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2002 UCF

7–⁠5 (6–⁠2 Mid-American Conference), coached by Mike Kruczek.

Schedule and results

UCF in 2002, game by game: lost at No. 24 Penn State 24–27; lost at Arizona State 13–46; lost at Marshall 21–26; won vs. Liberty 48–17; won at Western Michigan 31–27; lost vs. Toledo 24–27; won vs. Akron 28–17; lost vs. Syracuse 35–38; won at Buffalo 45–21; won vs. Kent State 32–6; won at Miami (OH) 48–31; won vs. Ohio 42–32+31−33Lost 24–27 at No. 24 Penn State-3No. 24 Penn StateLost 13–46 at Arizona State-33Arizona StateLost 21–26 at Marshall-5MarshallWon 48–17 vs. Liberty+31LibertyWon 31–27 at Western Michigan+4Western MichiganLost 24–27 vs. Toledo-3ToledoWon 28–17 vs. Akron+11AkronLost 35–38 vs. Syracuse-3SyracuseWon 45–21 at Buffalo+24BuffaloWon 32–6 vs. Kent State+26Kent StateWon 48–31 at Miami (OH)+17Miami (OH)Won 42–32 vs. Ohio+10Ohio
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31at24Penn StateL 24–⁠2741%
Sep 7atArizona StateL 13–⁠4648%
Sep 20atMarshallL 21–⁠2627%
Sep 28vsLibertyW 48–⁠1781%
Oct 12atWestern MichiganW 31–⁠2741%
Oct 19vsToledoL 24–⁠2744%
Oct 26vsAkronW 28–⁠1775%
Nov 2vsSyracuseL 35–⁠3856%
Nov 9atBuffaloW 45–⁠2175%
Nov 16vsKent StateW 32–⁠680%
Nov 23atMiami (OH)W 48–⁠3132%
Nov 30vsOhioW 42–⁠3278%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Ohio 42–⁠32; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 13th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 40 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
7–⁠5
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 4th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
391–⁠315
Coach
Mike Kruczek
Elo
1555 +40 this season
SP+ rating
0.8 No. 64 of 117; offense No. 38, defense No. 74
SRS
−0.5 No. 65 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 41
Offensive coordinator
Robert McFarland
Defensive coordinator
Bill D’Ottavio

Top recruits in the 2002 class

Brandon Marshall WR★★No. 898
Chris Welsh SDE★★No. 898
Matt Prater K★★No. 898
Larry Peoples OT★★No. 898
Ronnell Sandy OLB★★No. 898

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers22.00.767
Offensive line32.00.767
Defensive line12.00.767
Linebackers12.00.767
Defensive backs12.00.767
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.

Drafted in 2003

The 2003 draft
Rd 4Asante Samuel DBNew England Patriots
Rd 5Doug Gabriel WROakland Raiders
Rd 7Mike Mabry CBaltimore Ravens
Rd 7Elton Patterson DECincinnati Bengals

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.