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2002 Washington State

10–⁠3 (7–⁠1 Pac-10), coached by Mike Price, finished No. 10 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Washington State in 2002, game by game: won vs. Nevada 31–7; won vs. Idaho 49–14; lost at No. 6 Ohio State 7–25; won vs. Montana State 45–28; won at California 48–38; won vs. No. 18 USC 30–27; won at Stanford 36–11; won at Arizona 21–13; won vs. No. 16 Arizona State 44–22; won vs. No. 15 Oregon 32–21; lost vs. Washington 26–29; won at UCLA 48–27; lost vs. No. 8 Oklahoma 14–34+35−20Won 31–7 vs. Nevada+24NevadaWon 49–14 vs. Idaho+35IdahoLost 7–25 at No. 6 Ohio State-18No. 6 Ohio StateWon 45–28 vs. Montana State+17Montana StateWon 48–38 at California+10CaliforniaWon 30–27 vs. No. 18 USC+3No. 18 USCWon 36–11 at Stanford+25StanfordWon 21–13 at Arizona+8ArizonaWon 44–22 vs. No. 16 Arizona State+22No. 16 Arizona StateWon 32–21 vs. No. 15 Oregon+11No. 15 OregonLost 26–29 vs. Washington-3WashingtonWon 48–27 at UCLA+21UCLALost 14–34 vs. No. 8 Oklahoma-20No. 8 Oklahoma
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vsNevadaW 31–⁠776%
Sep 7vsIdahoW 49–⁠1487%
Sep 14at6Ohio StateL 7–⁠2542%
Sep 21vsMontana StateW 45–⁠2890%
Sep 28atCaliforniaW 48–⁠3859%
Oct 5vs18USCW 30–⁠2757%
Oct 12atStanfordW 36–⁠1157%
Oct 26atArizonaW 21–⁠1368%
Nov 2vs16Arizona StateW 44–⁠2267%
Nov 9vs15OregonW 32–⁠2160%
Nov 23vsWashingtonL 26–⁠2972%
Dec 7atUCLAW 48–⁠2753%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs8OklahomaRose BowlL 14–⁠3442%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oklahoma 34–⁠14 in the Rose Bowl; No. 10 in the final AP poll; Pac-10 champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 111 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 11
  2. Wk 2: 12
  3. Wk 3: 11
  4. Wk 4: 10
  5. Wk 5: 16
  6. Wk 6: 16
  7. Wk 7: 17
  8. Wk 8: 12
  9. Wk 9: 10
  10. Wk 10: 9
  11. Wk 11: 8
  12. Wk 12: 5
  13. Wk 13: 3
  14. Wk 14: 3
  15. Wk 15: 9
  16. Wk 16: 7
  17. Final: 10

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.

Pac-10 champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with USC

Outland TrophyRien Long, DT

Consensus All-AmericanRien Long, DT

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Pac-10
AP final
No. 10 peak No. 3
Points
431–⁠296
Coach
Mike Price
Elo
1690 +96 this season
SP+ rating
21.6 No. 10 of 117; offense No. 9, defense No. 27
SRS
16.8 No. 12 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 48
Offensive coordinator
Mike Levenseller
Defensive coordinator
Bill Doba
Captains
Jason Gesser, Curtis Nettles and Marcus Trufant
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 35— allowed
Defense0.0own 34— 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

Nick Mihlhauser OG★★No. 898
Don Turner S★★No. 898
Flamingo Malone SDE★★No. 898
Matt Mullennix ILB★★No. 898
Wes Rainwater CB★★No. 898

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs22.00.767
Receivers12.00.767
Offensive line32.00.767
Defensive line12.00.767
Linebackers22.00.767
Defensive backs32.00.767
Athletes and specialists22.00.767
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.

Drafted in 2003

The 2003 draft
Rd 1Marcus Trufant DBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 4Rien Long DTTennessee Titans

All-Pac-10

5 first team

First 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 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC7–⁠111–⁠24
Washington State7–⁠110–⁠310
Arizona State5–⁠38–⁠6
Oregon State4–⁠48–⁠5
UCLA4–⁠48–⁠5
California4–⁠47–⁠5
Washington4–⁠47–⁠6
Oregon3–⁠57–⁠6
Arizona1–⁠74–⁠8
Stanford1–⁠72–⁠9

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