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2002 New Mexico

7–⁠7 (5–⁠2 Mountain West Conference), coached by Rocky Long.

Schedule and results

New Mexico in 2002, game by game: lost at NC State 14–34; won vs. Weber State 38–24; lost at Air Force 31–38; won vs. Baylor 23–0; lost at New Mexico State 13–24; lost vs. Texas Tech 0–49; won at UNLV 25–16; lost at Utah State 44–45; won vs. Utah 42–35; won vs. San Diego State 15–8; won at BYU 20–16; lost at No. 20 Colorado State 14–22; won vs. Wyoming 49–20; lost vs. UCLA 13–27+29−49Lost 14–34 at NC State-20NC StateWon 38–24 vs. Weber State+14Weber StateLost 31–38 at Air Force-7Air ForceWon 23–0 vs. Baylor+23BaylorLost 13–24 at New Mexico State-11New Mexico StateLost 0–49 vs. Texas Tech-49Texas TechWon 25–16 at UNLV+9UNLVLost 44–45 at Utah State-1Utah StateWon 42–35 vs. Utah+7UtahWon 15–8 vs. San Diego State+7San Diego StateWon 20–16 at BYU+4BYULost 14–22 at No. 20 Colorado State-8No. 20 Colorado StateWon 49–20 vs. Wyoming+29WyomingLost 13–27 vs. UCLA-14UCLA
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 24atNC StateL 14–⁠3439%
Aug 31vsWeber StateW 38–⁠2482%
Sep 7atAir ForceL 31–⁠3841%
Sep 14vsBaylorW 23–⁠072%
Sep 21atNew Mexico StateL 13–⁠2455%
Sep 27vsTexas TechL 0–⁠4945%
Oct 12atUNLVW 25–⁠1638%
Oct 19atUtah StateL 44–⁠4554%
Oct 26vsUtahW 42–⁠3553%
Nov 9vsSan Diego StateW 15–⁠867%
Nov 16atBYUW 20–⁠1638%
Nov 23at20Colorado StateL 14–⁠2222%
Nov 30vsWyomingW 49–⁠2080%
Dec 25Bowls & playoffvsUCLALas Vegas BowlL 13–⁠2739%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to UCLA 27–⁠13 in the Las Vegas Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 27th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 109 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
7–⁠7
Conference
5–⁠2 2nd in Mountain West Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
341–⁠358
Coach
Rocky Long
Elo
1486 −19 this season
SP+ rating
-4.4 No. 73 of 117; offense No. 91, defense No. 54
SRS
−3.3 No. 70 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 71
Offensive coordinator
Dan Dodd
Defensive coordinator
Bronco Mendenhall
Offense
Multiple
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 28— allowed
Defense-0.9own 42— 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

Marty Moss OT★★No. 898
Fred Tucker OG★★No. 898
Blaine Harrell S★★No. 898
Robert Turner OG★★No. 898
Patrick Hodges OT★★No. 898

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Offensive line42.00.767
Linebackers12.00.767
Defensive backs32.00.767
Athletes and specialists12.00.767
Whole class92.00.767

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.

2002 Mountain West Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Colorado State6–⁠110–⁠4
New Mexico5–⁠27–⁠7
Air Force4–⁠38–⁠5
San Diego State4–⁠34–⁠9
Utah3–⁠45–⁠6
UNLV3–⁠45–⁠7
BYU2–⁠55–⁠7
Wyoming1–⁠62–⁠10

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