2002 NCAA Division I-A football season

The 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with a double overtime national championship game. Ohio State and Miami both came into the Fiesta Bowl undefeated. The underdog Buckeyes defeated the defending-champion Hurricanes 31–24, ending Miami's 34-game winning streak. Jim Tressel won the national championship in only his second year as head coach.

2002 NCAA Division I-A season
Heisman Trophy won by Carson Palmer for play during the 2002 season
Number of teams	117^[1]
Preseason AP No. 1	Miami (FL)
Post-season
Duration	December 17, 2002 – January 3, 2003
Bowl games	28
Heisman Trophy	Carson Palmer (quarterback, Southern California)
Bowl Championship Series
2003 Fiesta Bowl
Site	Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona
Champion(s)	Ohio State
Division I-A football seasons
← 2001 2003 →

Rose Bowl officials were vocally upset over the loss of the Big Ten champ from the game. Former New England Patriots coach Pete Carroll returned the USC Trojans to a BCS bid in only his second season as head coach. Notre Dame also returned to prominence, as Tyrone Willingham became the first coach in Notre Dame history to win 10 games in his first season.

Beginning with the 2002 season^{[citation needed]}, teams were allowed to schedule twelve regular season games instead of eleven leading to additional revenues for all teams and allowing players the enhanced opportunity to break various statistical records.

Rules changes

The NCAA Rules Committee adopted the following rules changes for the 2002 season:

• The penalty for violating the so-called "Halo Rule" (two yard restricted area around the punt/kick receiver) without making contact with the receiver is increased from five yards to 10 yards.
• Flagrant personal fouls committed during possession by the defense in overtime will be carried over to the next extra period. Previously, those fouls were disregarded but the player committing the foul was ejected from the game.
• All players are required to wear facemasks of the same color.
• Penalties committed during a touchdown play can now either be enforced on the PAT or the ensuing kickoff.

Conference and program changes

No teams upgraded from Division I-AA, leaving the number of Division I-A schools fixed at 117.

• The only conference move during this season saw the University of Central Florida leave the Independent ranks to join the Mid-American Conference as its 14th member.

School	2001 Conference	2002 Conference
Central Florida Knights	I-A Independent	MAC

Regular season top 10 matchups

Rankings reflect the AP Poll. Rankings for Week 9 and beyond will list BCS Rankings first and AP Poll second. Teams that failed to be a top 10 team for one poll or the other will be noted.

• Week 2
  • No. 1 Miami defeated No. 6 Florida, 41–16 (Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida)
• Week 3
  • No. 6 Ohio State defeated No. 10 Washington State, 25–7 (Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio)
• Week 4
  • No. 10 Florida defeated No. 4 Tennessee, 30–13 (Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee)
• Week 7
  • No. 1 Miami defeated No. 9 Florida State, 28–27 (Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida)
  • No. 2 Oklahoma defeated No. 3 Texas, 35–24 (Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas)
  • No. 6 Georgia defeated No. 10 Tennessee, 18–13 (Sanford Stadium, Athens, Georgia)
• Week 8
  • No. 2 Oklahoma defeated No. 9 Iowa State, 49–3 (Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, Oklahoma)
• Week 13
  • No. 2/2 Ohio State defeated No. 9/12 Michigan, 14–9 (Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio)
• Week 14
  • No. 6/6 USC defeated No. 7/7 Notre Dame, 44–13 (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California)

