2003 Independence Bowl

2003 Independence Bowl
Arkansas Razorbacks Missouri Tigers (9–4) (8–5) 27 14 Head coach:  Houston Nutt Head coach:  Gary Pinkel
1 2 3 4 Total Arkansas 3 18 3 3 27 Missouri 7 0 7 0 14
Date	December 31, 2003
Season	2003
Stadium	Independence Stadium
Location	Shreveport, Louisiana
MVP	Cedric Cobbs Caleb Miller
Referee	Walt Davenport (ACC)
Attendance	49,625
Payout	US$2,504,112
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Sean McDonough, Mike Golic, Rod Gilmore and Rob Stone

The 2003 Independence Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Missouri Tigers on December 31, 2003, at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana. Arkansas made their sixth straight bowl appearance, but had lost the last three. Missouri, on the other hand, was making their first bowl appearance since 1998. This was Missouri's first bowl game under Head Coach Gary Pinkel.

Arkansas defeated Missouri 27–14, winning their first bowl game since the 2000 Cotton Bowl. It was Arkansas' first victory in the Independence Bowl. Missouri fell to (8–5) on the season, while Arkansas improved to (9–4). This was the Hogs second bowl victory under head coach Houston Nutt.

The Tigers opened the game with a 7–3 lead after the first quarter, but Arkansas rallied back, scoring 18 unanswered points to take a 21–7 lead into halftime. Mizzou cut the Hogs lead to 21–14 with a third quarter touchdown. But Arkansas answered with two field goals, one in the third and one in the fourth, to seal the victory for the Razorbacks. The Hogs outdueled the Tigers in every facet of the game, to include a blocked punt against Missouri in the second half.

Arkansas running back Cedric Cobbs was named the game's Offensive MVP, rushing for 141 yards and a touchdown. The game's Defensive MVP was Razorback linebacker Caleb Miller, who finished the game with 14 tackles and an interception. ^[1]

References

1. "Razorbacks run for 300 yards". ESPN.com. December 31, 2003. Retrieved 2012-01-15.