2003 NCAA Division I-A football season

The 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with an abundance of controversy, resulting in a split national championship. This was the first split title since the inception of the BCS, something the BCS intended to eliminate.

At season's end, three major conference teams finished the regular season with one loss, with only two spots available in the BCS National Championship Game. Three non-BCS teams also finished with one loss, TCU, Boise State and Miami , stirring the debate of the BCS being unfair to mid-major teams.

USC had lost a triple overtime thriller at on September 27, LSU lost at home to Florida on October 11, and Oklahoma, which had been #1 in every BCS rating of the season, had been shocked by Kansas State in the Big 12 Championship Game, 35-7 on December 6. USC finished #1 in both the AP and Coaches' Polls, while both USC and LSU fell short on several computer factors. Oklahoma's schedule strength was ranked 11th to LSU's 29th and USC's 37th. Oklahoma's schedule rank was 0.44 to LSU's 1.16 and USC's 1.48. As such, despite the timing of Oklahoma's loss affecting the human voters, the computers kept Oklahoma at #1 in the BCS poll, with LSU and USC being separated by only 0.16 points.

LSU defeated Oklahoma in the 2004 Sugar Bowl, securing the BCS National Championship, as the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll is contractually obligated to vote the winner of the BCS National Championship Game #1....
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