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2002 Louisville

7–⁠6 (5–⁠3 Conference USA), coached by John Smith.

Schedule and results

Louisville in 2002, game by game: lost vs. Kentucky 17–22; won at Duke 40–3; lost at No. 24 Colorado State 33–36; won at Army 45–14; won vs. No. 4 Florida State 26–20; won at Memphis 38–32; lost vs. TCU 31–45; won vs. East Carolina 44–20; lost vs. Cincinnati 14–24; won at Southern Miss 20–17; won vs. UAB 41–21; lost at Houston 10–27; lost vs. Marshall 15–38+37−23Lost 17–22 vs. Kentucky-5KentuckyWon 40–3 at Duke+37DukeLost 33–36 at No. 24 Colorado State-3No. 24 Colorado StateWon 45–14 at Army+31ArmyWon 26–20 vs. No. 4 Florida State+6No. 4 Florida StateWon 38–32 at Memphis+6MemphisLost 31–45 vs. TCU-14TCUWon 44–20 vs. East Carolina+24East CarolinaLost 14–24 vs. Cincinnati-10CincinnatiWon 20–17 at Southern Miss+3Southern MissWon 41–21 vs. UAB+20UABLost 10–27 at Houston-17HoustonLost 15–38 vs. Marshall-23Marshall
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsKentuckyL 17–⁠2282%
Sep 7atDukeW 40–⁠375%
Sep 14at24Colorado StateL 33–⁠3647%
Sep 21atArmyW 45–⁠1480%
Sep 26vs4Florida StateW 26–⁠2045%
Oct 8atMemphisW 38–⁠3267%
Oct 19vsTCUL 31–⁠4567%
Oct 26vsEast CarolinaW 44–⁠2076%
Nov 7vsCincinnatiL 14–⁠2475%
Nov 14atSouthern MissW 20–⁠1743%
Nov 23vsUABW 41–⁠2176%
Nov 30atHoustonL 10–⁠2778%
Dec 18Bowls & playoffvsMarshallGMAC BowlL 15–⁠3839%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Marshall 38–⁠15 in the GMAC Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Conference USA.

In program history: The 29th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 82 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 17
  2. Wk 2: 17

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
5–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Conference USA
AP final
Unranked peak No. 17
Points
374–⁠319
Coach
John Smith
Elo
1532 −91 this season
SP+ rating
3.1 No. 59 of 117; offense No. 62, defense No. 52
SRS
1.2 No. 58 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 54
Offensive coordinator
John Pettas
Defensive coordinator
Chris Smeland
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 43— allowed
Defense0.0own 23— 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

Jimmy Strong CB★★No. 898
Brinson Harley OG★★No. 898
Renardo Foster TE★★No. 898
Justin Rascati PRO★★No. 898
Gavin Smart ATH★★No. 898

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.767
Receivers22.00.767
Offensive line42.00.767
Defensive line22.00.767
Defensive backs22.00.767
Athletes and specialists12.00.767
Whole class122.00.767

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 2Dewayne White DETampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 3Dave Ragone QBHouston Texans
Rd 7Curry Burns DBHouston Texans
Rd 7Chris Johnson DBGreen Bay Packers

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.