Editing Aaron Rodgers (section)

====2003 season====
{{see also|2003 California Golden Bears football team}}

As a [[junior college]] transfer, Rodgers had three years of eligibility at Cal. He was named the starting quarterback in the fifth game of the 2003 season, beating the only team that offered him a {{nowrap|Division I}} opportunity out of high school, Illinois.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 14, 2014 |title=Aaron Rodgers: I wanted to join Illini; they passed |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2014/10/14/aaron-rodgers-i-wanted-to-join-illini-they-passed/ |access-date=May 30, 2024 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref> As a sophomore, he helped lead the Golden Bears to a 7–3 record as a starter.<ref name="calbears1" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=King |first=Randy |date=December 26, 2003 |title=Virginia Tech finishes on wrong foot with Insight Bowl loss to Cal |url=https://www.roanoke.com/sports/college/va_tech/virginia-tech-finishes-on-wrong-foot-with-insight-bowl-loss/article_6e776ea8-ae9d-11e7-9aa2-4357db843999.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191208021513/https://www.roanoke.com/sports/college/va_tech/virginia-tech-finishes-on-wrong-foot-with-insight-bowl-loss/article_6e776ea8-ae9d-11e7-9aa2-4357db843999.html |archive-date=December 8, 2019 |access-date=December 8, 2019 |website=The Roanoke Times}}</ref>

In his second career start, Rodgers led the team to a 21–7 halftime lead against #3 [[USC Trojans football|USC]]. Due to injury, Rodgers was replaced in the second half by Reggie Robertson.<ref name="calfans" /><ref>{{Cite web |date=September 27, 2003 |title=Cal-USC Postgame Quotes |url=http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/092703aac.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120609121444/http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/092703aac.html |archive-date=June 9, 2012 |website=California Golden Bears |quote=After the interception for the touchdown, I went over to him and said 'Do you want to take a couple of series off?' and he said 'Yes.' We put Reggie (Robertson) in and Reggie did a nice job for us."}}</ref> The Bears won in triple [[overtime (American football)|overtime]], 34–31.<ref name="calfans">{{Cite web |date=September 27, 2003 |title=Cal fans storm field after win |url=http://espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=232700025 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161119182933/https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap?gameId=232700025 |archive-date=November 19, 2016 |access-date=May 13, 2012 |website=[[ESPN.com]] |agency=Associated Press}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Faraudo |first=Jeff |date=September 29, 2009 |title=Cal's triple-overtime thriller against USC in 2003 produced multiple heroes |url=https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2009/09/29/cals-triple-overtime-thriller-against-usc-in-2003-produced-multiple-heroes/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191208021406/https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2009/09/29/cals-triple-overtime-thriller-against-usc-in-2003-produced-multiple-heroes/ |archive-date=December 8, 2019 |access-date=December 8, 2019 |website=East Bay Times}}</ref> Rodgers passed for 394 yards and was named game MVP in the [[2003 Insight Bowl|Insight Bowl]] against [[2003 Virginia Tech Hokies football team|Virginia Tech]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Insight Bowl – Virginia Tech vs California Box Score, December 26, 2003 |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/boxscores/2003-12-26-california.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180312084010/https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/boxscores/2003-12-26-california.html |archive-date=March 12, 2018 |access-date=March 11, 2018 |website=[[Sports Reference]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Tsuchiya |first=Anita |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MJ5-BwAAQBAJ&q=aaron%2520rodgers%2520insight%2520bowl%2520mvp&pg=PT14 |title=Aaron Rodgers: Biography of a Super Bowl MVP |date=July 30, 2012 |publisher=Hyperink Inc |isbn=9781614646129 |access-date=December 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210203201742/https://books.google.com/books?id=MJ5-BwAAQBAJ&q=aaron%2520rodgers%2520insight%2520bowl%2520mvp&pg=PT14 |archive-date=February 3, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2003, Rodgers tied the school season record for 300-yard games with five and set a school record for the lowest percentage of passes intercepted at 1.43%.<ref name="cstv.com">{{Cite web |title=Cal Records |url=http://www.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/cal/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/pdf-07FB121to150-072007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071122202146/http://www.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/cal/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/pdf-07FB121to150-072007 |archive-date=November 22, 2007 |access-date=May 13, 2012 |website=CSTV.com}}</ref>