Conference standings

2002 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 21 Florida State $   7 – 1     9 – 5   No. 22 Virginia   6 – 2     9 – 5   No. 13 Maryland   6 – 2     11 – 3   No. 12 NC State   5 – 3     11 – 3   Clemson   4 – 4     7 – 6   Georgia Tech   4 – 4     7 – 6   Wake Forest   3 – 5     7 – 6   North Carolina   1 – 7     3 – 9   Duke   0 – 8     2 – 10   $ – BCS representative as conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	2002 Big 12 Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   North Division No. 20 Colorado xy   7 – 1     9 – 5   No. 7 Kansas State   6 – 2     11 – 2   Iowa State   4 – 4     7 – 7   Nebraska   3 – 5     7 – 7   Missouri   2 – 6     5 – 7   Kansas   0 – 8     2 – 10   South Division No. 5 Oklahoma xy$   6 – 2     12 – 2   No. 6 Texas x   6 – 2     11 – 2   Texas Tech   5 – 3     9 – 5   Oklahoma State   5 – 3     8 – 5   Texas A&M   3 – 5     6 – 6   Baylor   1 – 7     3 – 9   Championship: Oklahoma 29, Colorado 7 $ – BCS representative as conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll	2002 Big East Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 2 Miami (FL) $   7 – 0     12 – 1   No. 25 West Virginia   6 – 1     9 – 4   No. 19 Pittsburgh   5 – 2     9 – 4   No. 18 Virginia Tech   3 – 4     10 – 4   Boston College   3 – 4     9 – 4   Temple   2 – 5     4 – 8   Syracuse   2 – 5     4 – 8   Rutgers   0 – 7     1 – 11   $ – BCS representative as conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
2002 Big Ten Conference football standings v t e 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^[2]	2002 Conference USA football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Cincinnati +   6 – 2     7 – 7   No. 23 TCU +   6 – 2     10 – 2   Louisville   5 – 3     7 – 6   Southern Miss   5 – 3     7 – 6   Tulane   4 – 4     8 – 5   UAB   4 – 4     5 – 7   East Carolina   4 – 4     4 – 8   Houston   3 – 5     5 – 7   Memphis   2 – 6     3 – 9   Army   1 – 7     1 – 11   + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	2002 Mid-American Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   East Division No. 24 Marshall x$   7 – 1     11 – 2   UCF   6 – 2     7 – 5   Miami (OH)   5 – 3     7 – 5   Ohio   4 – 4     4 – 8   Akron   3 – 5     4 – 8   Kent State   1 – 7     3 – 9   Buffalo   0 – 8     1 – 11   West Division Toledo xy   7 – 1     9 – 5   Northern Illinois x   7 – 1     8 – 4   Bowling Green   6 – 2     9 – 3   Ball State   4 – 4     6 – 6   Western Michigan   3 – 5     4 – 8   Central Michigan   2 – 6     4 – 8   Eastern Michigan   1 – 7     3 – 9   Championship: Marshall 49, Toledo 45 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll
2002 Mountain West Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Colorado State $   6 – 1     10 – 4   New Mexico   5 – 2     7 – 7   Air Force   4 – 3     8 – 5   San Diego State   4 – 3     4 – 9   Utah   3 – 4     5 – 6   UNLV   3 – 4     5 – 7   BYU   2 – 5     5 – 7   Wyoming   1 – 6     2 – 10   $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	2002 Pacific-10 Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 10 Washington State $+   7 – 1     10 – 3   No. 4 USC  %+   7 – 1     11 – 2   Arizona State   5 – 3     8 – 6   UCLA   4 – 4     8 – 5   Oregon State   4 – 4     8 – 5   California   4 – 4     7 – 5   Washington   4 – 4     7 – 6   Oregon   3 – 5     7 – 6   Arizona   1 – 7     4 – 8   Stanford   1 – 7     2 – 9   $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	2002 Southeastern Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   Eastern Division No. 3 Georgia x$   7 – 1     13 – 1   Florida   6 – 2     8 – 5   Tennessee   5 – 3     8 – 5   Kentucky   3 – 5     7 – 5   South Carolina   3 – 5     5 – 7   Vanderbilt   0 – 8     2 – 10   Western Division No. 11 Alabama   6 – 2     10 – 3   Arkansas xy   5 – 3     9 – 5   No. 14 Auburn x   5 – 3     9 – 4   LSU x   5 – 3     8 – 5   Ole Miss   3 – 5     7 – 6   Mississippi State   0 – 8     3 – 9   Championship: Georgia 30, Arkansas 3 $ – BCS representative as conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Alabama had the best division record, but did not participate in postseason play due to NCAA probation. Rankings from AP Poll
2002 Sun Belt Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   North Texas $   6 – 0     8 – 5   New Mexico State   5 – 1     7 – 5   Arkansas State   3 – 3     6 – 7   Middle Tennessee   2 – 4     4 – 8   Louisiana–Lafayette   2 – 4     3 – 9   Louisiana–Monroe   2 – 4     3 – 9   Idaho   1 – 5     2 – 10   $ – Conference champion	2002 Western Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 15 Boise State $   8 – 0     12 – 1   Hawaii   7 – 1     10 – 4   Fresno State   6 – 2     9 – 5   San Jose State   4 – 4     6 – 7   Nevada   4 – 4     5 – 7   Rice   3 – 5     4 – 7   Louisiana Tech   3 – 5     4 – 8   SMU   3 – 5     3 – 9   UTEP   1 – 7     2 – 10   Tulsa   1 – 7     1 – 11   $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	2002 NCAA Division I-A independents football records v t e Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   South Florida   –     9 – 2   No. 17 Notre Dame   –     10 – 3   Connecticut   –     6 – 6   Utah State   –     4 – 7   Troy State   –     4 – 8   Navy   –     2 – 10   Rankings from AP Poll

