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] USC (then ranked No. 3) before being replaced due to injury in the second half by Reggie Robertson.[4] overtime , 34–31.[5] 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 Cal's, at the time, 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 p.m. vs. No. 7 Kansas State * ESPN L 28–4250,823 August 30 1:00 p.m. Southern Miss * HDNet W 34–233,552 September 6 3:00 p.m. Colorado State * California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA FSN L 21–2334,096 September 11 4:45 p.m. at Utah * ESPN L 24–3146,768 September 20 9:00 a.m. at Illinois * ESPN+ W 31–2458,363 September 27 3:30 p.m. No. 3 USC California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA FSN W 34–31 3OT 51,208 October 4 2:00 p.m. Oregon State California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA L 21–3539,150 October 18 12:30 p.m. at UCLA ABC L 20–23 OT 53,825 October 25 12:30 p.m. Arizona California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA W 42–1433,249 November 1 12:30 p.m. at Arizona State W 51–2348,452 November 8 7:00 p.m. at Oregon TBS L 17–2157,511 November 15 12:30 p.m. Washington California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA W 54–738,576 November 22 12:30 p.m. at Stanford ABC W 28–1667,950 December 26 5:00 p.m. vs. Virginia Tech * ESPN W 52–4942,364 *Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time
[8]
Game summaries [ ] USC [ ]
#3 USC at California
by Quarter
1
2
3
4
OT
Total
USC
7
0
14
3
0
24
California
7
14
0
3
0
24
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.
Aaron Rogers was the starter as Cal's quarterback, but due to injury he was replaced in the second half by Reggie Robertson.[4]
Washington [ ]
by Quarter
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
by Quarter
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
Roster [ ]
2003 California Golden Bears football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
60 Jonathon Murphy OL 6-5 315 SO SQ 10-3-83 Hanford (Hanford HS)
61 Ryan O'Callaghan OL 6-7 330 SO 1V 7-19-83 Redding (Enterprise HS)
Defense
Pos.
#
Name
Class
S
20
Giordano, Matt Matt Giordano 5.0 ! Jr
DB
21
McCleskey, Donnie Donnie McCleskey 3.0 ! So
CB
22
Mixon, Tim Tim Mixon File:Redshirt.svg 1.5 ! Fr
DE
90
Riddle, Ryan Ryan Riddle 5.0 ! Jr
DE
91
Parson, Monte Monte Parson 7.0 ! Sr
DT
99
Ladouceur, L. P. L. P. Ladouceur 5.0 ! Jr
Special teams
Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) IneligibleRoster
References [ ]
↑ "2003 California Golden Bears Schedule and Results" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/california/2003-schedule.html . Retrieved October 21, 2016 .↑ "California 2015 Football Information Guide" . Cal Golden Bears Athletics. p. 166. Archived from the original on October 26, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161026170757/https://admin.xosn.com/attachments1/423534.pdf . Retrieved October 21, 2016 .↑ "Player Bio:Aaron Rodgers" . University of California. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. https://www.webcitation.org/60BhcqcG4?url=http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-footbl/mtt/rodgers_aaron00.html . Retrieved May 13, 2012 .↑ 4.0 4.1 "Cal-USC Postgame Quotes" . Cal Athletics. September 27, 2003. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. https://www.webcitation.org/60Ead83EB?url=http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/092703aac.html .↑ "Cal fans storm field after win" . ESPN. September 27, 2003. http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=232700025 . Retrieved May 13, 2012 .↑ "Cal Records" . University of California. http://www.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/cal/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/pdf-07FB121to150-072007 . Retrieved May 13, 2012 .↑ "2003 California Golden Bears Stats" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/california/2003.html . Retrieved October 21, 2016 .↑ 2011 California football information guide
↑ "California 54, Washington 7" . ESPN . November 15, 2003. http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?id=233190025 . Retrieved December 28, 2014 .
