2002 Northeastern Huskies football team

The 2002 Northeastern Huskies football team represented Northeastern University during the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season. It was the program's 67th season and they finished as Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) co-champions with Maine.^[1][2] Picked to finish 10th in the conference preseason poll, the Huskies went on to set school records for single season overall wins (10) and conference wins (7).^[2] They also upset favored Division I-A opponent Ohio 31–0, a marquee win in Northeastern's football program's history.^[2] The Huskies were seeded fourth in the 16-team Division I-AA playoffs bracket but lost to Fordham, 24–29, in the first round.^[3] Ten players earned spots on the All-Atlantic 10 team.^[2][4] The Huskies were led by third-year head coach Don Brown.^[3]

2002 Northeastern Huskies football
A-10 co-champion
NCAA Division I-AA First Round, L 24–29 vs. Fordham
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 11
Record	10–3 (7–2 A-10)
Head coach	Don Brown (3rd season)
Captains	Kurt Abrams Steve Anzalone John McDonald Art Smith
Home stadium	Parsons Field
Seasons ← 2001 2003 →

2002 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 6 Maine $^		7	–	2					11	–	3
No. 11 Northeastern $^		7	–	2					10	–	3
No. 4 Villanova ^		6	–	3					11	–	4
UMass		6	–	3					8	–	4
William & Mary		5	–	4					6	–	5
Richmond		4	–	5					4	–	7
Delaware		4	–	5					6	–	6
Hofstra		4	–	5					6	–	6
James Madison		4	–	6					5	–	7
New Hampshire		2	–	7					3	–	8
Rhode Island		1	–	8					3	–	9
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
August 31		Lock Haven*		Parsons Field Brookline, MA	W 48–0
September 7	7:00 p.m.	at Ohio*	No. 22	Peden Stadium Athens, OH	W 31–0	21,002
September 21	12:30 p.m.	UMass	No. 18	Parsons Field Brookline, MA	W 42–17	6,651
September 28		No. 24 Hofstra	No. 14	Parsons Field Brookline, MA	W 28–17
October 5	1:00 p.m.	at Delaware	No. 11	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	L 10–27	21,043
October 12		Rhode Island	No. 20	Parsons Field Brookline, MA	W 38–13
October 19		at Harvard*	No. 15	Harvard Stadium Boston, MA	W 17–14
October 26	1:00 p.m.	at No. 14 William & Mary	No. 15	Zable Stadium Williamsburg, VA	L 13–30	8,741
November 2	1:00 p.m.	at Richmond	No. 20	UR Stadium Richmond, VA	W 24–21	5,106
November 9		No. 11 Villanova	No. 18	Parsons Field Brookline, MA	W 38–13	6,463
November 16		at New Hampshire	No. 12	Wildcat Stadium Durham, NH	W 49–17
November 23		James Madison	No. 10	Parsons Field Brookline, MA	W 41–10	4,825	^[5]
November 30		No. 21 Fordham*	No. 8	Parsons Field Brookline, MA (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	L 24–29
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Awards and honors

• First Team All-Conference – Steve Anzalone, Liam Ezekiel, Tim Gale, Miro Kesic, John McDonald, Art Smith
• Second Team All-Conference – Kurt Abrams, Tom Olivo, Adam Walter
• Third Team All-Conference – Adam Bourget
• Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year – Don Brown
• New England All-Stars – Kurt Abrams, Steve Anzalone, Liam Ezekiel, John McDonald, Art Smith

References

1. . NUHuskies.com. Northeastern University. 2019. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
2. "Northeastern University Football History". NUHuskies.com. Northeastern University. 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
3. . College Football Data Warehouse. William Goodyear. Archived from the original on March 14, 2016. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
4. "Awards and Honors (Football)". NUHuskies.com. Northeastern University. 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
5. "Huskies do their share with win". The Boston Globe. November 24, 2002. Retrieved October 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.