The 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with an abundance of controversy, resulting in a split national championship. This was the first split title since the inception of the BCS, something the BCS intended to eliminate.
At season's end, three major conference teams finished the regular season with one loss, with only two spots available in the BCS National Championship Game. Three non-BCS conference teams also finished with one loss, TCU, Boise State and Miami (OH), stirring the debate of the BCS being unfair to mid-major teams.
LSU defeated Oklahoma in the 2004 Sugar Bowl, securing the BCS National Championship, as the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll is contractually obligated to vote the winner of the BCS National Championship Game #1. Meanwhile, when AP #1 USC beat Michigan in the 2004 Rose Bowl, the AP voters kept USC in the top spot, and USC secured the AP title.
Army became the first team in NCAA Division I-A football modern history to finish the season 0-13.
The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award sponsored by ESPN chose USC coach Pete Carroll as their award recipient, while the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award, voted on by an association of sportswriters, chose LSU Coach Nick Saban.
The Orange Bowl game was noteworthy in that Miami and Florida State previously had scheduled to play each other on Labor Day in 2004. Playing in the Orange Bowl ensured that their next meeting would be each of their very next games and their first of the 2004 season. Taken from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_NCAA_Division_I-A_football_season

Final Stats:

AP Poll Summary
School	Conf	Final
Southern California	Pac-10	1
Louisiana State	SEC	2
Oklahoma	Big 12	3
Ohio State	Big Ten	4
Miami (FL)	Big East	5
Michigan	Big Ten	6
Georgia	SEC	7
Iowa	Big Ten	8
Washington State	Pac-10	9
Miami (OH)	MAC	10
Florida State	ACC	11
Texas	Big 12	12
Mississippi	SEC	13
Kansas State	Big 12	14
Tennessee	SEC	15
Boise State	WAC	16
Maryland	ACC	17
Purdue	Big Ten	18
Nebraska	Big 12	19
Minnesota	Big Ten	20
Utah	MWC	21
Clemson	ACC	22
Bowling Green State	MAC	23
Florida	SEC	24
Texas Christian	CUSA	25
Top 10 NFL Players drafted in 2004
Rnd	Pick	Tm		Pos	College/Univ
1	4	NYG	Philip Rivers	QB	North Carolina St.
1	11	PIT	Ben Roethlisberger	QB	Miami (OH)
4	126	KAN	Jared Allen	DE	Idaho St.
1	1	SDG	Eli Manning	QB	Mississippi
1	21	NWE	Vince Wilfork	NT	Miami (FL)
2	34	NYG	Chris Snee	G	Boston Col.
1	3	ARI	Larry Fitzgerald	WR	Pittsburgh
2	33	ARI	Karlos Dansby	LB	Auburn
1	24	STL	Steven Jackson	RB	Oregon St.
3	64	ARI	Darnell Dockett	DT	Florida St.