2002 NCAA Division I-A football season

2002 NCAA Division I-A season
Heisman Trophy won by Carson Palmer for play during the 2002 season
Total # of teams	117[1]
Preseason AP #1	Miami Hurricanes
Number of bowls	28
Bowl games	December 17, 2002 – January 3, 2003
National championship	2003 Fiesta Bowl
Location of championship	Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
Champions	Ohio State Buckeyes
Heisman	Carson Palmer, USC
NCAA Division I-A football season «2001 2003»

The 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season ended the season with what most consider an exciting double overtime national championship game. Ohio State and Miami both came into the Fiesta Bowl undefeated. The underdog Buckeyes defeated the Hurricanes 31–24, ending Miami's 34 game winning streak. However, controversy did surround the end of the game. After Miami had taken the lead into overtime, Ohio State had a fourth and goal opportunity. Buckeye quarterback Craig Krenzel's pass fell incomplete in the end zone, appearing that Miami had won their 2nd straight title. However, as the Miami team began to race on the field, a late was flag thrown on the play for pass interference. Though many have questioned the call, the Big 12 reviewed and confirmed the call.^[2] Jim Tressel won the national championship in only his second year as head coach.

Rose Bowl officials were vocally upset over the loss of the Big Ten champ from the game. Former New England Patriots coach Pete Carroll returned the USC Trojans to a BCS bid in only his second season as head coach. Notre Dame also returned to prominence, as Tyrone Willingham became the first coach in Notre Dame history to win 10 games in his first season.

The only conference move during this season saw the University of Central Florida leave the Independent ranks to join the Mid-American Conference as its 14th member.

Contents 1 Standings 2 Bowl Championship Series Rankings 3 Final BCS Rankings 4 Bowl Games 4.1 BCS Bowls 4.2 Other New Years Day Bowls 4.3 December Bowl Games 5 Heisman Trophy Voting 6 Other Major Awards 7 References

