CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2002 Nebraska

7–⁠7 (3–⁠5 Big 12), coached by Frank Solich.

Schedule and results

Nebraska in 2002, game by game: won vs. Arizona State 48–10; won vs. Troy 31–16; won vs. Utah State 44–13; lost at Penn State 7–40; lost at No. 19 Iowa State 14–36; won vs. McNeese 38–14; won vs. Missouri 24–13; lost at Oklahoma State 21–24; won at Texas A&M 38–31; lost vs. No. 7 Texas 24–27; won vs. Kansas 45–7; lost at No. 11 Kansas State 13–49; lost vs. No. 13 Colorado 13–28; lost vs. Ole Miss 23–27+38−36Won 48–10 vs. Arizona State+38Arizona StateWon 31–16 vs. Troy+15TroyWon 44–13 vs. Utah State+31Utah StateLost 7–40 at Penn State-33Penn StateLost 14–36 at No. 19 Iowa State-22No. 19 Iowa StateWon 38–14 vs. McNeese+24McNeeseWon 24–13 vs. Missouri+11MissouriLost 21–24 at Oklahoma State-3Oklahoma StateWon 38–31 at Texas A&M+7Texas A&MLost 24–27 vs. No. 7 Texas-3No. 7 TexasWon 45–7 vs. Kansas+38KansasLost 13–49 at No. 11 Kansas State-36No. 11 Kansas StateLost 13–28 vs. No. 13 Colorado-15No. 13 ColoradoLost 23–27 vs. Ole Miss-4Ole Miss
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 24vsArizona StateW 48–⁠1081%
Aug 31vsTroyW 31–⁠1684%
Sep 7vsUtah StateW 44–⁠1387%
Sep 14atPenn StateL 7–⁠4064%
Sep 28at19Iowa StateL 14–⁠3650%
Oct 5vsMcNeeseW 38–⁠1489%
Oct 12vsMissouriW 24–⁠1374%
Oct 19atOklahoma StateL 21–⁠2468%
Oct 26atTexas A&MW 38–⁠3141%
Nov 2vs7TexasL 24–⁠2744%
Nov 9vsKansasW 45–⁠789%
Nov 16at11Kansas StateL 13–⁠4937%
Nov 29vs13ColoradoL 13–⁠2848%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvsOle MissIndependence BowlL 23–⁠2760%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ole Miss 27–⁠23 in the Independence Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 8th in the Big 12.

In program history: The 88th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 10
  2. Wk 2: 9
  3. Wk 3: 9
  4. Wk 4: 8
  5. Wk 5: 18
  6. Wk 6: 20

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
7–⁠7
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 8th in Big 12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 8
Points
383–⁠335
Coach
Frank Solich
Elo
1558 −104 this season
SP+ rating
8.2 No. 42 of 117; offense No. 56, defense No. 39
SRS
6.7 No. 38 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 35
Defensive coordinator
Craig Bohl
Offense
I formation
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 29— allowed
Defense0.0own 30— 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

David Horne RB★★★★No. 74
Jermaine Leslie OG★★★No. 670
Kurt Mann OG★★★No. 670
Dane Todd FB★★★No. 670
Cory Timm OG★★No. 898

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs52.60.814
Offensive line32.70.789
Whole class82.60.804

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 2Chris Kelsay DEBuffalo Bills
Rd 4DeJuan Groce DBSt. Louis Rams
Rd 7Josh Brown KSeattle Seahawks
Rd 7Scott Shanle LBSt. Louis Rams

All-Big 12

2 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

  • Kyle LarsonPCoaches-2

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 12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Colorado7–⁠19–⁠520
Oklahoma6–⁠212–⁠25
Kansas State6–⁠211–⁠27
Texas6–⁠211–⁠26
Texas Tech5–⁠39–⁠5
Oklahoma State5–⁠38–⁠5
Iowa State4–⁠47–⁠7
Nebraska3–⁠57–⁠7
Texas A&M3–⁠56–⁠6
Missouri2–⁠65–⁠7
Baylor1–⁠73–⁠9
Kansas0–⁠82–⁠10

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