2003 California Golden Bears football team
The 2003 California Golden Bears football team was an American football team that represented the University of California, Berkeley in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second year under head coach Jeff Tedford, the Golden Bears compiled an 8–6 record (5–3 against Pac-10 opponents), finished in a tie for third place in the Pac-10, and outscored their opponents by a combined score of 457 to 341.[1][2]
The team was led by a junior college transfer student Aaron Rodgers who was named the starting quarterback in the fifth game of the season, against Illinois.[3] In his second start, Rodgers led the team to a 21–7 halftime lead against USC (then ranked No. 3) before being replaced due to injury in the second half by Reggie Robertson.[4] The Bears won in triple overtime, 34–31.[5] Cal defeated Virginia Tech, 52–49, in the 2003 Insight Bowl, as Rodgers passed for 394 yards and was named game MVP. During the 2003 season, Rodgers tied a Cal season record with five 300-yard games and set a Cal record for the lowest percentage of passes intercepted at 1.43%.[6]
The team's statistical leaders included Rodgers with 2,903 passing yards, Adimchinobe Echemandu with 1,195 rushing yards, and Geoff McArthur with 1,504 receiving yards.[7]
Schedule
Date |
Time |
Opponent |
Site |
TV |
Result |
Attendance |
August 23 |
6:45 PM |
vs. No. 7 Kansas State* |
Arrowhead Stadium • Kansas City, MO (BCA Classic) |
ESPN |
L 28–42 |
50,823 |
August 30 |
1:00 PM |
Southern Miss* |
California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA |
HDNet |
W 34–2 |
33,552 |
September 6 |
3:00 PM |
Colorado State* |
California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA |
FSN |
L 21–23 |
34,096 |
September 11 |
4:45 PM |
at Utah* |
Rice–Eccles Stadium • Salt Lake City, UT |
ESPN |
L 24–31 |
46,768 |
September 20 |
9:00 AM |
at Illinois* |
Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL |
ESPN+ |
W 31–24 |
58,363 |
September 27 |
3:30 PM |
No. 3 USC |
California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA |
FSN |
W 34–31 3OT |
51,208 |
October 4 |
2:00 PM |
Oregon State |
California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA |
|
L 21–35 |
39,150 |
October 18 |
12:30 PM |
at UCLA |
Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA |
ABC |
L 20–23 OT |
53,825 |
October 25 |
12:30 PM |
Arizona |
California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA |
|
W 42–14 |
33,249 |
November 1 |
12:30 PM |
at Arizona State |
Sun Devil Stadium • Tempe, AZ |
|
W 51–23 |
48,452 |
November 8 |
7:00 PM |
at Oregon |
Autzen Stadium • Eugene, OR |
TBS |
L 17–21 |
57,511 |
November 15 |
12:30 PM |
Washington |
California Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, CA |
|
W 54–7 |
38,576 |
November 22 |
12:30 PM |
at Stanford |
Stanford Stadium • Stanford, CA (The Big Game) |
ABC |
W 28–16 |
67,950 |
December 26 |
5:00 PM |
vs. Virginia Tech* |
Bank One Ballpark • Phoenix, AZ (Insight Bowl) |
ESPN |
W 52–49 |
42,364 |
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Pacific Time. |
[8]
Game summaries
USC
#3 USC at California
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | 3OT | Total |
---|
USC |
7 |
0 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
31 |
• California |
7 |
14 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 3 |
34 |
|
|
Scoring summary |
---|
|
1 |
11:02 | CAL | Aaron Rodgers 3 yard run (Tyler Frederickson kick) | CAL 7-0 |
|
1 |
2:47 | USC | Dominique Byrd 27 yard pass from Matt Leinart (Ryan Killeen kick) | Tied 7-7 |
|
2 |
14:12 | CAL | Garrett Cross 2 yard pass from Aaron Rodgers (Tyler Frederickson kick) | CAL 14-7 |
|
2 |
8:09 | CAL | Burl Toler 27 yard pass from Aaron Rodgers (Tyler Frederickson kick) | CAL 21-7 |
|
3 |
7:26 | USC | LenDale White 6 yard run (Ryan Killeen kick) | CAL 21-14 |
|
3 |
7:16 | USC | Lofa Tatupu 26 yard interception return (Ryan Killeen kick) | Tied 21-21 |
|
4 |
9:04 | CAL | Tyler Frederickson 51 yard field goal | CAL 24-21 |
|
4 |
0:16 | USC | Ryan Killeen 33 yard field goal | Tied 24-24 |
|
2OT |
| CAL | Jonathan Makonnen 20 yard pass from Reggie Robertson (Tyler Frederickson kick) | CAL 31-24 |
|
2OT |
| USC | Keary Colbert 10 yard pass from Matt Leinart (Ryan Killeen kick) | Tied 31-31 |
|
3OT |
| CAL | Tyler Frederickson 38 yard field goal | CAL 34-31 |
|
- "They always take us lightly," said receiver Jonathan Makonnen, who had seven catches for 104 yards. "They really don't respect us. They're a talented team, but they were kind of lackadaisical out there."