Standings

2002 ACC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #21 Florida State †   7 – 1         9 – 5   #13 Maryland   6 – 2         11 – 3   #22 Virginia   6 – 2         9 – 5   #12 NC State   5 – 3         11 – 3   Clemson   4 – 4         7 – 6   Georgia Tech   4 – 4         7 – 6   Wake Forest   3 – 5         7 – 6   North Carolina   1 – 7         3 – 9   Duke   0 – 8         2 – 10   † – BCS representative as champion Rankings from AP Poll	2002 Big 12 football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   North #20 Colorado x   7 – 1         9 – 5   #7 Kansas State   6 – 2         11 – 2   Iowa State   4 – 4         7 – 7   Nebraska   3 – 5         7 – 7   Missouri   2 – 6         5 – 7   Kansas   0 – 8         2 – 10   South #5 Oklahoma xy†   6 – 2         12 – 2   #6 Texas x   6 – 2         11 – 2   Texas Tech   5 – 3         9 – 5   Oklahoma State   5 – 3         8 – 5   Texas A&M   3 – 5         6 – 6   Baylor   1 – 7         3 – 9   Championship: Oklahoma 29, Colorado 7 † – BCS representative as champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll	2002 Big East football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #2 Miami †   7 – 0         12 – 1   #25 West Virginia   6 – 1         9 – 4   #19 Pittsburgh   5 – 2         9 – 4   #18 Virginia Tech   3 – 4         10 – 4   Boston College   3 – 4         9 – 4   Syracuse   2 – 5         4 – 8   Temple   2 – 5         4 – 8   Rutgers   0 – 7         1 – 11   † – BCS representative as champion Rankings from AP Poll
2002 Big Ten football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #1/1 Ohio State †§   8 – 0         14 – 0   #8/8 Iowa ‡§   8 – 0         11 – 2   #9/9 Michigan   6 – 2         10 – 3   #16/15 Penn State   5 – 3         9 – 4   Purdue   4 – 4         7 – 6   Illinois   4 – 4         5 – 7   Minnesota   3 – 5         8 – 5   Wisconsin   2 – 6         8 – 6   Michigan State   2 – 6         4 – 8   Northwestern   1 – 7         3 – 9   Indiana   1 – 7         3 – 9   † – BCS representative as champion ‡ – BCS at-large representative § – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll[3] / Coaches' Poll[4]	2002 Conference USA football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #23 TCU §   6 – 2         10 – 2   Cincinnati §   6 – 2         7 – 7   Louisville   5 – 3         7 – 6   Southern Miss   5 – 3         7 – 6   Tulane   4 – 4         8 – 5   UAB   4 – 4         5 – 7   East Carolina   4 – 4         4 – 8   Houston   3 – 5         5 – 7   Memphis   2 – 6         3 – 9   Army   1 – 7         1 – 11   § – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	2002 Division I-A independents football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   South Florida   –         9 – 2   #17 Notre Dame   –         10 – 3   Connecticut   –         6 – 6   Utah State   –         4 – 7   Troy   –         4 – 8   Navy   –         2 – 10   Rankings from AP Poll
2002 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East #24 Marshall x†   7 – 1         11 – 2   UCF   6 – 2         7 – 5   Miami   5 – 3         7 – 5   Ohio   4 – 4         4 – 8   Akron   3 – 5         4 – 8   Kent State   1 – 7         3 – 9   Buffalo   0 – 8         1 – 11   West Toledo xy   7 – 1         9 – 5   Northern Illinois x   7 – 1         8 – 4   Bowling Green   6 – 2         9 – 3   Ball State   4 – 4         6 – 6   Western Michigan   3 – 5         4 – 8   Central Michigan   2 – 6         4 – 8   Eastern Michigan   1 – 7         3 – 9   Championship: Marshall 49, Toledo 45 † – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	2002 Mountain West Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Colorado State †   6 – 1         10 – 4   New Mexico   5 – 2         7 – 7   Air Force   4 – 3         8 – 5   San Diego State   4 – 3         4 – 9   Utah   3 – 4         5 – 6   UNLV   3 – 4         5 – 7   BYU   2 – 5         5 – 7   Wyoming   1 – 6         2 – 11   † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	2002 Pacific-10 football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #10 Washington State †§   7 – 1         10 – 3   #4 USC ‡§   7 – 1         11 – 2   Arizona State   5 – 3         8 – 6   UCLA   4 – 4         8 – 5   Oregon State   4 – 4         8 – 5   California   4 – 4         7 – 5   Washington   4 – 4         7 – 6   Oregon   3 – 5         7 – 6   Arizona   1 – 7         4 – 8   Stanford   1 – 7         2 – 9   † – BCS representative as champion ‡ – BCS at-large representative § – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll
2002 SEC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Eastern Division #3 Georgia x†   7 – 1         13 – 1   Florida   6 – 2         8 – 5   Tennessee   5 – 3         8 – 5   Kentucky   3 – 5         7 – 5   South Carolina   3 – 5         5 – 7   [[{{{school}}}|Vanderbilt]]   0 – 8         2 – 10   Western Division #11 Alabama   6 – 2         10 – 3   Arkansas xy   5 – 3         9 – 5   #14 Auburn x   5 – 3         9 – 4   LSU x   5 – 3         8 – 5   [[{{{school}}}|Ole Miss]]   3 – 5         7 – 6   [[{{{school}}}|Mississippi State]]   0 – 8         3 – 9   Championship: Georgia 30, Arkansas 3 † – BCS representative as champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Alabama had the best division record, but did not participate in postseason play due to NCAA probation.. Rankings from AP Poll	2002 Sun Belt football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   [[{{{school}}}|North Texas]] †   6 – 0         8 – 5   [[{{{school}}}|New Mexico State]]   5 – 1         7 – 5   [[{{{school}}}|Arkansas State]]   3 – 3         6 – 7   [[{{{school}}}|Middle Tennessee]]   2 – 4         4 – 8   [[{{{school}}}|Louisiana–Lafayette]]   2 – 4         3 – 9   [[{{{school}}}|Louisiana–Monroe]]   2 – 4         3 – 9   [[{{{school}}}|Idaho]]   1 – 5         2 – 10   † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	2002 WAC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #15 Boise State †   7 – 0         12 – 1   Hawaiʻi   7 – 1         10 – 4   [[{{{school}}}|Fresno State]]   5 – 2         9 – 5   [[{{{school}}}|Nevada]]   4 – 3         5 – 7   [[{{{school}}}|San Jose State]]   3 – 4         6 – 7   [[{{{school}}}|Louisiana Tech]]   3 – 4         4 – 8   [[{{{school}}}|Rice]]   2 – 5         4 – 7   [[{{{school}}}|SMU]]   2 – 6         3 – 9   [[{{{school}}}|UTEP]]   1 – 6         2 – 10   [[{{{school}}}|Tulsa]]   1 – 6         1 – 11   † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Bowl Championship Series Rankings

