2003 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

2003 South Carolina Gamecocks football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Record	5–7 (2–6 SEC)
Head coach	Lou Holtz (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Skip Holtz (5th season)
Offensive scheme	Option
Defensive coordinator	Chris Cosh (1st season)
Home stadium	Williams-Brice Stadium
Seasons ← 2002 2004 →

The 2003 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Gamecocks were led by Lou Holtz in his fifth season as head coach and played their home games in Williams–Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.

After starting the final two games of last season, Dondrial Pinkins was the Gamecocks' starting quarterback in 2003.^[1][2] South Carolina started 2–0 and ranked No. 25 after a blowout upset win over No. 15 Virginia,^[3] the first ranked opponent they had beaten since 2001, and the highest-ranked opponent they had beaten since 2000.^[4][5][6][3] However, out of the next five games, the Gamecocks lost three, all to top-10 opponents.^[3] South Carolina won one more game, against Vanderbilt, before ending the season on a four-game losing streak.^[3] This included a historic blowout loss to archrival Clemson in front of one of the largest crowds that Williams–Brice Stadium has ever held.^[7]

The Gamecocks finished the season with a final record of 5–7, but this would be their last losing season until 2015.^[8]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	7:00 pm	Louisiana–Lafayette*		Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, South Carolina		W 14–7	82,227[9]
September 6	12:30 pm	No. 15 Virginia*		Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, South Carolina	JPS	W 31–7	80,150[9]
September 13	3:30 pm	at No. 8 Georgia	No. 25	Sanford Stadium Athens, Georgia (rivalry)	CBS	L 7–31	92,058[9]
September 20	7:00 pm	UAB*		Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, South Carolina		W 42–10	80,523[9]
September 27	7:45 pm	at No. 8 Tennessee		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, Tennessee (rivalry)	ESPN	L 20–23 OT	107,881[9]
October 9	7:45 pm	Kentucky		Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, South Carolina	ESPN	W 27–21	78,592[9]
October 18	7:45 pm	No. 10 LSU		Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, South Carolina	ESPN	L 7–33	82,525[9]
October 25	7:00 pm	Vanderbilt		Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, South Carolina	PPV	W 35–24	77,227[9]
November 1	12:30 pm	at No. 20 Ole Miss		Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, Mississippi	JPS	L 40–43	56,878[9]
November 6	7:30 pm	at Arkansas		War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, Arkansas	ESPN	L 6–28	55,617[9]
November 15	12:30 pm	No. 15 Florida		Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, South Carolina	JPS	L 22–24	81,523[9]
November 22	7:00 pm	Clemson*		Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, South Carolina (Palmetto Bowl)	ESPN2	L 17–63	83,987[9]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time