CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2002 Western Michigan

4–⁠8 (3–⁠5 Mid-American Conference), coached by Gary Darnell.

Schedule and results

Western Michigan in 2002, game by game: won vs. Indiana State 48–17; lost at No. 7 Michigan 12–35; lost at Purdue 24–28; lost vs. No. 5 Virginia Tech 0–30; won at Buffalo 31–17; lost vs. UCF 27–31; lost at No. 25 Bowling Green 45–48; lost vs. Northern Illinois 20–24; lost at Ball State 7–17; won vs. Eastern Michigan 33–31; lost vs. Toledo 21–42; won at Central Michigan 35–10+31−30Won 48–17 vs. Indiana State+31Indiana StateLost 12–35 at No. 7 Michigan-23No. 7 MichiganLost 24–28 at Purdue-4PurdueLost 0–30 vs. No. 5 Virginia Tech-30No. 5 Virginia TechWon 31–17 at Buffalo+14BuffaloLost 27–31 vs. UCF-4UCFLost 45–48 at No. 25 Bowling Green-3No. 25 Bowling GreenLost 20–24 vs. Northern Illinois-4Northern Illino…Lost 7–17 at Ball State-10Ball StateWon 33–31 vs. Eastern Michigan+2Eastern MichiganLost 21–42 vs. Toledo-21ToledoWon 35–10 at Central Michigan+25Central Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29vsIndiana StateW 48–⁠1782%
Sep 7at7MichiganL 12–⁠3528%
Sep 14atPurdueL 24–⁠2839%
Sep 28vs5Virginia TechL 0–⁠3030%
Oct 5atBuffaloW 31–⁠1766%
Oct 12vsUCFL 27–⁠3159%
Oct 19at25Bowling GreenL 45–⁠4824%
Oct 26vsNorthern IllinoisL 20–⁠2448%
Nov 2atBall StateL 7–⁠1750%
Nov 9vsEastern MichiganW 33–⁠3178%
Nov 16vsToledoL 21–⁠4236%
Nov 23atCentral MichiganW 35–⁠1050%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Central Michigan 35–⁠10; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 44th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 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
4–⁠8
Conference
3–⁠5 tied for 9th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
303–⁠330
Coach
Gary Darnell
Elo
1430 −67 this season
SP+ rating
-6.8 No. 80 of 117; offense No. 87, defense No. 68
SRS
−8.5 No. 82 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 78
Offensive coordinator
Brian Rock
Most valuable player
Jason Feldpausch

Top recruits in the 2002 class

Paul Tithef ILB★★No. 898
Ameer Ismail FB★★No. 898
Matt Ludeman DT★★No. 898
Mike Kempinski TE★★No. 898
Jimmy Vincent CB★★No. 898

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

The 2002 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.767
Running backs12.00.767
Receivers32.00.767
Offensive line12.00.767
Defensive line22.00.767
Linebackers22.00.767
Defensive backs22.00.767
Whole class122.00.767

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.

2002 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
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.