CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2002 LSU

8–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Southeastern Conference), coached by Nick Saban.

Schedule and results

LSU in 2002, game by game: lost at No. 16 Virginia Tech 8–26; won vs. The Citadel 35–10; won vs. Miami (OH) 33–7; won vs. Mississippi State 31–13; won vs. Louisiana 48–0; won at No. 16 Florida 36–7; won vs. South Carolina 38–14; lost at Auburn 7–31; won at Kentucky 33–30; lost vs. No. 10 Alabama 0–31; won vs. Ole Miss 14–13; lost at Arkansas 20–21; lost vs. No. 9 Texas 20–35+48−31Lost 8–26 at No. 16 Virginia Tech-18No. 16 Virginia TechWon 35–10 vs. The Citadel+25The CitadelWon 33–7 vs. Miami (OH)+26Miami (OH)Won 31–13 vs. Mississippi State+18Mississippi Sta…Won 48–0 vs. Louisiana+48LouisianaWon 36–7 at No. 16 Florida+29No. 16 FloridaWon 38–14 vs. South Carolina+24South CarolinaLost 7–31 at Auburn-24AuburnWon 33–30 at Kentucky+3KentuckyLost 0–31 vs. No. 10 Alabama-31No. 10 AlabamaWon 14–13 vs. Ole Miss+1Ole MissLost 20–21 at Arkansas-1ArkansasLost 20–35 vs. No. 9 Texas-15No. 9 Texas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1at16Virginia TechL 8–⁠2646%
Sep 7vsThe CitadelW 35–⁠1090%
Sep 14vsMiami (OH)W 33–⁠771%
Sep 28vsMississippi StateW 31–⁠1380%
Oct 5vsLouisianaW 48–⁠088%
Oct 12at16FloridaW 36–⁠735%
Oct 19vsSouth CarolinaW 38–⁠1472%
Oct 26atAuburnL 7–⁠3168%
Nov 9atKentuckyW 33–⁠3060%
Nov 16vs10AlabamaL 0–⁠3155%
Nov 23vsOle MissW 14–⁠1376%
Nov 29atArkansasL 20–⁠2143%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs9TexasCotton BowlL 20–⁠3536%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Texas 35–⁠20 in the Cotton Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 55th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 14
  2. Wk 2: 14
  3. Wk 3: 24
  4. Wk 4: 25
  5. Wk 5: 24
  6. Wk 6: 22
  7. Wk 7: 21
  8. Wk 8: 18
  9. Wk 9: 14
  10. Wk 10: 10
  11. Wk 11: 17
  12. Wk 12: 16
  13. Wk 13: 14
  14. Wk 14: 21
  15. Wk 15: 18

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.

SEC West champions5–⁠3 in the conference, shared with Arkansas and Auburn

Record
8–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 10
Points
323–⁠238
Coach
Nick Saban
Elo
1618 −18 this season
SP+ rating
14.5 No. 25 of 117; offense No. 67, defense No. 7
SRS
9.5 No. 30 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 21
Offensive coordinator
Jimbo Fisher
Defensive coordinator
Will Muschamp
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 30— allowed
Defense-0.6own 36— 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

Lester Ricard DUAL★★★★No. 101
Kyle Williams DT★★★★No. 120
Ryan Willis WDE★★★No. 670
Junior Joseph WR★★★No. 670
Chris Vincent ATH★★★No. 670

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.937
Receivers13.00.800
Defensive line23.50.865
Linebackers12.00.767
Athletes and specialists13.00.800
Whole class63.20.839

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 4Domanick Davis RBHouston Texans
Rd 4Bradie James LBDallas Cowboys
Rd 4LaBrandon Toefield RBJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 7Norman LeJeune DBPhiladelphia Eagles

All-SEC

2 first team, 7 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 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.