2003–04 NCAA football bowl games
The 2003–04 NCAA football bowl games were a series of 28 post-season games (including the Bowl Championship Series) played in December 2003 and January 2004 for Division I-A football teams and their all-stars. The post-season began with the New Orleans Bowl on December 16, 2003, and concluded on January 31, 2004, with the season-ending Gridiron Classic.
| 2003–04 NCAA football bowl games | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Gameplay during the BCS National Championship Sugar Bowl for the 2003 season | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Number of bowls | 28 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| All-star games | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowl games | December 16, 2003 – January 4, 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National Championship | 2004 Sugar Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location of Championship | Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Champions | LSU Tigers (BCS/Coaches) & USC Trojans (AP) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowl Challenge Cup winner | ACC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A total of 28 team-competitive games, and two all-star games, were played. To fill the 56 available bowl slots, four teams with non-winning seasons participated in bowl games—all four had a .500 (6–6) season. While teams that did not have winning seasons were invited to bowl games, seven teams with winning records were left out: Northern Illinois (10–2); Connecticut (9-3); Marshall and Toledo (both 8–4); Air Force and Akron (both 7–5); and South Florida (7–4).