2004 Sugar Bowl

Last updated

2004 Nokia Sugar Bowl
BCS National Championship Game
2004 Sugar Bowl logo.png
1234Total
Oklahoma070714
LSU777021
DateJanuary 4, 2004
Season 2003
Stadium Louisiana Superdome
Location New Orleans, Louisiana
MVPLSU RB Justin Vincent
Favorite Oklahoma by 6½
National anthem Jessica Simpson
Referee Dennis Hennigan (Big East)
Attendance79,342
United States TV coverage
Network ABC
Announcers Brent Musburger (Play-by-Play)
Gary Danielson (Color Commentator)
Jack Arute (Sideline Reporter)
Lynn Swann (Sideline Reporter)
Nielsen ratings 14.8
Sugar Bowl
 < 2003   2005 > 
College Football Championship Game
 < 2003 2005 > 

The 2004 Nokia Sugar Bowl, the BCS National Championship Game for the 2003 college football season, was played on January 4, 2004, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The teams were the Oklahoma Sooners and the LSU Tigers. The Tigers won the BCS National Championship, their second national championship in school history, defeating the Sooners by a score of 21–14.

Contents

Set-up

2004 Sugar Bowl, Louisiana State vs. Oklahoma; January 4, 2004 Sugar Bowl Game 2004 from Flickr 29799042.jpg
2004 Sugar Bowl, Louisiana State vs. Oklahoma; January 4, 2004

BCS #2 ranked LSU came into the national championship title game 12–1, with their one loss at home to #17 Florida 19–7. Top-ranked Oklahoma was 12–1, with the lone defeat coming at a neutral site in the Big 12 Championship Game against Kansas State 35–7. There was substantial media and fan controversy as to which teams deserved to play in the National Title game. USC was ranked #3 in the BCS standings but #1 by both of the human polls, the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and the AP poll, which made up a portion of the BCS Standings. Southern Cal owned a record of 11–1, with its one loss coming in triple overtime at unranked Cal 34–31.

Once the game commenced, LSU's #1 ranked defense held the country's most prolific offense, which had averaged 45.2 points and 461 yards per game, to 154 total yards (32 in the first half) and just one touchdown until midway though the fourth quarter. The Sooners' Heisman Trophy-winning QB Jason White completed only 13 of his 37 passing attempts for just 102 yards. He was also sacked seven times and intercepted twice. LSU's offense was largely supplied by freshman running back and Sugar Bowl MVP Justin Vincent, who rushed for 117 yards and a touchdown.

As a result, LSU won their second national championship and first since 1958. The majority of the coaches voted LSU National Champions as contractually required by the BCS. There were three dissenting coaches (Ron Turner of Illinois, Mike Bellotti of Oregon and Lou Holtz of South Carolina) who voted USC #1. BCS #3 USC won the Rose Bowl against #4 ranked Michigan and was voted the National Champion in the AP Poll.

Scoring summary

Scoring playScore
1st quarter
LSU - Skyler Green 24-yard run (Ryan Gaudet kick). 11:38LSU 7–0
2nd quarter
OU - Kejuan Jones 1-yard run (Trey DiCarlo kick). 7:31Tie 7–7
LSU - Justin Vincent 16-yard run (Gaudet kick). 4:21LSU 14–7
3rd quarter
LSU - Marcus Spears 20-yard interception return (Gaudet kick). 14:13LSU 21–7
4th quarter
OU - Jones 1-yard run (DiCarlo kick). 11:01LSU 21–14

Relevant bowl records

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004–05 NCAA football bowl games</span>

The 2004–05 NCAA football bowl games were a series of 32 post-season games played in December 2004 and January 2005 for Division I-A football teams and their all-stars. The post-season began with the New Orleans Bowl on December 14, 2004, and concluded on January 29, 2005, with the season-ending Senior Bowl.

The Associated Press poll provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadcasters from across the nation. Each voter provides their own ranking of the top 25 teams, and the individual rankings are then combined to produce the national ranking by giving a team 25 points for a first place vote, 24 for a second place vote, and so on down to 1 point for a twenty-fifth place vote. Ballots of the voting members in the AP poll are publicized.

