CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2002 Houston

5–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Conference USA), coached by Dana Dimel.

Schedule and results

Houston in 2002, game by game: won at Rice 24–10; lost vs. Tulane 13–34; won vs. Louisiana 36–17; lost at No. 3 Texas 11–41; lost at TCU 17–34; lost at UAB 34–51; won vs. Army 56–42; won at Memphis 26–21; lost vs. East Carolina 48–54; lost at Cincinnati 14–47; lost vs. South Florida 14–32; won vs. Louisville 27–10+19−33Won 24–10 at Rice+14RiceLost 13–34 vs. Tulane-21TulaneWon 36–17 vs. Louisiana+19LouisianaLost 11–41 at No. 3 Texas-30No. 3 TexasLost 17–34 at TCU-17TCULost 34–51 at UAB-17UABWon 56–42 vs. Army+14ArmyWon 26–21 at Memphis+5MemphisLost 48–54 vs. East Carolina-6East CarolinaLost 14–47 at Cincinnati-33CincinnatiLost 14–32 vs. South Florida-18South FloridaWon 27–10 vs. Louisville+17Louisville
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31atRiceW 24–⁠1025%
Sep 7vsTulaneL 13–⁠3450%
Sep 14vsLouisianaW 36–⁠1764%
Sep 21at3TexasL 11–⁠4110%
Oct 5atTCUL 17–⁠3421%
Oct 12atUABL 34–⁠5130%
Oct 19vsArmyW 56–⁠4270%
Nov 2atMemphisW 26–⁠2139%
Nov 9vsEast CarolinaL 48–⁠5449%
Nov 16atCincinnatiL 14–⁠4723%
Nov 23vsSouth FloridaL 14–⁠3224%
Nov 30vsLouisvilleW 27–⁠1022%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Louisville 27–⁠10; unranked in the final AP poll; 8th in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 69th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 81 on file).

Led the nationBrandon Middleton: yards per catch (24.1)

Record
5–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 8th in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked
Points
320–⁠393
Coach
Dana Dimel
Elo
1386 +42 this season
SP+ rating
-9.0 No. 82 of 117; offense No. 66, defense No. 94
SRS
−10.0 No. 91 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 40
Offensive coordinators
Dave Warner and Clancy Barone
Defensive coordinators
Dick Bumpas and Bradley Dale Peveto
Captains
Ronnie Braxton, Rex Hadnot, Bryan Hill, Hanik Milligan, Joffrey Reynolds and Chris Robertson
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

Top recruits in the 2002 class

Willie Gaston ATH★★★No. 670
Kade Lane DT★★No. 898
Gerard Richard DT★★No. 898
Josh Szepieniec WDE★★No. 898
Leonard Gibson WR★★No. 898

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers12.00.767
Offensive line12.00.767
Defensive line42.00.767
Athletes and specialists13.00.800
Whole class72.10.771

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 6Hanik Milligan DBSan Diego Chargers

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.