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2002 Clemson

7–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Tommy Bowden.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 2002, game by game: lost at No. 8 Georgia 28–31; won vs. Louisiana Tech 33–13; won vs. Georgia Tech 24–19; won vs. Ball State 30–7; lost at No. 11 Florida State 31–48; lost at Virginia 17–22; won vs. Wake Forest 31–23; lost vs. No. 12 NC State 6–38; won at Duke 34–31; won at North Carolina 42–12; lost vs. No. 19 Maryland 12–30; won vs. South Carolina 27–20; lost vs. Texas Tech 15–55+30−40Lost 28–31 at No. 8 Georgia-3No. 8 GeorgiaWon 33–13 vs. Louisiana Tech+20Louisiana TechWon 24–19 vs. Georgia Tech+5Georgia TechWon 30–7 vs. Ball State+23Ball StateLost 31–48 at No. 11 Florida State-17No. 11 Florida StateLost 17–22 at Virginia-5VirginiaWon 31–23 vs. Wake Forest+8Wake ForestLost 6–38 vs. No. 12 NC State-32No. 12 NC StateWon 34–31 at Duke+3DukeWon 42–12 at North Carolina+30North CarolinaLost 12–30 vs. No. 19 Maryland-18No. 19 MarylandWon 27–20 vs. South Carolina+7South CarolinaLost 15–55 vs. Texas Tech-40Texas Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31at8GeorgiaL 28–⁠3136%
Sep 7vsLouisiana TechW 33–⁠1364%
Sep 14vsGeorgia TechW 24–⁠1951%
Sep 21vsBall StateW 30–⁠778%
Oct 3at11Florida StateL 31–⁠4831%
Oct 12atVirginiaL 17–⁠2249%
Oct 19vsWake ForestW 31–⁠2365%
Oct 24vs12NC StateL 6–⁠3846%
Nov 2atDukeW 34–⁠3173%
Nov 9atNorth CarolinaW 42–⁠1256%
Nov 16vs19MarylandL 12–⁠3044%
Nov 23vsSouth CarolinaW 27–⁠2064%
Dec 23Bowls & playoffvsTexas TechTangerine BowlL 15–⁠5544%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Texas Tech 55–⁠15 in the Tangerine Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 82nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 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
7–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 5th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
330–⁠349
Coach
Tommy Bowden
Elo
1528 −17 this season
SP+ rating
7.4 No. 49 of 117; offense No. 54, defense No. 45
SRS
3.3 No. 53 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 29
Offensive coordinator
Brad Scott
Defensive coordinator
John Lovett
Captains
Nick Eason, Bryant McNeal and Jackie Robinson
Offense
Pro set
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 27— allowed
Defense0.0own 35— caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2002 class

Gerald McCloud WR★★★No. 670
Donnell Clark ILB★★★No. 670
Roman Fry OG★★★No. 670
Chris Carter ATH★★No. 898
Brad Lee OG★★No. 898

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs12.00.767
Receivers13.00.800
Offensive line32.30.778
Linebackers13.00.800
Athletes and specialists12.00.767
Whole class72.40.781

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 4Nick Eason DTDenver Broncos
Rd 4Bryant McNeal DEDenver Broncos

All-ACC

1 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2002 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2002 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida State7–⁠19–⁠521
Maryland6–⁠211–⁠313
Virginia6–⁠29–⁠522
NC State5–⁠311–⁠312
Georgia Tech4–⁠47–⁠6
Clemson4–⁠47–⁠6
Wake Forest3–⁠57–⁠6
North Carolina1–⁠73–⁠9
Duke0–⁠82–⁠10

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