The phrase "Game of the Century" is a superlative that was applied to several college football contests played in the 20th century, the first full century of college football in the United States. It is a subjective term applied by sportswriters to describe the most notable games of the period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2001 NCAA Division I-A football season</span> American college football season

The 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first college football season of the 21st century. It ended with the University of Miami winning the national title for the fifth time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 NCAA Division I-A football season</span> American college 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 eliminate. Due to on-field circumstances, the BCS becoming a means of having a single champion going forward, and finally the four-team title playoff system's institution in 2014, as of 2024 this is the most recent Division 1-A season to end with split national champions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2004 NCAA Division I-A football season</span> American college football season

The 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 28, 2004 and ended on December 4, 2004. The postseason concluded on January 4, 2005 with the Orange Bowl, which served as the season's BCS National Championship Game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LSU Tigers football</span> Collegiate football team representing Louisiana State University

The LSU Tigers football program, also known as the Fighting Tigers, represents Louisiana State University in college football. The Tigers compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2003 LSU Tigers football team</span> American college football season

The 2003 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University (LSU) during the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. Coached by Nick Saban, the LSU Tigers played their home games at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Tigers compiled an 11–1 regular season record and then defeated the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game, Afterward, LSU was invited to play the Oklahoma Sooners in the Sugar Bowl for the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) national title. LSU won the BCS National Championship Game, the first national football championship for LSU since 1958.

The 2007 Allstate Sugar Bowl was a college football bowl game, which formed part of the 2006–2007 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) of the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Played on January 3, 2007, in the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, it was the 73rd Sugar Bowl. The game matched the Notre Dame Fighting Irish against the LSU Tigers and was televised on Fox.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 BCS National Championship Game</span> College football game

The 2008 BCS National Championship Game was played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, January 7, 2008, and featured the No. 1 and No. 2 college football teams in the United States as determined by the BCS Poll to decide the BCS National Championship for the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season.

The 2003 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. They won their first national championship since 1978 as they were named the Associated Press and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) national champions. However, the Trojans were denied a spot in the BCS National Championship Game by the BCS selections for the national championship game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 LSU Tigers football team</span> American college football season

The 2007 LSU Tigers football team represented Louisiana State University during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It won the Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship and the national championship–their third claimed national championship and fourth recognized by the NCAA and the college football community. It was the team’s second national championship in five years and first consensus national championship since 1958.

The 2004 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. The 2004 Trojans football team won the 2004 BCS National Championship by winning the 2005 Orange Bowl, that year's BCS National Championship Game. The team also won the AP title for the second year in a row. It was the Trojans' first unanimous national championship since 1972, and the second time a team had gone wire-to-wire, with the Trojans holding the number 1 spot in the polls all season. The team was coached by Pete Carroll in his fourth year with the Trojans, and played their home games in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The team is widely considered one of the greatest college football teams of all time.

The 2004 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game held on January 1, 2004 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. It was the 90th Rose Bowl Game. The USC Trojans, champions of the Pacific-10 Conference, defeated the Michigan Wolverines, champions of the Big Ten Conference, 28-14. USC quarterback Matt Leinart was named the Rose Bowl Player of the Game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2005 Sugar Bowl</span> College football game

The 2005 Sugar Bowl was a postseason American college football bowl game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Auburn Tigers at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 3, 2005. It was the 71st edition of the annual Sugar Bowl football contest. Virginia Tech represented the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in the contest, while Auburn represented the Southeastern Conference (SEC). In a defensive struggle, Auburn earned a 16–13 victory despite a late-game rally by Virginia Tech.

The 1959 Sugar Bowl featured the top-ranked LSU Tigers and the 12th-ranked Clemson Tigers. LSU had already secured the consensus national title, as the final editions of both major polls were released a month earlier in early December. Also, 37 other selectors selected LSU as Naional Champions. With Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon at halfback, LSU was favored to win by fifteen points.

The 1985 Sugar Bowl was the 51st edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Tuesday, January 1. Part of the 1984–85 bowl game season, it matched the fifth-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big Eight Conference and the #11 LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The teams had met two years earlier in the Orange Bowl. Favored Nebraska trailed early, but rallied to win 28–10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 BCS National Championship Game</span> College football game

The 2011 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game was a college football bowl game to determine the national champion of the 2010 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) season. The finale of the 2010–2011 Bowl Championship Series was played at the University of Phoenix Stadium, the host facility of the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona, on January 10, 2011.

The 2014 Sugar Bowl was a college football bowl game played on Thursday, January 2, 2014, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The 80th annual Sugar Bowl, it featured the #10, #11 Oklahoma Sooners of the Big 12 Conference and the #3-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference. The game was broadcast live on ESPN at 8:30 PM EST. It was one of the 2013–14 bowl games that concluded the 2013 FBS football season. It was sponsored by the Allstate insurance company and was officially known as the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

The LSU Tigers football team represents Louisiana State University in the sport of American football. The university has fielded a team every year since it began play in 1893, except in 1918 due to World War I. It has competed in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) since 1933, and in the conference's Western division since 1992. Previously, LSU was a member of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) from 1896 to 1921 and the Southern Conference (SoCon) from 1922 to 1932. There have been 32 head coaches for the team, starting with Charles E. Coates in 1893. Since 2022, the head coach of the Tigers is Brian Kelly. LSU has played 1,221 games in its 123 seasons of play, and has compiled an all-time record of 772 wins, 405 losses, and 47 ties as of the end of the 2016 season.

References