WEEK	#1	#2	EVENT
OCT 21	Oklahoma	Miami
OCT 28	Oklahoma	Miami	Ohio State 34, Minnesota 3
NOV 4	Oklahoma	Ohio State	Texas A&M 30, Oklahoma 26
NOV 11	Ohio State	Miami	Ohio State 23, [[{{{school}}}|Illinois]] 16
NOV 18	Miami	Ohio State	Miami 28, Pittsburgh 21
NOV 25	Miami	Ohio State	Miami 49, [[{{{school}}}|Syracuse]] 7
DEC 2	Miami	Ohio State	Miami 56, [[{{{school}}}|Va. Tech]] 45
FINAL	Miami	Ohio State

Final BCS Rankings

BCS	School	Record	BCS Bowl game
1	Miami	12-0	Fiesta
2	Ohio State	13-0	Fiesta
3	Georgia	12-1	Sugar
4	USC	10-2	Orange
5	Iowa	11-1	Orange
6	Washington State	10-2	Rose
7	Oklahoma	11-2	Rose
8	Kansas State	10-2
9	Notre Dame	10-2
10	Texas	10-2
11	Michigan	9-3
12	Penn State	9-3
13	[[{{{school}}}|Colorado]]	9-4
14	Florida State	9-4	Sugar

Bowl Games

The Rose Bowl normally features the champions of the Big Ten and the Pac-10. However, Big Ten-champion Ohio State, finishing #2 in the BCS, had qualified to play in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl for the national championship against Miami (Fla.)^[5] Earlier in the season, Ohio State had defeated Washington State 25-7.

After the national championship was set, the Orange Bowl had the next pick, and invited #3 (#5 BCS) Iowa from the Big Ten. When it was the Rose Bowl's turn to select, the best available team was #8 (#7 BCS) Oklahoma, who won the Big 12 Championship Game. When it came time for the Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl to make a second pick, both wanted Pac-10 co-champion USC. However, a BCS rule stated that if two bowls wanted the same team, the bowl with the higher payoff had priority.^[6] The Orange Bowl immediately extended an at-large bid to the #5 Trojans and paired them with at-large #3 Iowa in a Big Ten/Pac-10 "Rose Bowl East" matchup in the 2003 Orange Bowl. The Rose Bowl was left to pair Oklahoma with Pac-10 co-champion Washington State.^[6] Rose Bowl committee executive director Mitch Dorger was not pleased with the results.^[6]

As such, the BCS instituted a new rule, whereby a bowl losing its conference champion to the BCS championship could "protect" the second-place team from that conference from going to another bowl. This left the Sugar Bowl with #14 BCS Florida State, the winner of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Notre Dame at 10-2 and #9 in the BCS standings was invited to the 2003 Gator Bowl. Kansas State at #8 also was left out.

