2003 Florida Gators football team

2003 Florida Gators football
SEC Eastern Division co-champions
Outback Bowl, L 37–17 vs. Iowa
Conference	Southeastern Conference Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	#25
AP	#24
2003 record	8–5 (6–2 SEC)
Head coach	Ron Zook
Offensive coordinator	Ed Zaunbrecher
Defensive coordinator	Charlie Strong
Captain	Daryl Dixon Keiwan Ratliff Max Starks Ben Troupe
Home stadium	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

2003 SEC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
#7 Georgia xy		6	–	2					11	–	3
#15 Tennessee x		6	–	2					10	–	3
#24 Florida x		6	–	2					8	–	5
South Carolina		2	–	6					5	–	7
Kentucky		1	–	7					4	–	8
Vanderbilt		1	–	7					2	–	10
Western Division
#2 LSU xy$#		7	–	1					13	–	1
#13 Ole Miss x		7	–	1					10	–	3
Auburn		5	–	3					8	–	5
Arkansas		4	–	4					9	–	4
Alabama		2	–	6					4	–	9
Mississippi State		1	–	7					2	–	10
Championship: LSU 34, Georgia 13
# – BCS National Champion $ – BCS representative as conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 2003 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2003 college football season. The Gators competed in Division I-A of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. They were led by second-year coach Ron Zook, who coached the Gators to a first-place tie in the SEC East, an Outback Bowl berth, and an overall win-loss record of 8–5 (.615). Consensus All-American Keiwan Ratliff set the school single-season interception mark in 2003 with 9.

Schedule

Date	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
8–30–2003	San Jose State*		Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL	PPV	W 65–3	90,011
9–6–2003	#3 Miami*	#21	Orange Bowl • Miami, FL	ABC	L 33–38	79,932
9–13–2003	Florida A&M*	#19	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL	PPV	W 63–3	90,087
9–20–2003	#12 Tennessee	#17	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL	CBS	L 10–24	90,332
9–27–2003	Kentucky	#25	Commonwealth Stadium • Lexington, KY	JPS	W 24–21	70,579
10–4–2003	Mississippi	#24	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL	JPS	L 17–20	90,101
10–11–2003	#6 Louisiana State		Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, LA	CBS	W 19–7	92,077
10–18–2003	#11 Arkansas		D.W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR	CBS	W 33–28	73,934
11–1–2003	#4 Georgia	#23	Alltel Stadium • Jacksonville, FL	CBS	W 16–13	84,411
11–8–2003	Vanderbilt	#17	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL (HC)	PPV	W 35–17	90,122
11–15–2003	South Carolina	#15	Williams-Brice Stadium • Columbia, SC	JPS	W 24–22	81,523
11–29–2003	#9 Florida State*	#11	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL	CBS	L 34–38	90,407
1–1–2004	#13 Iowa*	#17	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL (Outback Bowl)	ESPN	L 17–37	65,372
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game.

Sources: 2012 Florida Football Media Guide, and GatorZone.com.

Game summaries

San Jose State

1 2 3 4 Total San Jose St 3 0 0 0 3 • Florida 3 27 14 21 65 Date: August 30 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, FL Game start: 6:00 p.m. EST

Scoring summary Q1 SJSU Carr 47 yard field goal SJSU 3–0 Q1 FLA Leach 20 yard field goal Tie 3–3 Q2 FLA Leach 37 yard field goal FLA 6–3 Q2 FLA Carthon 2 yard run (Leach kick) FLA 13–3 Q2 FLA Kight 21 yard pass from Martin (Leach kick) FLA 20–3 Q2 FLA Scott 38 yard interception return (Leach kick) FLA 27–3 Q2 FLA Leach 30 yard field goal FLA 30–3 Q3 FLA Carthon 2 yard run (Leach kick) FLA 37–3 Q3 FLA Kight 16 yard pass from Leak (Leach kick) FLA 44–3 Q4 FLA Lewis 22 yard fumble return (Leach kick) FLA 51–3 Q4 FLA Jackson 29 yard pass from Dickey (Leach kick) FLA 58–3 Q4 FLA Orr 72 yard interception return (Leach kick) FLA 65–3

Coaching staff

• Ron Zook - Head Coach
• Ed Zaunbrecher - Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
• Charlie Strong - Defensive Coordinator
• Mike Woodford - Defense/Special Teams Coordinator
• Jerry "Red" Anderson - Defensive Line
• Joe Wickline - Offensive Line/Running Game Coordinator
• Dwayne Dixon - Assistant Head Coach
• Larry Fedora - Perimeter Game Coordinator
• Mike Locksley - Running Backs / Recruiting Coordinator
• Bill Miller - Assistant Coach (Linebackers)

See also

• Florida–Florida State football rivalry
• Florida Gators
• Florida–Georgia football rivalry
• Florida–LSU football rivalry
• Florida–Miami football rivalry
• Florida–Tennessee football rivalry
• History of the University of Florida

Bibliography

• 2009 Southeastern Conference Football Media Guide, Florida Year-by-Year Records, Southeastern Conference, Birmingham, Alabama, p. 60 (2009).
• 2012 Florida Football Media Guide, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 107–116 (2012).
• Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN 0-7948-2298-3.

External links

• College Football Data Warehouse, Florida Yearly Results: 2000–2004. Retrieved August 6, 2015.