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2002 Akron

4–⁠8 (3–⁠5 Mid-American Conference), coached by Lee Owens.

Schedule and results

Akron in 2002, game by game: lost at Iowa 21–57; lost at Maryland 14–44; lost vs. Central Michigan 17–24; lost at Virginia 29–48; lost vs. Miami (OH) 31–48; lost at Eastern Michigan 34–42; won vs. Liberty 49–21; lost at UCF 17–28; won vs. Marshall 34–20; lost at Ohio 10–27; won vs. Buffalo 21–10; won at Kent State 48–10+38−36Lost 21–57 at Iowa-36IowaLost 14–44 at Maryland-30MarylandLost 17–24 vs. Central Michigan-7Central MichiganLost 29–48 at Virginia-19VirginiaLost 31–48 vs. Miami (OH)-17Miami (OH)Lost 34–42 at Eastern Michigan-8Eastern MichiganWon 49–21 vs. Liberty+28LibertyLost 17–28 at UCF-11UCFWon 34–20 vs. Marshall+14MarshallLost 10–27 at Ohio-17OhioWon 21–10 vs. Buffalo+11BuffaloWon 48–10 at Kent State+38Kent State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31atIowaL 21–⁠5732%
Sep 7atMarylandL 14–⁠4427%
Sep 14vsCentral MichiganL 17–⁠2458%
Sep 21atVirginiaL 29–⁠4831%
Sep 28vsMiami (OH)L 31–⁠4837%
Oct 5atEastern MichiganL 34–⁠4248%
Oct 12vsLibertyW 49–⁠2168%
Oct 26atUCFL 17–⁠2825%
Nov 2vsMarshallW 34–⁠2019%
Nov 9atOhioL 10–⁠2745%
Nov 16vsBuffaloW 21–⁠1075%
Nov 23atKent StateW 48–⁠1053%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Kent State 48–⁠10; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 13th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 64 on file).

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 2002.

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 9th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
325–⁠379
Coach
Lee Owens
Elo
1404 −45 this season
SP+ rating
-14.8 No. 96 of 117; offense No. 83, defense No. 100
SRS
−12.6 No. 94 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 87
Offensive coordinator
Paul Winters
Defensive coordinator
Joe Tresey

Top recruits in the 2002 class

Aaron Holderman OLB★★No. 898
Mark Groza OLB★★No. 898
Jermaine Reid DT★★No. 898
Ron Rease CB★★No. 898
Jay Rohr OLB★★No. 898

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.00.767
Receivers22.00.767
Offensive line32.00.767
Defensive line52.00.767
Linebackers32.00.767
Defensive backs32.00.767
Athletes and specialists12.00.767
Whole class192.00.767

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

2002 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Marshall7–⁠111–⁠224
Northern Illinois7–⁠18–⁠4
Toledo7–⁠19–⁠5
Bowling Green6–⁠29–⁠3
UCF6–⁠27–⁠5
Miami (OH)5–⁠37–⁠5
Ball State4–⁠46–⁠6
Ohio4–⁠44–⁠8
Akron3–⁠54–⁠8
Western Michigan3–⁠54–⁠8
Central Michigan2–⁠64–⁠8
Kent State1–⁠73–⁠9
Eastern Michigan1–⁠73–⁠9
Buffalo0–⁠81–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.