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2002 Georgia

13–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Mark Richt, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Georgia in 2002, game by game: won vs. Clemson 31–28; won at South Carolina 13–7; won vs. Northwestern State 45–7; won vs. New Mexico State 41–10; won at No. 22 Alabama 27–25; won vs. No. 10 Tennessee 18–13; won vs. Vanderbilt 48–17; won at Kentucky 52–24; lost vs. Florida 13–20; won vs. Ole Miss 31–17; won at No. 24 Auburn 24–21; won vs. Georgia Tech 51–7; won vs. No. 22 Arkansas 30–3; won vs. No. 16 Florida State 26–13+44−7Won 31–28 vs. Clemson+3ClemsonWon 13–7 at South Carolina+6South CarolinaWon 45–7 vs. Northwestern State+38Northwestern St…Won 41–10 vs. New Mexico State+31New Mexico StateWon 27–25 at No. 22 Alabama+2No. 22 AlabamaWon 18–13 vs. No. 10 Tennessee+5No. 10 TennesseeWon 48–17 vs. Vanderbilt+31VanderbiltWon 52–24 at Kentucky+28KentuckyLost 13–20 vs. Florida-7FloridaWon 31–17 vs. Ole Miss+14Ole MissWon 24–21 at No. 24 Auburn+3No. 24 AuburnWon 51–7 vs. Georgia Tech+44Georgia TechWon 30–3 vs. No. 22 Arkansas+27No. 22 ArkansasWon 26–13 vs. No. 16 Florida State+13No. 16 Florida State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsClemsonW 31–⁠2864%
Sep 14atSouth CarolinaW 13–⁠750%
Sep 21vsNorthwestern StateW 45–⁠790%
Sep 28vsNew Mexico StateW 41–⁠1081%
Oct 5at22AlabamaW 27–⁠2543%
Oct 12vs10TennesseeW 18–⁠1357%
Oct 19vsVanderbiltW 48–⁠1789%
Oct 26atKentuckyW 52–⁠2462%
Nov 2vsFloridaL 13–⁠2055%
Nov 9vsOle MissW 31–⁠1778%
Nov 16at24AuburnW 24–⁠2155%
Nov 30vsGeorgia TechW 51–⁠770%
Dec 7vs22ArkansasSEC Championship GameW 30–⁠361%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs16Florida StateSugar BowlW 26–⁠1356%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Florida State 26–⁠13 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 3 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 9th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 8
  2. Wk 2: 8
  3. Wk 3: 10
  4. Wk 4: 9
  5. Wk 5: 8
  6. Wk 6: 8
  7. Wk 7: 7
  8. Wk 8: 6
  9. Wk 9: 5
  10. Wk 10: 5
  11. Wk 11: 5
  12. Wk 12: 7
  13. Wk 13: 7
  14. Wk 14: 6
  15. Wk 15: 5
  16. Wk 16: 4
  17. Final: 3

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.

Southeastern Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference, won the SEC Championship Game

Consensus All-AmericanDavid Pollack, DE

Record
13–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 3
Points
450–⁠212
Coach
Mark Richt
Elo
1768 +176 this season
SP+ rating
25.2 No. 5 of 117; offense No. 20, defense No. 5
SRS
20.8 No. 6 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 9
Offensive coordinator
Neil Callaway
Defensive coordinator
Brian VanGorder
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.6own 34— allowed
Defense0.0own 32— 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

Kedric Golston DT★★★★★No. 33
Marcus Jackson WDE★★★★No. 50
Max Jean-Gilles OT★★★★No. 94
Leonard Pope TE★★★★No. 106
Cedric Haywood WR★★No. 898

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs12.00.767
Receivers23.00.850
Offensive line14.00.948
Defensive line24.50.981
Defensive backs12.00.767
Whole class73.30.878

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 1Johnathan Sullivan DTNew Orleans Saints
Rd 1George Foster OTDenver Broncos
Rd 2Boss Bailey LBDetroit Lions
Rd 2Jon Stinchcomb OTNew Orleans Saints
Rd 3Musa Smith RBBaltimore Ravens
Rd 6Tony Gilbert LBArizona Cardinals
Rd 7J.T. Wall RBPittsburgh Steelers

All-SEC

8 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

  • Kevin BreedloveOGAP-2; Coaches-2
  • Kentrell CurryDBCoaches-2

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

2002 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia7–⁠113–⁠13
Alabama6–⁠210–⁠311
Florida6–⁠28–⁠5
Auburn5–⁠39–⁠414
Arkansas5–⁠39–⁠5
LSU5–⁠38–⁠5
Tennessee5–⁠38–⁠5
Kentucky3–⁠57–⁠5
Ole Miss3–⁠57–⁠6
South Carolina3–⁠55–⁠7
Mississippi State0–⁠83–⁠9
Vanderbilt0–⁠82–⁠10

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