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2002 Maryland

11–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Ralph Friedgen, finished No. 13 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Maryland in 2002, game by game: lost vs. Notre Dame 0–22; won vs. Akron 44–14; lost vs. No. 5 Florida State 10–37; won vs. Eastern Michigan 45–3; won vs. Wofford 37–8; won at West Virginia 48–17; won vs. Georgia Tech 34–10; won at Duke 45–12; won at North Carolina 59–7; won vs. No. 14 NC State 24–21; won at Clemson 30–12; lost at Virginia 13–48; won vs. Wake Forest 32–14; won vs. Tennessee 30–3+52−35Lost 0–22 vs. Notre Dame-22Notre DameWon 44–14 vs. Akron+30AkronLost 10–37 vs. No. 5 Florida State-27No. 5 Florida StateWon 45–3 vs. Eastern Michigan+42Eastern MichiganWon 37–8 vs. Wofford+29WoffordWon 48–17 at West Virginia+31West VirginiaWon 34–10 vs. Georgia Tech+24Georgia TechWon 45–12 at Duke+33DukeWon 59–7 at North Carolina+52North CarolinaWon 24–21 vs. No. 14 NC State+3No. 14 NC StateWon 30–12 at Clemson+18ClemsonLost 13–48 at Virginia-35VirginiaWon 32–14 vs. Wake Forest+18Wake ForestWon 30–3 vs. Tennessee+27Tennessee
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsNotre DameL 0–⁠2255%
Sep 7vsAkronW 44–⁠1473%
Sep 14vs5Florida StateL 10–⁠3743%
Sep 21vsEastern MichiganW 45–⁠383%
Sep 28vsWoffordW 37–⁠886%
Oct 5atWest VirginiaW 48–⁠1749%
Oct 17vsGeorgia TechW 34–⁠1055%
Oct 26atDukeW 45–⁠1280%
Nov 2atNorth CarolinaW 59–⁠764%
Nov 9vs14NC StateW 24–⁠2159%
Nov 16atClemsonW 30–⁠1256%
Nov 23atVirginiaL 13–⁠4863%
Nov 30vsWake ForestW 32–⁠1476%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsTennesseePeach BowlW 30–⁠350%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Tennessee 30–⁠3 in the Peach Bowl; No. 13 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 10th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 120 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 21
  2. Wk 2: 21
  3. Wk 13: 19
  4. Wk 14: 18
  5. Wk 15: 25
  6. Wk 16: 21
  7. Final: 13

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.

Led the nationSteve Suter: punt return yards (771 yds)

Butkus AwardE.J. Henderson, LB; also the Bednarik

Consensus All-AmericanE.J. Henderson, LB

Record
11–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 13 peak No. 13
Points
451–⁠228
Coach
Ralph Friedgen
Elo
1690 +113 this season
SP+ rating
16.6 No. 19 of 117; offense No. 35, defense No. 24
SRS
15.1 No. 14 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 30
Offensive coordinator
Charlie Taaffe
Defensive coordinator
Gary Blackney

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.9own 36— 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

William Kershaw ILB★★★No. 670
D’Qwell Jackson OLB★★★No. 670
Jo Jo Walker CB★★★No. 670
Sam Hollenbach PRO★★★No. 670
Pascal Abiumiri WR★★No. 898

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks13.00.800
Receivers12.00.767
Linebackers23.00.800
Defensive backs13.00.800
Whole class52.80.793

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 2E.J. Henderson LBMinnesota Vikings

All-ACC

8 first team, 3 second team

First team

  • Matt CrawfordOTAP-1
  • Todd WikeCAP-1
  • Chris DownsRBAP-1
  • E.J. HendersonLBAP-1
  • Domonique FoxworthDBAP-1
  • Nick NovakKAP-1
  • Brooks BarnardPAP-1
  • Steve SuterRSAP-1

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

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.