Bowl Championship Series rankings

Main article: 2002 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

WEEK	No. 1	No. 2	EVENT
OCT 21	Oklahoma	Miami	Oklahoma 49, Iowa State 3
OCT 28	Oklahoma	Miami	Ohio State 34, Minnesota 3
NOV 4	Oklahoma	Ohio State	Texas A&M 30, Oklahoma 26
NOV 11	Ohio State	Miami	Ohio State 23, Illinois 16
NOV 18	Miami	Ohio State	Miami 28, Pittsburgh 21
NOV 25	Miami	Ohio State	Miami 49, Syracuse 7
DEC 2	Miami	Ohio State	Miami 56, Virginia Tech 45
FINAL	Miami	Ohio State	Ohio State 31, Miami 24 (2OT)

Final BCS rankings

BCS	School	Record	BCS Bowl game
1	Miami (FL)	12–0	Fiesta
2	Ohio State	13–0	Fiesta
3	Georgia	12–1	Sugar
4	USC	10–2	Orange
5	Iowa	11–1	Orange
6	Washington State	10–2	Rose
7	Oklahoma	11–2	Rose
8	Kansas State	10–2
9	Notre Dame	10–2
10	Texas	10–2
11	Michigan	9–3
12	Penn State	9–3
13	Colorado	9–4
14	Florida State	9–4	Sugar
15	West Virginia	9–4

Bowl games

Main article: 2002–03 NCAA football bowl games

The Rose Bowl normally features the champions of the Big Ten and the Pac-10. However, Big Ten-champion Ohio State, finishing No. 2 in the BCS, had qualified to play in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl for the national championship against Miami (Florida)^[3] Earlier in the season, Ohio State had defeated Washington State 25–7.

After the national championship was set, the Orange Bowl had the next pick, and invited No. 3 (No. 5 BCS) Iowa from the Big Ten. When it was the Rose Bowl's turn to select, the best available team was No. 8 (No. 7 BCS) Oklahoma, who won the Big 12 Championship Game. When it came time for the Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl to make a second pick, both wanted Pac-10 co-champion USC. However, a BCS rule stated that if two bowls wanted the same team, the bowl with the higher payoff had priority.^[4] The Orange Bowl immediately extended an at-large bid to the No. 5 Trojans and paired them with at-large No. 3 Iowa in a Big Ten/Pac-10 "Rose Bowl East" matchup in the 2003 Orange Bowl. The Rose Bowl was left to pair Oklahoma with Pac-10 co-champion Washington State.^[4] Rose Bowl committee executive director Mitch Dorger was not pleased with the results.^[4]

As such, the BCS instituted a new rule, whereby a bowl losing its conference champion to the BCS championship could "protect" the second-place team from that conference from going to another bowl. This left the Sugar Bowl with No. 14 BCS Florida State, the winner of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Notre Dame at 10–2 and No. 9 in the BCS standings was invited to the 2003 Gator Bowl. Kansas State at No. 8 also was left out.

