The 2003 GMAC Bowl was an American

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 ...

. It was part of 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 elim ...

. The game featured the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

, and the

Miami RedHawks The Miami RedHawks are the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Miami is a member of the Mid-American Conference ...

Game summary

Miami started the scoring with quarterback

Ben Roethlisberger Benjamin Todd Roethlisberger Sr. ( ; born March 2, 1982), nicknamed "Big Ben", is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Ste ...

throwing a 28-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Michael Larkin to post an early 7–0 lead. Later in the quarter, running back Cal Murray scored on a two-yard touchdown run to give the Redhawks a 14–0 lead. Ben Roethlisberger threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Martin Nance to give Miami a 21–0 first quarter lead. Early in the second quarter, Lionel Gates scored a rushing touchdown for Louisville to make it 21–7. Ben Roethlisberger threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Matt Brandt, and the lead was 28–7. Roethlisberger threw another touchdown pass to Michael Larkin, to give Miami a 35–7 lead. Louisville running back

Michael Bush Michael Warren Bush Jr. (born June 16, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He was selected by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL draft. He p ...

threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver

JR Russell J. R. Russell (born December 5, 1981) is an American former professional football wide receiver. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the seventh round of the 2005 NFL draft. He played College football at the University of Louisville. ...

to make it 35–14. Before halftime, quarterback

Stefan LeFors Stefan LeFors (born June 7, 1981) is an American college football coach and former professional quarterback. He is the head football coach for Gallaudet University, a position he has held since 2025. He played college football for Louisville a ...

threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Russell, and the halftime score was Miami 35, Louisville 21. Stefan Lefors threw a 24-yard touchdown pass to Russell in the third quarter, to make the score 35–28 Miami, but Louisville would get no closer. Mike Smith scored on a 3-yard touchdown run, and Matt Pusateri returned an interception 35 yards for a touchdown to make the final score 49–28.

Statistics

References

External links

USA Today summary

ESPN summary
{{DEFAULTSORT:2003 Gmac Bowl

Gmac Bowl The 68 Ventures Bowl is a postseason NCAA-sanctioned Division I FBS college football bowl game that has been played annually in Mobile, Alabama since 1999. In 2021, the game was moved from Ladd–Peebles Stadium to Hancock Whitney Stadium, on th ...

68 Ventures Bowl Louisville Cardinals football bowl games Miami RedHawks football bowl games GMAC