The 2003 Outback Bowl was a college football

bowl game 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 NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivi ...

held on January 1, 2003, at

Raymond James Stadium Raymond James Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Tampa, Florida that opened in 1998 and is home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL) and the University of South Florida (USF) Bulls college football program. The s ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough C ...

. The

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

, third-place finishers in the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conferen ...

, defeated the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as th ...

, who finished second the Eastern Division of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

(SEC), 38–30. Michigan

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. The ...

Chris Perry was named the game's MVP.

Game summary

Michigan got on the board first after a 4-yard touchdown run by Chris Perry to open up a 7–0 lead. In the second quarter, Florida running back Earnest Graham scored on a 2-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7-7. Later in the second quarter, Graham scored again on a 1-yard run, but a two-point conversion attempt by

Ran Carthon Arandric Kornell "Ran" Carthon (born February 10, 1981), is an American football executive and former player who is the general manager of the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an executive for the S ...

failed. Florida led 13–7. Chris Perry scored again on a 1-yard run to give Michigan a 14–13 lead. Florida kicker Matt Leach connected on a 29-yard field goal to retake the lead for the Gators, 16–14. John Navarre threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ronald Bellamy to give Michigan a 21-16 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Florida

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 ...

Rex Grossman threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Keiwan Ratliff to put Florida up 23–21. Michigan answered with two more touchdown runs by Chris Perry, from 7 and 12 yards out, to lead 35–23. In the fourth quarter, Grossman found wide receiver Aaron Walker for a 3-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 35–30. Adam Finley connected on a 33-yard field goal to increase Michigan's lead to 38–30, which held up as the final score.

Scoring summary

First quarter

*Michigan - Chris Perry, 4-yard run (Adam Finley kick)

Second quarter

*Florida - Earnest Graham, 2-yard run (Matt Leach kick) *Florida - Earnest Graham, 1-yard run (

run failed) *Michigan - Chris Perry, 1-yard run (Adam Finley kick) *Florida - Matt Leach, 29-yard field goal *Michigan - Ronald Bellamy, 8-yard pass from John Navarre (John Hines kick)

Third quarter

*Florida - Keiwan Ratliff, 33-yard pass from Rex Grossman (Matt Leach kick) *Michigan - Chris Perry, 7-yard run (Adam Finley kick) *Michigan - Chris Perry, 12-yard run (Adam Finley kick)

Fourth quarter

*Florida - Aaron Walker, 3-yard pass from Rex Grossman (Matt Leach kick) *Michigan - Adam Finley, 33-yard field goal

References

External links

ESPN game summary

{{Michigan Wolverines bowl game navbox ReliaQuest Bowl Outback Bowl Outback Bowl 21st century in Tampa, Florida Florida Gators football bowl games Michigan Wolverines football bowl games January 2003 sports events in the United States