CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2002 Miami

12–⁠1 (7–⁠0 Big East), coached by Larry Coker, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Miami in 2002, game by game: won vs. Florida A&M 63–17; won at No. 6 Florida 41–16; won at Temple 44–21; won vs. Boston College 38–6; won vs. UConn 48–14; won vs. No. 9 Florida State 28–27; won at West Virginia 40–23; won at Rutgers 42–17; won at Tennessee 26–3; won vs. No. 17 Pittsburgh 28–21; won at Syracuse 49–7; won vs. No. 18 Virginia Tech 56–45; lost vs. No. 2 Ohio State 24–31+46−7Won 63–17 vs. Florida A&M+46Florida A&MWon 41–16 at No. 6 Florida+25No. 6 FloridaWon 44–21 at Temple+23TempleWon 38–6 vs. Boston College+32Boston CollegeWon 48–14 vs. UConn+34UConnWon 28–27 vs. No. 9 Florida State+1No. 9 Florida StateWon 40–23 at West Virginia+17West VirginiaWon 42–17 at Rutgers+25RutgersWon 26–3 at Tennessee+23TennesseeWon 28–21 vs. No. 17 Pittsburgh+7No. 17 PittsburghWon 49–7 at Syracuse+42SyracuseWon 56–45 vs. No. 18 Virginia Tech+11No. 18 Virginia TechLost 24–31 vs. No. 2 Ohio State-7No. 2 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsFlorida A&MW 63–⁠1795%
Sep 7at6FloridaW 41–⁠1648%
Sep 14atTempleW 44–⁠2186%
Sep 21vsBoston CollegeW 38–⁠682%
Oct 5vsUConnW 48–⁠1495%
Oct 12vs9Florida StateW 28–⁠2773%
Oct 26atWest VirginiaW 40–⁠2379%
Nov 2atRutgersW 42–⁠1795%
Nov 9atTennesseeW 26–⁠369%
Nov 21vs17PittsburghW 28–⁠2178%
Nov 30atSyracuseW 49–⁠782%
Dec 7vs18Virginia TechW 56–⁠4581%
Jan 3Bowls & playoffvs2Ohio StateFiesta BowlL 24–⁠3165%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ohio State 31–⁠24 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Big East champions.

In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 96 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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.

Big East champions7–⁠0 in the conference

Heisman voteWillis McGahee, fourth; Ken Dorsey, fifth

Led the nationWillis McGahee: rushing touchdowns (28 TD)

Rimington TrophyBrett Romberg, C

2 consensus All-AmericansWillis McGahee, RB; Brett Romberg, C

Record
12–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠0 first in Big East
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 1
Points
527–⁠248
Coach
Larry Coker
Elo
1842 +94 this season
SP+ rating
28.7 No. 2 of 117; offense No. 3, defense No. 18
SRS
24.4 No. 3 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 5
Offensive coordinator
Rob Chudzinski
Defensive coordinator
Randy Shannon
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3 Cover 2

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 31— allowed
Defense0.0own 37— 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

Ryan Moore WR★★★★★No. 3
Devin Hester ATH★★★★★No. 27
Eric Winston TE★★★★No. 45
Akieem Jolla WR★★★★No. 77
Curtis Justus TE★★★★No. 88
Nate Harris OLB★★★★No. 92

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers44.30.978
Linebackers14.00.962
Athletes and specialists15.00.988
Whole class64.30.977

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 1Andre Johnson WRHouston Texans
Rd 1Jerome McDougle DEPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 1Willis McGahee RBBuffalo Bills
Rd 1William Joseph DTNew York Giants
Rd 3Andrew Williams DESan Francisco 49ers
Rd 4Jamaal Green DEPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 5Matt Walters DTNew York Jets
Rd 7Ken Dorsey QBSan Francisco 49ers

All-Big East

13 first team, 2 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 Big East standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Miami7–⁠012–⁠12
West Virginia6–⁠19–⁠425
Pittsburgh5–⁠29–⁠419
Virginia Tech3–⁠410–⁠418
Boston College3–⁠49–⁠4
Temple2–⁠54–⁠8
Syracuse2–⁠54–⁠8
Rutgers0–⁠71–⁠11

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