| 2003 GMAC Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 18, 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Ladd–Peebles Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Mobile, Alabama | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Miami (OH) QB Ben Roethlisberger | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Cooper Castleberry (Big XII) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 40,620 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Mark Jones (Play-by-Play) Bob Davie (Color Analyst) Holly Rowe (Sideline Reporter) | ||||||||||||||||||
The 2003 GMAC Bowl was an American college football bowl game. It was part of the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. The game featured the Louisville Cardinals, and the Miami RedHawks.
Miami started the scoring with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger 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 threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver JR Russell to make it 35–14. Before halftime, quarterback Stefan LeFors 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. [1]
| Statistics | Miami (Ohio) | Louisville |
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| First downs | 28 | 22 |
| Rushing yards | 221 | 237 |
| Passes (C-A-I) | 26-35-0 | 30-49-1 |
| Passing yards | 376 | 255 |
| Total yards | 597 | 492 |
| Punts-average | 4–30.0 | 4–42.2 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Penalties-yards | 8–73 | 5–58 |
| Third down conv. | 5–10 | 4–11 |
| Possession time | 30:52 | 29:08 |