2002 Michigan State Spartans football team

Last updated

2002 Michigan State Spartans football
Michigan State Spartans script.svg
Conference Big Ten Conference
Record4–8 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinator Morris Watts (4th season)
Defensive coordinator Bill Miller (4th season)
Home stadium Spartan Stadium (c. 72,027 natural grass)
Seasons
  2001
2003  
2002 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
Team W L  W L 
No. 1 Ohio State $#+  8 0   14 0  
No. 8 Iowa  %+  8 0   11 2  
No. 9 Michigan  6 2   10 3  
No. 16 Penn State  5 3   9 4  
Purdue  4 4   7 6  
Illinois  4 4   5 7  
Minnesota  3 5   8 5  
Wisconsin  2 6   8 6  
Michigan State  2 6   4 8  
Northwestern  1 7   3 9  
Indiana  1 7   3 9  
  • # BCS National Champion
  • $ BCS representative as conference champion
  • % BCS at-large representative
  • + Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll [1]

The 2002 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University in the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Spartans played their home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. This was the third and final season for head coach Bobby Williams, who was replaced after the Michigan game by interim head coach Morris Watts.

Contents

The Spartans were coming off a 7–5 season which ended with a victory in the 2001 Silicon Valley Football Classic over the Fresno State Bulldogs. However, the 2002 season turned out to be very different. The Spartans finished 4–8, their worst record since 1994, and second losing season out of the previous three. Michigan State also finished 2–6 in the Big Ten, their 3rd straight losing season in Big Ten play.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 313:30 p.m. Eastern Michigan *No. 18 ESPN+ W 56–773,927
September 71:05 p.m. Rice *No. 15
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 27–1074,014
September 1412:00 p.m. California *No. 15
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
ESPN2 L 22–4672,634
September 213:30 p.m.No. 12 Notre Dame *
ABC L 17–2175,182
September 281:05 p.m. Northwestern
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 39–2474,215
October 1212:00 p.m.at No. 17 Iowa ESPN L 16–4470,397
October 1912:00 p.m. Minnesota Dagger-14-plain.png
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
ESPN+L 7–2874,232
October 267:00 p.m. Wisconsin
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
ESPN2L 24–4274,504
November 212:00 p.m.at No. 15 Michigan ESPN2L 3–49111,542
November 91:00 p.m.at Indiana W 56–2129,253
November 1612:00 p.m. Purdue
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
ESPN+L 42–4572,828
November 233:30 p.m.at No. 15 Penn State ABCL 7–61108,755
  • *Non-conference game
  • Dagger-14-plain.pngHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Roster

2002 Michigan State Spartans football team roster
PlayersCoaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
OL 69 Kyle Cook Fr
OL 73 Brian Ottney (C) Jr
C 51 Chris Morris Fr
WR 1 Charles Rogers Jr
QB 9 Jeff Smoker Jr
QB 5 Drew Stanton Fr
G 76 Will Whitticker So
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DE 95 Matthias Askew Jr
LB 42 Mike Labinjo Jr
DE 99 Brandon McKinney Fr
LB 55Matt OttSo
DT 97Kyle RasmussenJr
DB 36 Eric Smith Redshirt.svg  Fr
LB 44 Ronald Stanley So
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 16 Dave Rayner So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Morris Watts Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach
  • Reggie Mitchell Running backs coach/assistant head coach
  • Don Treadwell Wide receivers coach
  • Pat Perles Tight ends coach
  • Jeff Stoutland Offensive line coach
  • Brad Miller Defensive coordinator
  • Brad Lawing Defensive line coach/recruiting coordinator
  • Danny Crossman Special teams coordinator/linebackers coach
  • Troy Douglas Defensive backs coach
  • Matt House Graduate Assistant

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injury icon 2.svg Injured
  • Redshirt.svg Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2020-12-31

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP 18181515RVRVRVRV
Coaches 18171515RV
Harris Not releasedNot released
BCS Not releasedNot released

Draft picks

Rnd.Pick No.NFL teamPlayerPos.CollegeConf.Notes
1 2 Charles Rogers   WR   

References

  1. "2002 NCAA Football Rankings - AP Top 25 Postseason (Jan. 5)". ESPN. Retrieved November 29, 2010.