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2002 Cincinnati

7–⁠7 (6–⁠2 Conference USA), coached by Rick Minter.

Schedule and results

Cincinnati in 2002, game by game: won vs. TCU 36–29; lost vs. West Virginia 32–35; lost vs. No. 6 Ohio State 19–23; won at Temple 35–22; lost vs. Miami (OH) 26–31; lost at Tulane 17–35; lost at Southern Miss 14–23; won vs. Memphis 48–10; won at Louisville 24–14; won vs. Houston 47–14; lost at Hawai’i 19–20; won vs. UAB 31–23; won at East Carolina 42–26; lost vs. North Texas 19–24+38−18Won 36–29 vs. TCU+7TCULost 32–35 vs. West Virginia-3West VirginiaLost 19–23 vs. No. 6 Ohio State-4No. 6 Ohio StateWon 35–22 at Temple+13TempleLost 26–31 vs. Miami (OH)-5Miami (OH)Lost 17–35 at Tulane-18TulaneLost 14–23 at Southern Miss-9Southern MissWon 48–10 vs. Memphis+38MemphisWon 24–14 at Louisville+10LouisvilleWon 47–14 vs. Houston+33HoustonLost 19–20 at Hawai’i-1Hawai’iWon 31–23 vs. UAB+8UABWon 42–26 at East Carolina+16East CarolinaLost 19–24 vs. North Texas-5North Texas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsTCUW 36–⁠2955%
Sep 14vsWest VirginiaL 32–⁠3566%
Sep 21vs6Ohio StateL 19–⁠2338%
Sep 28atTempleW 35–⁠2257%
Oct 5vsMiami (OH)L 26–⁠3155%
Oct 12atTulaneL 17–⁠3549%
Oct 19atSouthern MissL 14–⁠2329%
Oct 26vsMemphisW 48–⁠1064%
Nov 7atLouisvilleW 24–⁠1425%
Nov 16vsHoustonW 47–⁠1477%
Nov 23atHawai’iL 19–⁠2031%
Nov 30vsUABW 31–⁠2370%
Dec 6atEast CarolinaW 42–⁠2656%
Dec 17Bowls & playoffvsNorth TexasNew Orleans BowlL 19–⁠2460%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to North Texas 24–⁠19 in the New Orleans Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Conference USA champions.

In program history: The 23rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 114 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.

Conference USA champions6–⁠2 in the conference, shared with TCU

Record
7–⁠7
Conference
6–⁠2 shared first in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
409–⁠329
Coach
Rick Minter
Elo
1542 +39 this season
SP+ rating
10.7 No. 37 of 117; offense No. 37, defense No. 38
SRS
4.5 No. 49 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 76
Offensive coordinator
Rusty Burns
Defensive coordinator
A.J. Christoff
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

Top recruits in the 2002 class

John Bowie CB★★No. 898
Brian Dodd ATH★★No. 898
James Julian CB★★No. 898
A.J. Xhudo DT★★No. 898
Antoine Horton S★★No. 898

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.767
Running backs12.00.767
Receivers12.00.767
Offensive line32.00.767
Defensive line22.00.767
Linebackers12.00.767
Defensive backs42.00.767
Athletes and specialists22.00.767
Whole class152.00.767

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.

Drafted in 2003

The 2003 draft
Rd 3Antwan Peek LBHouston Texans
Rd 5Jon Olinger WRAtlanta Falcons
Rd 7Blue Adams DBDetroit Lions

2002 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
TCU6–⁠210–⁠223
Cincinnati6–⁠27–⁠7
Southern Miss5–⁠37–⁠6
Louisville5–⁠37–⁠6
Tulane4–⁠48–⁠5
UAB4–⁠45–⁠7
East Carolina4–⁠44–⁠8
Houston3–⁠55–⁠7
Memphis2–⁠63–⁠9
Army1–⁠71–⁠11

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