13-1 under Nick Saban, beat Oklahoma 21-14 in the Sugar Bowl BCS title game; also No. 1 with the coaches (USA Today/ESPN, contractually bound to the BCS winner) and the NFF.
LSU’s 2003 schedule2003: 2 Champions, Zero Agreement
SPLITMULTIPLELSU wins the BCS title game over Oklahoma while the AP writers and the FWAA crown USC, which the BCS formula left out of the Sugar Bowl despite its No. 1 human-poll ranking, the last split championship of the BCS era.
Sugar Bowl
January 4, 2004 · Caesars Superdome · New Orleans, LA
The case for each side
12-1 under Pete Carroll, No. 1 in both human polls entering the bowls but third in the BCS formula; beat Michigan 28-14 in the Rose Bowl and finished No. 1 in the final AP poll and won the FWAA Grantland Rice Trophy.
USC’s 2003 schedule