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2002 Northern Illinois

8–⁠4 (7–⁠1 Mid-American Conference), coached by Joe Novak.

Schedule and results

Northern Illinois in 2002, game by game: won vs. Wake Forest 42–41; lost at South Florida 6–37; lost at No. 22 Wisconsin 21–24; lost vs. Western Illinois 26–29; won vs. Kent State 13–6; won at Ball State 41–29; won at Miami (OH) 48–41; won vs. Central Michigan 49–0; won at Western Michigan 24–20; won vs. No. 20 Bowling Green 26–17; won at Eastern Michigan 49–21; lost vs. Toledo 30–33+49−31Won 42–41 vs. Wake Forest+1Wake ForestLost 6–37 at South Florida-31South FloridaLost 21–24 at No. 22 Wisconsin-3No. 22 WisconsinLost 26–29 vs. Western Illinois-3Western IllinoisWon 13–6 vs. Kent State+7Kent StateWon 41–29 at Ball State+12Ball StateWon 48–41 at Miami (OH)+7Miami (OH)Won 49–0 vs. Central Michigan+49Central MichiganWon 24–20 at Western Michigan+4Western MichiganWon 26–17 vs. No. 20 Bowling Green+9No. 20 Bowling GreenWon 49–21 at Eastern Michigan+28Eastern MichiganLost 30–33 vs. Toledo-3Toledo
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29vsWake ForestW 42–⁠4160%
Sep 7atSouth FloridaL 6–⁠3737%
Sep 14at22WisconsinL 21–⁠2428%
Sep 21vsWestern IllinoisL 26–⁠2977%
Sep 28vsKent StateW 13–⁠657%
Oct 5atBall StateW 41–⁠2947%
Oct 12atMiami (OH)W 48–⁠4131%
Oct 19vsCentral MichiganW 49–⁠073%
Oct 26atWestern MichiganW 24–⁠2052%
Nov 9vs20Bowling GreenW 26–⁠1744%
Nov 16atEastern MichiganW 49–⁠2182%
Nov 23vsToledoL 30–⁠3355%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Toledo 33–⁠30; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 10th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 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.

MAC West champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Toledo

Led the nationDan Sheldon: punt return average (22.7)

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
375–⁠298
Coach
Joe Novak
Elo
1559 +82 this season
SP+ rating
4.0 No. 55 of 117; offense No. 44, defense No. 59
SRS
0.8 No. 59 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 92
Offensive coordinator
Dan Roushar
Captains
Eric Didesch, P.J. Fleck, Thomas Hammock, Vince Thompson, Tim Vincent and Larry Williams
Most valuable player
Michael Turner and Larry Williams

Top recruits in the 2002 class

Shatone Powers WR★★No. 898
Eric Pittman DT★★No. 898
Adrian Davis RB★★No. 898
A.J. Harris RB★★No. 898
Jasen McDonald SDE★★No. 898

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.767
Running backs32.00.767
Receivers32.00.767
Offensive line12.00.767
Defensive line32.00.767
Defensive backs32.00.767
Whole class142.00.767

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 Mid-American Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Marshall7–⁠111–⁠224
Northern Illinois7–⁠18–⁠4
Toledo7–⁠19–⁠5
Bowling Green6–⁠29–⁠3
UCF6–⁠27–⁠5
Miami (OH)5–⁠37–⁠5
Ball State4–⁠46–⁠6
Ohio4–⁠44–⁠8
Akron3–⁠54–⁠8
Western Michigan3–⁠54–⁠8
Central Michigan2–⁠64–⁠8
Kent State1–⁠73–⁠9
Eastern Michigan1–⁠73–⁠9
Buffalo0–⁠81–⁠11

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