2003 California Golden Bears football team

2003 California Golden Bears football
Insight Bowl champion
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Record8–6 (5–3 Pac-10)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGeorge Cortez (2nd season)
Offensive schemePro-style
Defensive coordinatorBob Gregory (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
Captains
Home stadiumCalifornia Memorial Stadium
Seasons
← 2002
2004 →
2003 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 1 USC $   7 1     12 1  
No. 9 Washington State   6 2     10 3  
Oregon   5 3     8 5  
California   5 3     8 6  
Oregon State   4 4     8 5  
Washington   4 4     6 6  
UCLA   4 4     6 7  
Arizona State   2 6     5 7  
Stanford   2 6     4 7  
Arizona   1 7     2 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

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 in Pac-10, tied for third) and outscored their opponents 457 to 341.[1][2]

The Bears were led on the field by sophomore quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a junior college transfer who became the starter on September 20 against Illinois.[3] In his second start the following week, Rodgers led Cal to a 21–7 halftime lead over third-ranked USC before being replaced due to injury in the second half by Reggie Robertson.[4] The Bears won in triple overtime, 34–31.[5][6] In late December, Cal defeated Virginia Tech 52–49 in the Insight Bowl at Phoenix; Rodgers passed for 394 yards and was the game's offensive MVP. [7]

Rodgers tied Cal's season record with five 300-yard games and set a Cal record for the lowest percentage of passes intercepted at 1.43%.[8] The Golden Bears' statistical leaders included Rodgers with 2,903 passing yards, Adimchinobe Echemandu with 1,195 rushing yards, and Geoff McArthur with 1,504 receiving yards.[9]

  1. ^ "2003 California Golden Bears Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  2. ^ "California 2015 Football Information Guide" (PDF). CalBears.com. Cal Golden Bears Athletics. p. 166. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 26, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  3. ^ "Player Bio:Aaron Rodgers". University of California. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
  4. ^ "Cal-USC Postgame Quotes". Cal Athletics. September 27, 2003. Archived from the original on June 9, 2012.
  5. ^ Beacham, Greg (September 28, 2003). "Cal bears down in OT, snaps USC streak". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. p. D1.
  6. ^ "Cal fans storm field after win". ESPN. September 27, 2003. Archived from the original on February 25, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
  7. ^ Baum, Bob (December 27, 2003). "Cal kicker wins another big one". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. p. D1.
  8. ^ "Cal Records". University of California. Archived from the original on November 22, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2012.
  9. ^ "2003 California Golden Bears Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2016.