BCS bowls

• Fiesta Bowl: No. 2 Ohio State (BCS No. 2 Big Ten Champ) 31, No. 1 Miami (BCS No. 1 Big East Champ) 24 (2 OT)
• Sugar Bowl: No. 4 Georgia (BCS No. 3 SEC Champ) 26, No. 16 Florida State (BCS No. 14 ACC Champ) 13
• Orange Bowl: No. 5 USC (BCS No. 4) 38, No. 3 Iowa (BCS No. 5 At-Large) 17
• Rose Bowl: No. 8 Oklahoma (BCS No. 7 Big 12 Champ) 34, No. 7 Washington State (BCS No. 6 Pac-10 Champ) 14

Other New Year's Day bowls

• Cotton Bowl Classic: No. 9 Texas 35, LSU 20
• Capital One Bowl: No. 19 Auburn 13, No. 10 Penn State 9
• Gator Bowl: No. 17 NC State 28, No. 11 Notre Dame 6
• Outback Bowl: No. 12 Michigan 38, No. 22 Florida 30

December Bowl Games

• Holiday Bowl: No. 6 Kansas State 34, Arizona State 27
• Peach Bowl: No. 20 Maryland 30, Tennessee 3
• Tangerine Bowl: Texas Tech 55, Clemson 15
• Sun Bowl: Purdue 34, Washington 24
• Independence Bowl: Mississippi 27, Nebraska 23
• Alamo Bowl: Wisconsin 31, No. 14 Colorado 28
• Insight Bowl: No. 24 Pittsburgh 38, Oregon State 13
• Liberty Bowl: TCU (C-USA Champ) 25, No. 23 Colorado State (MWC Champ) 3
• Humanitarian Bowl: No. 18 Boise State (WAC Champ) 34, Iowa State 16
• Motor City Bowl: Boston College 51, Toledo 25
• Hawai'i Bowl: Tulane 36, Hawai'i 28
• Seattle Bowl: Wake Forest 38, Oregon 17
• San Francisco Bowl: No. 21 Virginia Tech 20, Air Force 13
• Music City Bowl: Minnesota 29, No. 25 Arkansas 14
• Las Vegas Bowl: UCLA 27, New Mexico 13
• GMAC Bowl: Marshall (MAC Champ) 38, Louisville 15
• Silicon Valley Classic: Fresno State 30, Georgia Tech 21
• Houston Bowl: Oklahoma State 33, Southern Miss 23
• Continental Tire Bowl: Virginia 48, No. 15 West Virginia 22
• New Orleans Bowl: North Texas (Sun Belt Champ) 24, Cincinnati 19

Heisman Trophy voting

The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player

Player	School	Position	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Carson Palmer	USC	QB	242	224	154	1,328
Brad Banks	Iowa	QB	199	173	152	1,095
Larry Johnson	Penn State	RB	108	130	142	726
Willis McGahee	Miami (FL)	RB	101	118	121	660
Ken Dorsey	Miami (FL)	QB	122	89	99	643
Byron Leftwich	Marshall	QB	22	26	34	152
Jason Gesser	Washington State	QB	5	22	15	74
Chris Brown	Colorado	RB	5	11	11	48
Kliff Kingsbury	Texas Tech	QB	6	2	11	33
Quentin Griffin	Oklahoma	RB	1	8	9	28

Other major awards

• Maxwell Award (College player of the Year): Larry Johnson, Penn State
• Walter Camp Award (top back): Larry Johnson, Penn State
• Associated Press Player of the Year: Brad Banks, Iowa
• Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback): Brad Banks, Iowa
• Johnny Unitas Award (Sr. quarterback): Carson Palmer, USC
• Doak Walker Award (running back): Larry Johnson, Penn State
• Fred Biletnikoff Award (wide receiver): Charles Rogers, Michigan State
• John Mackey Award (tight end): Dallas Clark, Iowa
• Dave Rimington Trophy (center): Brett Romberg, Miami
• Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player): E. J. Henderson, Maryland
• Lombardi Award (top lineman): Terrell Suggs, Arizona State
• Outland Trophy (interior lineman): Rien Long, Washington State
• Dick Butkus (linebacker): E. J. Henderson, Maryland
• Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back): Terence Newman, Kansas State
• Lou Groza Award (placekicker): Nate Kaeding, Iowa
• Ray Guy Award (punter): Mark Mariscal, Colorado
• The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award: Ty Willingham, Notre Dame
• Paul "Bear" Bryant Award: Jim Tressel, Ohio St.

References

1. "2002 NCAA Division IA Football Power Ratings".
2. "2002 NCAA Football Rankings - AP Top 25 Postseason (Jan. 5)". ESPN. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
3. 2002 BCS Standings
4. Rosenblatt, Richard – BCS: Orange Bowl has a Rosy look Associated Press, December 9, 2002