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2002 Penn State

9–⁠4 (5–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Joe Paterno, finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Penn State in 2002, game by game: won vs. UCF 27–24; won vs. No. 8 Nebraska 40–7; won vs. Louisiana Tech 49–17; lost vs. Iowa 35–42; won at No. 19 Wisconsin 34–31; lost at No. 13 Michigan 24–27; won vs. Northwestern 49–0; lost at No. 4 Ohio State 7–13; won vs. Illinois 18–7; won vs. Virginia 35–14; won at Indiana 58–25; won vs. Michigan State 61–7; lost vs. No. 20 Auburn 9–13+54−7Won 27–24 vs. UCF+3UCFWon 40–7 vs. No. 8 Nebraska+33No. 8 NebraskaWon 49–17 vs. Louisiana Tech+32Louisiana TechLost 35–42 vs. Iowa-7IowaWon 34–31 at No. 19 Wisconsin+3No. 19 WisconsinLost 24–27 at No. 13 Michigan-3No. 13 MichiganWon 49–0 vs. Northwestern+49NorthwesternLost 7–13 at No. 4 Ohio State-6No. 4 Ohio StateWon 18–7 vs. Illinois+11IllinoisWon 35–14 vs. Virginia+21VirginiaWon 58–25 at Indiana+33IndianaWon 61–7 vs. Michigan State+54Michigan StateLost 9–13 vs. No. 20 Auburn-4No. 20 Auburn
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsUCFW 27–⁠2459%
Sep 14vs8NebraskaW 40–⁠736%
Sep 21vsLouisiana TechW 49–⁠1770%
Sep 28vsIowaL 35–⁠4263%
Oct 5at19WisconsinW 34–⁠3139%
Oct 12at13MichiganL 24–⁠2733%
Oct 19vsNorthwesternW 49–⁠080%
Oct 26at4Ohio StateL 7–⁠1328%
Nov 2vsIllinoisW 18–⁠764%
Nov 9vsVirginiaW 35–⁠1467%
Nov 16atIndianaW 58–⁠2574%
Nov 23vsMichigan StateW 61–⁠780%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs20AuburnCapital One BowlL 9–⁠1354%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Auburn 13–⁠9 in the Capital One Bowl; No. 16 in the final AP poll; 4th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 59th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 139 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 24
  2. Wk 2: 24
  3. Wk 5: 15
  4. Wk 6: 12
  5. Wk 7: 20
  6. Wk 8: 15
  7. Wk 9: 20
  8. Wk 10: 18
  9. Wk 11: 20
  10. Wk 12: 19
  11. Wk 13: 16
  12. Wk 14: 15
  13. Wk 15: 11
  14. Wk 16: 10
  15. Final: 16

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.

Heisman voteLarry Johnson, third

Led the nationLarry Johnson: rushing yards (2,087 yds), yards per carry (7.7)

Maxwell AwardLarry Johnson, RB; also the Walter Camp and Doak Walker

Consensus All-AmericanLarry Johnson, RB

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 4th in Big Ten
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 10
Points
446–⁠227
Coach
Joe Paterno
Elo
1637 +114 this season
SP+ rating
20.8 No. 12 of 117; offense No. 16, defense No. 21
SRS
17.8 No. 9 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 22
Offensive coordinator
Fran Ganter
Defensive coordinator
Tom Bradley
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.2own 27— allowed
Defense-0.2own 32— 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

Tamba Hali SDE★★★★No. 53
Edward Johnson SDE★★★No. 670
Patrick Hall ATH★★★No. 670
Vince Gliatta S★★No. 898

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Defensive line23.50.888
Defensive backs12.00.767
Athletes and specialists13.00.800
Whole class43.00.836

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 1Jimmy Kennedy DTSt. Louis Rams
Rd 1Michael Haynes DEChicago Bears
Rd 1Bryant Johnson WRArizona Cardinals
Rd 1Larry Johnson RBKansas City Chiefs
Rd 2Bryan Scott DBAtlanta Falcons
Rd 2Anthony Adams DTSan Francisco 49ers

All-Big Ten

4 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

  • Gino CaponeLBMedia-2
  • Shawn MayerDBCoaches-2; Media-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 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.