The 2003 SBC Cotton Bowl Classic was a post-season college football bowl game between the Texas Longhorns and the LSU Tigers on January 1, 2003, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. It was the final game of the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season for each team and resulted in a 35âÂÂ20 Texas victory. Texas represented the Big 12 Conference while LSU represented the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
The University of Texas started out their season strong, and finished well, compiling a 10âÂÂ2 record: they lost to Oklahoma, 35âÂÂ24 and the Texas Tech Red Raiders 42âÂÂ38 while being ranked number 4.
Louisiana State started off their season 6âÂÂ1. However, an injury to their starting quarterback Matt Mauck caused them to lose their last few games (to Alabama 0âÂÂ31, Auburn 7âÂÂ31, and Arkansas 20âÂÂ21). They finished with an 8âÂÂ4 regular season record, a disappointing year.