CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2002 Tennessee

8–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Southeastern Conference), coached by Phillip Fulmer.

Schedule and results

Tennessee in 2002, game by game: won vs. Wyoming 47–7; won vs. Middle Tennessee 26–3; lost vs. No. 10 Florida 13–30; won vs. Rutgers 35–14; won vs. Arkansas 41–38; lost at No. 6 Georgia 13–18; lost vs. No. 19 Alabama 14–34; won at South Carolina 18–10; lost vs. No. 2 Miami 3–26; won at Mississippi State 35–17; won at Vanderbilt 24–0; won vs. Kentucky 24–0; lost vs. No. 21 Maryland 3–30+40−27Won 47–7 vs. Wyoming+40WyomingWon 26–3 vs. Middle Tennessee+23Middle TennesseeLost 13–30 vs. No. 10 Florida-17No. 10 FloridaWon 35–14 vs. Rutgers+21RutgersWon 41–38 vs. Arkansas+3ArkansasLost 13–18 at No. 6 Georgia-5No. 6 GeorgiaLost 14–34 vs. No. 19 Alabama-20No. 19 AlabamaWon 18–10 at South Carolina+8South CarolinaLost 3–26 vs. No. 2 Miami-23No. 2 MiamiWon 35–17 at Mississippi State+18Mississippi Sta…Won 24–0 at Vanderbilt+24VanderbiltWon 24–0 vs. Kentucky+24KentuckyLost 3–30 vs. No. 21 Maryland-27No. 21 Maryland
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsWyomingW 47–⁠786%
Sep 7vsMiddle TennesseeW 26–⁠379%
Sep 21vs10FloridaL 13–⁠3058%
Sep 28vsRutgersW 35–⁠1491%
Oct 5vsArkansasW 41–⁠3869%
Oct 12at6GeorgiaL 13–⁠1843%
Oct 26vs19AlabamaL 14–⁠3457%
Nov 2atSouth CarolinaW 18–⁠1047%
Nov 9vs2MiamiL 3–⁠2631%
Nov 16atMississippi StateW 35–⁠1768%
Nov 23atVanderbiltW 24–⁠080%
Nov 30vsKentuckyW 24–⁠071%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs21MarylandPeach BowlL 3–⁠3050%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Maryland 30–⁠3 in the Peach Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 63rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 5
  2. Wk 2: 4
  3. Wk 3: 4
  4. Wk 4: 4
  5. Wk 5: 4
  6. Wk 6: 11
  7. Wk 7: 10
  8. Wk 8: 10
  9. Wk 9: 16
  10. Wk 10: 16
  11. Wk 11: 25

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
8–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 4
Points
296–⁠227
Coach
Phillip Fulmer
Elo
1624 −32 this season
SP+ rating
10.3 No. 38 of 117; offense No. 87, defense No. 11
SRS
7.9 No. 34 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 3
Offensive coordinator
Randy Sanders
Defensive coordinator
John Chavis
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 23— allowed
Defense-0.9own 36— 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

Gerald Riggs Jr. RB★★★★★No. 6
Brandon Jefferies OG★★★★★No. 14
James Banks DUAL★★★★★No. 29
Parys Haralson WDE★★★★No. 46
Jason Allen ATH★★★★No. 49
Jonathan Mapu SDE★★★★No. 60
Jonathan Wade ATH★★★★No. 74
Heath Benedict OT★★★★No. 80

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks15.00.988
Running backs15.00.997
Receivers14.00.967
Offensive line34.30.964
Defensive line33.70.922
Athletes and specialists34.00.960
Whole class124.20.957

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 2Eddie Moore LBMiami Dolphins
Rd 3Kelley Washington WRCincinnati Bengals
Rd 3Jason Witten TEDallas Cowboys
Rd 3Julian Battle DBKansas City Chiefs
Rd 5Aubrayo Franklin DTBaltimore Ravens
Rd 5Keyon Whiteside LBIndianapolis Colts
Rd 6Rashad Moore DTSeattle Seahawks
Rd 7Demetrin Veal DEAtlanta Falcons

All-SEC

4 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2002 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2002 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia7–⁠113–⁠13
Alabama6–⁠210–⁠311
Florida6–⁠28–⁠5
Auburn5–⁠39–⁠414
Arkansas5–⁠39–⁠5
LSU5–⁠38–⁠5
Tennessee5–⁠38–⁠5
Kentucky3–⁠57–⁠5
Ole Miss3–⁠57–⁠6
South Carolina3–⁠55–⁠7
Mississippi State0–⁠83–⁠9
Vanderbilt0–⁠82–⁠10

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