CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2002 Bowling Green

9–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Mid-American Conference), coached by Urban Meyer.

Schedule and results

Bowling Green in 2002, game by game: won vs. Tennessee Tech 41–7; won vs. Missouri 51–28; won at Kansas 39–16; won vs. Ohio 72–21; won at Central Michigan 45–35; won vs. Western Michigan 48–45; won vs. Ball State 38–20; won at Kent State 45–14; lost at Northern Illinois 17–26; lost at South Florida 7–29; won vs. Eastern Michigan 63–21; lost at Toledo 24–42+51−22Won 41–7 vs. Tennessee Tech+34Tennessee TechWon 51–28 vs. Missouri+23MissouriWon 39–16 at Kansas+23KansasWon 72–21 vs. Ohio+51OhioWon 45–35 at Central Michigan+10Central MichiganWon 48–45 vs. Western Michigan+3Western MichiganWon 38–20 vs. Ball State+18Ball StateWon 45–14 at Kent State+31Kent StateLost 17–26 at Northern Illinois-9Northern Illino…Lost 7–29 at South Florida-22South FloridaWon 63–21 vs. Eastern Michigan+42Eastern MichiganLost 24–42 at Toledo-18Toledo
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29vsTennessee TechW 41–⁠785%
Sep 14vsMissouriW 51–⁠2863%
Sep 21atKansasW 39–⁠1665%
Oct 5vsOhioW 72–⁠2188%
Oct 12atCentral MichiganW 45–⁠3568%
Oct 19vsWestern MichiganW 48–⁠4576%
Oct 26vsBall StateW 38–⁠2083%
Nov 2atKent StateW 45–⁠1477%
Nov 9atNorthern IllinoisL 17–⁠2656%
Nov 16atSouth FloridaL 7–⁠2946%
Nov 23vsEastern MichiganW 63–⁠2191%
Nov 30atToledoL 24–⁠4238%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Toledo 42–⁠24; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 15th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 73 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 9: 25
  2. Wk 10: 24
  3. Wk 11: 21
  4. Wk 12: 20

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
9–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 4th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 20
Points
490–⁠304
Coach
Urban Meyer
Elo
1562 +35 this season
SP+ rating
1.2 No. 62 of 117; offense No. 12, defense No. 99
SRS
3.2 No. 55 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 81
Offensive coordinator
Gregg Brandon
Defensive coordinator
Tim Beckman
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

Top recruits in the 2002 class

Tim Arnold S★★No. 898
P.J. Pope RB★★No. 898
Ted Piepkow OLB★★No. 898
Jamien Johnson ILB★★No. 898
William Myles CB★★No. 898

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.767
Running backs22.00.767
Receivers12.00.767
Offensive line12.00.767
Defensive line22.00.767
Linebackers22.00.767
Defensive backs42.00.767
Whole class132.00.767

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.