- "I'm not knocking Leinart or their running backs, but I didn't see a whole lot of firepower from them," said Echemandu, the first player to rush for 100 yards against USC in 16 games. "Mike Williams is basically their whole offense."
- The loss was USC's last until the 2006 National Championship Game, in which Texas snapped USC's 34-game win streak.
Washington
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Washington |
0 |
7 | 0 | 0 |
7 |
• California |
13 |
20 | 7 | 14 |
54 |
|
|
Scoring summary |
---|
|
1 |
14:42 | CAL | Geoff McArthur 79 yard pass from Aaron Rodgers (Tyler Frederickson kick) | California 7–0 |
|
1 |
9:39 | CAL | Tyler Frederickson 20 yard field goal | California 10–0 |
|
1 |
2:36 | CAL | Tyler Frederickson 20 yard field goal | California 13–0 |
|
2 |
14:45 | CAL | Brandon Hall 13 yard pass from Aaron Rodgers (run failed) | California 19–0 |
|
2 |
12:06 | WASH | Zach Tuiasosopo 3 yard run (Evan Knudson kick) | California 19–7 |
|
2 |
11:26 | CAL | Vincent Strang 12 yard pass from Aaron Rodgers (Tyler Frederickson kick) | California 26–7 |
|
2 |
9:04 | CAL | J.J. Arrington 15 yard run (Tyler Frederickson kick) | California 33–7 |
|
3 |
10:30 | CAL | Aaron Rodgers 1 yard run (Tyler Frederickson kick) | California 40–7 |
|
4 |
11:59 | CAL | Marcus O'Keith 48 yard run (Tyler Frederickson kick) | California 47–7 |
|
4 |
2:44 | CAL | Michael Porter 51 yard run (Tyler Frederickson kick) | California 54–7 |
|
[9]
Stanford
California at Stanford
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
• California |
0 |
0 | 7 | 21 |
28 |
Stanford |
10 |
0 | 0 | 6 |
16 |
|
|
Scoring summary |
---|
|
1 |
12:30 | STAN | Michael Sgroi 22 yard field goal | STAN 3-0 |
|
1 |
10:03 | STAN | Luke Powell 24 yard pass from Chris Lewis (Michael Sgroi kick) | STAN 10-0 |
|
3 |
11:03 | CAL | Geoff McArthur 44 yard pass from Aaron Rodgers (Tyler Frederickson kick) | STAN 10-7 |
|
4 |
14:55 | CAL | Vincent Strang 14 yard pass from Aaron Rodgers (Tyler Frederickson kick) | CAL 14-10 |
|
4 |
10:07 | CAL | Geoff McArthur 21 yard pass from Aaron Rodgers (Tyler Frederickson kick) | CAL 21-10 |
|
4 |
1:39 | CAL | Adimchinobe Echemandu 17 yard run (Tyler Frederickson kick) | CAL 28-10 |
|
4 |
0:00 | STAN | Mark Bradford 20 yard pass from Chris Lewis (pass failed) | CAL 28-16 |
|
- CAL: Aaron Rodgers 26/37, 359 Yds
- CAL: Geoff McArthur 16 Rec, 245 Yds (single game record - Dameane Douglas, 1998)
- CAL: bowl eligible for first time since 1996
References
- ↑ "2003 California Golden Bears Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
- ↑ "California 2015 Football Information Guide" (PDF). CalBears.com. Cal Golden Bears Athletics. p. 166. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
- ↑ "Player Bio:Aaron Rodgers". University of California. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
- ↑ "Cal-USC Postgame Quotes". Cal Athletics. September 27, 2003. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011.
- ↑ "Cal fans storm field after win". ESPN. September 27, 2003. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
- ↑ "Cal Records". University of California. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
- ↑ "2003 California Golden Bears Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
- ↑ 2011 California football information guide
- ↑ "California 54, Washington 7". ESPN. November 15, 2003. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
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