CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2002 Pittsburgh

9–⁠4 (5–⁠2 Big East), coached by Walt Harris, finished No. 19 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Pittsburgh in 2002, game by game: won vs. Ohio 27–14; lost vs. No. 20 Texas A&M 12–14; won at UAB 26–20; won vs. Rutgers 23–3; won vs. Toledo 37–19; won at Syracuse 48–24; lost at No. 8 Notre Dame 6–14; won vs. Boston College 19–16; won at No. 3 Virginia Tech 28–21; won vs. Temple 29–22; lost at No. 1 Miami 21–28; lost vs. No. 24 West Virginia 17–24; won vs. Oregon State 38–13+25−8Won 27–14 vs. Ohio+13OhioLost 12–14 vs. No. 20 Texas A&M-2No. 20 Texas A&MWon 26–20 at UAB+6UABWon 23–3 vs. Rutgers+20RutgersWon 37–19 vs. Toledo+18ToledoWon 48–24 at Syracuse+24SyracuseLost 6–14 at No. 8 Notre Dame-8No. 8 Notre DameWon 19–16 vs. Boston College+3Boston CollegeWon 28–21 at No. 3 Virginia Tech+7No. 3 Virginia TechWon 29–22 vs. Temple+7TempleLost 21–28 at No. 1 Miami-7No. 1 MiamiLost 17–24 vs. No. 24 West Virginia-7No. 24 West VirginiaWon 38–13 vs. Oregon State+25Oregon State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsOhioW 27–⁠1480%
Sep 7vs20Texas A&ML 12–⁠1457%
Sep 14atUABW 26–⁠2052%
Sep 21vsRutgersW 23–⁠387%
Sep 28vsToledoW 37–⁠1956%
Oct 5atSyracuseW 48–⁠2448%
Oct 12at8Notre DameL 6–⁠1444%
Oct 26vsBoston CollegeW 19–⁠1664%
Nov 2at3Virginia TechW 28–⁠2131%
Nov 9vsTempleW 29–⁠2288%
Nov 21at1MiamiL 21–⁠2822%
Nov 30vs24West VirginiaL 17–⁠2468%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsOregon StateInsight BowlW 38–⁠1353%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Oregon State 38–⁠13 in the Insight Bowl; No. 19 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Big East.

In program history: The 24th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 128 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 12: 22
  2. Wk 13: 18
  3. Wk 14: 17
  4. Wk 15: 17
  5. Wk 16: 25
  6. Final: 19

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
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠2 3rd in Big East
AP final
No. 19 peak No. 17
Points
331–⁠232
Coach
Walt Harris
Elo
1665 +99 this season
SP+ rating
14.5 No. 25 of 117; offense No. 65, defense No. 10
SRS
10.5 No. 26 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 28
Offensive coordinator
J.D. Brookhart
Defensive coordinator
Paul Rhoads
Offense
West Coast
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 39— allowed
Defense0.0own 24— 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

Tyler Palko DUAL★★★★No. 97
David Abdul K★★★★No. 106
Eric Fritz DT★★★No. 670
Zack Schlundt OT★★★No. 670
Reggie Carter CB★★★No. 670

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.941
Running backs12.00.767
Offensive line22.50.783
Defensive line22.50.783
Defensive backs22.50.783
Athletes and specialists14.00.933
Whole class92.80.816

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 3Gerald Hayes LBArizona Cardinals
Rd 6Torrie Cox DBTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 7Bryan Anderson OGChicago Bears

All-Big East

6 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

  • Rod RutherfordQBCoaches-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 East standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Miami7–⁠012–⁠12
West Virginia6–⁠19–⁠425
Pittsburgh5–⁠29–⁠419
Virginia Tech3–⁠410–⁠418
Boston College3–⁠49–⁠4
Temple2–⁠54–⁠8
Syracuse2–⁠54–⁠8
Rutgers0–⁠71–⁠11

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