BCS Bowls

• Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State (BCS #2 Big Ten Champ) 31, Miami (BCS #1 Big East Champ) 24 (2 OT)
• Sugar Bowl: Georgia (SEC Champ) 26, Florida State (ACC Champ) 13
• Orange Bowl: USC (BCS #4) 38, Iowa (At-Large) 17
• Rose Bowl: Oklahoma (Big 12 Champ) 34, Washington State (Pac-10 Champ) 14

Other New Years Day Bowls

• Cotton Bowl Classic: Texas 35, LSU 20
• {{{alt}}}: Auburn 13, Penn State 9
• {{{alt}}}: [[{{{school}}}|NC State]] 28, Notre Dame 6
• Outback Bowl: Michigan 38, Florida 30

December Bowl Games

• Holiday Bowl: Kansas State 34, [[{{{school}}}|Arizona State]] 27
• Peach Bowl: Maryland 30, Tennessee 3
• Tangerine Bowl: Texas Tech 55, [[{{{school}}}|Clemson]] 15
• Sun Bowl: Purdue 34, Washington 24
• {{{alt}}}: [[{{{school}}}|Mississippi]] 27, Nebraska 23
• Alamo Bowl: Wisconsin 31, [[{{{school}}}|Colorado]] 28
• Insight Bowl: Pittsburgh 38, [[{{{school}}}|Oregon State]] 13
• {{{alt}}}: [[{{{school}}}|TCU]] (C-USA Champ) 25, [[{{{school}}}|Colorado State]] (MWC Champ) 3
• Humanitarian Bowl: Boise State (WAC Champ) 34, Iowa State 16
• {{{alt}}}: [[{{{school}}}|Boston College]] 51, [[{{{school}}}|Toledo]] (MAC Champ) 25
• Hawai'i Bowl: Tulane 36, Hawai'i 28
• Seattle Bowl: Wake Forest 38, Oregon 17
• San Francisco Bowl: [[{{{school}}}|Virginia Tech]] 20, [[{{{school}}}|Air Force]] 13
• Music City Bowl: Minnesota 29, Arkansas 14
• Las Vegas Bowl: [[{{{school}}}|UCLA]] 27, [[{{{school}}}|New Mexico]] 13
• GMAC Bowl: Marshall 38, [[{{{school}}}|Louisville]] 15
• {{{alt}}}: [[{{{school}}}|Fresno State]] 30, [[{{{school}}}|Georgia Tech]] 21
• Houston Bowl: Oklahoma State 33, [[{{{school}}}|Southern Miss]] 23
• {{{alt}}}: Virginia 48, West Virginia 22
• New Orleans Bowl: [[{{{school}}}|North Texas]] (Sun Belt Champ) 25, [[{{{school}}}|Cincinnati]] 19

Heisman Trophy Voting

The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award is given to the

Most Outstanding Player of the year
Winner: Carson Palmer (Sr.), QB, USC (1,328 points)

• 2. Brad Banks (Sr.), QB, Iowa (1,095 points)
• 3. Larry Johnson (Sr.), RB, Penn State (726 points)
• 4. Willis McGahee (So.), RB, Miami (660 points)
• 5. Ken Dorsey (Sr.), QB, Miami (643 points)

Other Major Awards

• Maxwell Award (College player of the Year): Larry Johnson, Penn State
• Walter Camp Award (top back): Larry Johnson, Penn State
• Associated Press Player Of the Year: Brad Banks, Iowa
• Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback): Brad Banks, Iowa
• Johnny Unitas Award (Sr. quarterback): Carson Palmer, USC
• Doak Walker Award (running back): Larry Johnson, Penn State
• Fred Biletnikoff Award (wide receiver): Charles Rogers, Michigan State
• John Mackey Award (tight end): Dallas Clark, Iowa
• Dave Rimington Trophy (center): Brett Romberg, Miami
• Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player): E. J. Henderson, Maryland
• Lombardi Award (top lineman): Terrell Suggs, Arizona State
• Outland Trophy (interior lineman): Rien Long, Washington State
• Dick Butkus (linebacker): E. J. Henderson, Maryland
• Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back): Terence Newman, Kansas State
• Lou Groza Award (placekicker): Nate Kaeding, Iowa
• Ray Guy Award (punter): Mark Mariscal, Colorado
• The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award: Ty Willingham, Notre Dame
• Paul "Bear" Bryant Award: Jim Tressel, Ohio St.

NCAA college football seasons Pre-regulation 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 IAAUS 1906 1907 1908 1909 NCAA 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 NCAA Division I 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 NCAA Division I-A/FBS 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 NCAA Division I-AA/FCS 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

References