# 2003 Sugar Bowl > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/2003_Sugar_Bowl > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/2003_Sugar_Bowl.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Sugar_Bowl > Source revision: 1355379756 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) The **2003 Sugar Bowl**, a 2002–03 [BCS](/source/Bowl_Championship_Series) game, was played on January 1, 2003. This 69th edition to the Sugar Bowl featured the [Georgia Bulldogs](/source/2002_Georgia_Bulldogs_football_team), and the [Florida State Seminoles](/source/2002_Florida_State_Seminoles_football_team). Georgia came into the game 12–1 and ranked 3rd in the BCS, whereas Florida State came into the game 9–4 and ranked 14th in the BCS. Sponsored by [Nokia](/source/Nokia), the game was officially known as the **Nokia Sugar Bowl**. ## Teams The Sugar Bowl during the BCS era usually selected the [SEC](/source/Southeastern_Conference) champion, meaning that the winner of the SEC in 2002, [Georgia](/source/2002_Georgia_Bulldogs_football_team) received an invitation to the Sugar Bowl. Their opponent would be [ACC](/source/Atlantic_Coast_Conference) champion [Florida State](/source/2002_Florida_State_Seminoles_football_team). ### Georgia Bulldogs Main article: [2002 Georgia Bulldogs football team](/source/2002_Georgia_Bulldogs_football_team) Georgia defeated [Arkansas](/source/2002_Arkansas_Razorbacks_football_team) in the [2002 SEC Championship Game](/source/2002_SEC_Championship_Game) to earn a BCS berth as their conference's champion. Georgia entered the bowl with a 12–1 record (7–1 in conference). ### Florida State Seminoles Main article: [2002 Florida State Seminoles football team](/source/2002_Florida_State_Seminoles_football_team) Florida State won the ACC title outright by virtue of their 7–1 conference record. At the time, the ACC champion would go to the [Orange Bowl](/source/Orange_Bowl), however the Orange Bowl chose [Iowa](/source/2003_Iowa_Hawkeyes_football_team) and [USC](/source/2003_USC_Trojans_football_team) instead, leaving the Seminoles to play in the Sugar Bowl. Florida State entered the bowl with an 9–4 record (7–1 in conference). ## Game summary Kicker Billy Bennett kicked a 23-yard field goal with 10 minutes left in the opening quarter to account for the quarter's only points. In the second quarter, FSU quarterback Fabian Walker threw a 5-yard slant pass to [Anquan Boldin](/source/Anquan_Boldin) as FSU took a 7–3 lead. Florida State was driving again in the second quarter before cornerback [Bruce Thornton](/source/Bruce_Thornton_(cornerback)) stepped in front of a Walker pass and raced 73 yards to the opposite end zone, to give Georgia a 10–7 lead. Quarterback [D.J. Shockley](/source/D.J._Shockley) threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to [Terrence Edwards](/source/Terrence_Edwards) before halftime to give the Bulldogs a 17–7 half time lead. Billy Bennett accounted for two more Georgia field goals in the third quarter, as Georgia posted a 23–7 lead. On the final play of the third quarter, wide receiver Anquan Boldin (who had replaced quarterback Fabian Walker) threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to [Craphonso Thorpe](/source/Craphonso_Thorpe). The ensuing two-point conversion failed, and the lead was 23–13. Billy Bennett kicked another field goal in the fourth quarter, as Georgia held off Florida State. Georgia's running back [Musa Smith](/source/Musa_Smith) won the MVP award. The Seminoles defensive tackle [Darnell Dockett](/source/Darnell_Dockett) was suspended from the game after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor [theft](/source/Theft) charge.[1] ## Aftermath Georgia completed the season 13–1. They ranked #3 in both major polls. Florida State finished the season 9–5 and #21/#24 in the polls. ## References 1. ["Seminoles' Dockett suspended for bowl"](http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/122302/col_11300206.shtml). *The Times-Union*. December 23, 2002. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20131008224500/http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/122302/col_11300206.shtml) October 8, 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved September 26, 2013. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [2003 Sugar Bowl](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Sugar_Bowl) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Sugar_Bowl?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.