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2002 Middle Tennessee

4–⁠8 (2–⁠4 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Andy McCollum.

Schedule and results

Middle Tennessee in 2002, game by game: lost vs. Alabama 34–39; lost at No. 4 Tennessee 3–26; lost at Kentucky 22–44; lost vs. Southeast Missouri State 14–24; lost at Arkansas State 7–13; won at Vanderbilt 21–20; won vs. Louisiana 48–35; lost at Idaho 18–21; lost at New Mexico State 21–24; won vs. UL Monroe 44–28; lost vs. North Texas 20–30; won vs. Utah State 45–28+17−23Lost 34–39 vs. Alabama-5AlabamaLost 3–26 at No. 4 Tennessee-23No. 4 TennesseeLost 22–44 at Kentucky-22KentuckyLost 14–24 vs. Southeast Missouri State-10Southeast Misso…Lost 7–13 at Arkansas State-6Arkansas StateWon 21–20 at Vanderbilt+1VanderbiltWon 48–35 vs. Louisiana+13LouisianaLost 18–21 at Idaho-3IdahoLost 21–24 at New Mexico State-3New Mexico StateWon 44–28 vs. UL Monroe+16UL MonroeLost 20–30 vs. North Texas-10North TexasWon 45–28 vs. Utah State+17Utah State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsAlabamaL 34–⁠3942%
Sep 7at4TennesseeL 3–⁠2621%
Sep 21atKentuckyL 22–⁠4440%
Sep 28vsSoutheast Missouri StateL 14–⁠2482%
Oct 5atArkansas StateL 7–⁠1354%
Oct 12atVanderbiltW 21–⁠2046%
Oct 19vsLouisianaW 48–⁠3567%
Oct 26atIdahoL 18–⁠2161%
Nov 2atNew Mexico StateL 21–⁠2433%
Nov 16vsUL MonroeW 44–⁠2876%
Nov 23vsNorth TexasL 20–⁠3047%
Nov 30vsUtah StateW 45–⁠2855%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Utah State 45–⁠28; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Sun Belt Conference.

In program history: The 20th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 63 on file).

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
4–⁠8
Conference
2–⁠4 tied for 4th in Sun Belt Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
297–⁠332
Coach
Andy McCollum
Elo
1401 −103 this season
SP+ rating
-13.0 No. 95 of 117; offense No. 92, defense No. 87
SRS
−7.2 No. 78 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 59
Offensive coordinators
Steve Campbell and Blake Anderson
Defensive coordinator
Steve Davis

Top recruits in the 2002 class

Dennis Burke OLB★★★No. 670
Sean Waller APB★★No. 898
Brent Moore ILB★★No. 898
Paul Cantrell DT★★No. 898
Germayle Franklin OT★★No. 898

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs22.00.767
Receivers22.00.767
Offensive line22.00.767
Defensive line22.00.767
Linebackers32.30.778
Defensive backs12.00.767
Athletes and specialists12.00.767
Whole class132.10.769

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 2Tyrone Calico WRTennessee Titans

2002 Sun Belt Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
North Texas6–⁠08–⁠5
New Mexico State5–⁠17–⁠5
Arkansas State3–⁠36–⁠7
Middle Tennessee2–⁠44–⁠8
Louisiana2–⁠43–⁠9
UL Monroe2–⁠43–⁠9
Idaho1–⁠52–⁠10

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