2006, the game was hosted at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has be ...

for the national championship against the

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes, known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes, are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

. The Orange Bowl had the next pick after the Fiesta, and No. 3 (#5 BCS) Iowa was chosen. The Rose Bowl had the next BCS selection. The next, best available team to choose was No. 8 (#7 BCS)

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, who won the

Big 12 Championship Game The Big 12 Championship Game is a college football game held by the Big 12 Conference between the best and the second-best Big 12 team. The game was played each year since the conference's formation in 1996 until 2010 and returned during the 201 ...

, to play Pac-10 winner

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

in the Rose Bowl. When it came time for the Orange Bowl and

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...

to make a second pick, both wanted USC. However, a BCS rule stated that if two bowls want the same team, the bowl with the higher payoff has the option.Rosenblatt, Richard �
BCS: Orange Bowl has a Rosy look
Associated Press, December 9, 2002 The Orange Bowl immediately extended an at-large bid to the #5 Trojans and paired them with at-large #3 Iowa in a Big Ten/Pac-10 "Rose Bowl" matchup in the Orange Bowl. Rose Bowl committee executive director Mitch Dorger was not pleased with the results. This left the Sugar Bowl with #14 BCS

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

, the winner of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Notre Dame at 10–2 and No. 9 in the BCS standings was invited to the

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, usually contested on or around New Year's Day. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first televise ...

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 inst ...

at No. 8 also was left out.

Iowa Hawkeyes

The Hawkeyes tied for the Big Ten conference championship with

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

, and they did not meet this season. Iowa's only setback was a five-point loss to in-state rival Iowa State in mid-September.

USC Trojans

On October 5, in the 300th game for USC on live television, the Trojans lost 30–27 in overtime at

. The Cougars scored with 1:50 left to play to force overtime. The two tied for first place in the Pac-10, but the Cougars won the tie-breaker by virtue of the head-to-head victory. The final game of the conference season was moved to December 2, with WSU at

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

. Originally it was thought that the Bruins would be the team playing for the Rose Bowl. A 52–21 loss to USC put the Bruins out of contention and the Trojans and Cougars in.Whiteside, Kelly �
USC biggest question mark of teams jockeying for BCS
USA Today, December 2, 2002. The Cougars defeated UCLA 48–27 in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

to advance to the Rose Bowl on

New Year's Day In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Day is the first day of the calendar year, January 1, 1 January. Most solar calendars, such as the Gregorian and Julian calendars, begin the year regularly at or near the December solstice, northern winter ...

; it was the final game for UCLA head coach

Bob Toledo Robert Anthony Toledo (born March 4, 1946) is an American former college football coach and player. Toledo served as the head coach at University of California, Riverside (1974–1975), the Pacific Tigers football, University of the Pacific (197 ...

, who was soon fired. This was only the second time a Pac-10 team appeared in the Orange Bowl; eighteen years earlier,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

won in January

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

Game summary

Scoring

;First quarter: * Iowa – C. J. Jones 100-yard kickoff return ( Nate Kaeding kick) * USC – Justin Fargas 4-yard run ( Ryan Killeen kick) * Iowa – Kaeding 35-yard field goal ;Second quarter: * USC – Killeen 35-yard field goal ;Third quarter: * USC – Williams 18-yard pass from

Carson Palmer Carson Hilton Palmer (born December 27, 1979) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football for the USC Trojans, winning the Heisman Trophy as ...

(Killeen kick) * USC – Fargas 50-yard run (Killeen kick) ;Fourth quarter: * USC – Sultan McCullough 5-yard run (Killeen kick) * USC – Sunny Byrd 6-yard run (Killeen kick) * Iowa – Maurice Brown 18-yard pass from

Brad Banks Brad Banks (born April 22, 1980) is an American former football quarterback who played in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes, winning the Davey O'Brien Award in 2002. Early life Banks attended ...

(Kaeding kick) :

Statistics

References

{{USC Trojans bowl game navbox

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...

Orange Bowl Iowa Hawkeyes football bowl games USC Trojans football bowl games January 2003 sports events in the United States 2003 in sports in Florida Sports competitions in Miami Gardens, Florida