2002 Rose Bowl

2002 Rose Bowl
presented by AT&T
88th Rose Bowl Game

National Championship Game
1 2 3 4 Total
Miami 7 27 0 3 37
Nebraska 0 0 7 7 14
Date January 3, 2002
Season 2001
Stadium Rose Bowl
Location Pasadena, California
MVP Ken Dorsey (Miami QB) and Andre Johnson (Miami WR)
Halftime show Band of the Hour, University of Nebraska Cornhusker Marching Band
Attendance 93,781[1]
United States TV coverage
Network ABC
Announcers: Keith Jackson, Tim Brant
Nielsen ratings 13.8[2]
Rose Bowl
 < 2001  2003

The 2002 Rose Bowl, played on January 3, 2002, was a college football bowl game. It was the 88th Rose Bowl game and was the BCS National Championship Game of the 2001 college football season. The game featured the Miami Hurricanes and the Nebraska Cornhuskers, marking the first time since the 1919 Rose Bowl, and only the third time in the game's history, that neither the Big Ten nor the Pac-10 Conferences had a representative in this game. The Hurricanes won the game, 37–14, for their fifth national title.[3] Ken Dorsey, the Miami Quarterback and Andre Johnson, a Miami wide receiver, were named the Rose Bowl Players Of The Game.[4]

Contents

Teams

Because the Rose Bowl was hosting the BCS Championship game, as part of the agreement begun in the 1998 season, the Tournament of Roses committee would get the number one and number two ranked teams in the Bowl Championship Series system.

Nebraska Cornhuskers and Miami Hurricanes

In yet another controversial season for the BCS, #4 Nebraska was chosen as a national title contender despite not having played in the Big 12 championship game. The Huskers went into their last regularly scheduled game at Colorado undefeated, but were beaten by Colorado 62-36. The Huskers dropped from #2 to #6 in the wire service polls. In the ensuing days, #2 Florida lost to Tennessee, the Colorado Buffaloes went on to win the Big 12 Championship Game over #3 Texas, and in the SEC Championship Game, #2 Tennessee was stunned by LSU. This left Miami as the undefeated and undisputed #1 team in the country but a host of other teams vying for #2. The BCS computers did not take into account at which point a team's loss came during the season. There were also components for strength of schedule, quality win, and margin of victory. With this calculation, one-loss Nebraska came out ahead of two-loss Colorado and one-loss, second-ranked Oregon.

Previously, Nebraska had appeared in the 1941 Rose Bowl in a 21-13 loss to Stanford. This was the first appearance for the Miami Hurricanes in the Rose Bowl.

Pac-10 and Big Ten

Oregon was the champion of the Pacific 10 Conference and was ranked #2 in the AP Poll. They were selected for the 2002 Fiesta Bowl, where they faced #3 ranked Colorado, who was #4 in the BCS poll. The Illinois Fighting Illini, ranked #8 in the BCS, won the Big Ten Conference championship and were picked for the 2002 Sugar Bowl.

Scoring summary

Scoring Play Score
1st Quarter
UM - Andre Johnson 50 yard pass from Ken Dorsey (Todd Sievers kick). UM 7-0
2nd Quarter
UM - Clinton Portis 39 yard run (Sievers kick). UM 14-0
UM - James Lewis 47 yard interception return (Sievers kick). UM 21-0
UM - Jeremy Shockey 21 yard pass from Dorsey (Kick failed). UM 27-0
UM - Johnson 8 yard pass from Dorsey (Sievers kick). UM 34-0
3rd Quarter
NU - Judd Davies 16 yard run. (Josh Brown kick). UM 34-7
4th Quarter
NU - DeJuan Groce 71 yard punt return (Brown kick). UM 34-14
UM - Sievers 37 yard field goal. UM 37-14

Aftermath

Oregon defeated Colorado in the 2002 Fiesta Bowl. In the final AP poll Miami was the unanimous #1 team, Oregon was #2. The next time that the Rose Bowl hosted the BCS championship, the 2006 Rose Bowl, the USC Trojans would be a participant. As of the 2010 Rose Bowl, either a Pac-10 and/or Big Ten team has played in the game since the 2002 Rose Bowl.

References

External links