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2002 Michigan State

4–⁠8 (2–⁠6 Big Ten), coached by Bobby Williams, then Morris Watts (interim, final 3 games).

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 2002, game by game: won vs. Eastern Michigan 56–7; won vs. Rice 27–10; lost vs. California 22–46; lost vs. No. 12 Notre Dame 17–21; won vs. Northwestern 39–24; lost at No. 17 Iowa 16–44; lost vs. Minnesota 7–28; lost vs. Wisconsin 24–42; lost at No. 15 Michigan 3–49; won at Indiana 56–21; lost vs. Purdue 42–45; lost at No. 15 Penn State 7–61+49−54Won 56–7 vs. Eastern Michigan+49Eastern MichiganWon 27–10 vs. Rice+17RiceLost 22–46 vs. California-24CaliforniaLost 17–21 vs. No. 12 Notre Dame-4No. 12 Notre DameWon 39–24 vs. Northwestern+15NorthwesternLost 16–44 at No. 17 Iowa-28No. 17 IowaLost 7–28 vs. Minnesota-21MinnesotaLost 24–42 vs. Wisconsin-18WisconsinLost 3–49 at No. 15 Michigan-46No. 15 MichiganWon 56–21 at Indiana+35IndianaLost 42–45 vs. Purdue-3PurdueLost 7–61 at No. 15 Penn State-54No. 15 Penn State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsEastern MichiganW 56–⁠784%
Sep 7vsRiceW 27–⁠1074%
Sep 14vsCaliforniaL 22–⁠4675%
Sep 21vs12Notre DameL 17–⁠2146%
Sep 28vsNorthwesternW 39–⁠2468%
Oct 12at17IowaL 16–⁠4432%
Oct 19vsMinnesotaL 7–⁠2849%
Oct 26vsWisconsinL 24–⁠4247%
Nov 2at15MichiganL 3–⁠4920%
Nov 9atIndianaW 56–⁠2142%
Nov 16vsPurdueL 42–⁠4552%
Nov 23at15Penn StateL 7–⁠6120%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Penn State 61–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 94th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 18
  2. Wk 2: 18
  3. Wk 3: 15
  4. Wk 4: 15

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.

Biletnikoff AwardCharles Rogers, WR

Consensus All-AmericanCharles Rogers, WR

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 8th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 15
Points
316–⁠398
Coach
Bobby Williams, then Morris Watts (interim, final 3 games)
Elo
1444 −104 this season
SP+ rating
-4.6 No. 75 of 117; offense No. 58, defense No. 88
SRS
−4.6 No. 73 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 27
Offensive coordinator
Morris Watts
Defensive coordinator
Bill Miller

Top recruits in the 2002 class

David Richard RB★★★★No. 55
Kyle Brown WR★★★★No. 68
Joseph Karaska OT★★★No. 670
Nathaniel Webber OT★★★No. 670
Steven Kielp WDE★★★No. 670

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs23.00.872
Receivers14.00.971
Offensive line32.70.789
Defensive line13.00.800
Athletes and specialists12.00.767
Whole class82.90.831

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 1Charles Rogers WRDetroit Lions

All-Big Ten

1 first team

First 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 Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠014–⁠01
Iowa8–⁠011–⁠28
Michigan6–⁠210–⁠39
Penn State5–⁠39–⁠416
Purdue4–⁠47–⁠6
Illinois4–⁠45–⁠7
Minnesota3–⁠58–⁠5
Wisconsin2–⁠68–⁠6
Michigan State2–⁠64–⁠8
Northwestern1–⁠73–⁠9
Indiana1–⁠73–⁠9

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