2002 Michigan State Spartans football team

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.

2002 Michigan State Spartans football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record4–8 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMorris Watts (4th season)
Defensive coordinatorBill Miller (4th season)
Home stadiumSpartan 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 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

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 313:30 p.m.Eastern Michigan*No. 18ESPN+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
ESPN2L 22–4672,634
September 213:30 p.m.No. 12 Notre Dame*
ABCL 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 IowaESPNL 16–4470,397
October 1912:00 p.m.Minnesota 
  • 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 MichiganESPN2L 3–49111,542
November 91:00 p.m.at IndianaW 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 StateABCL 7–61108,755
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Roster

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2002 Michigan State Spartans football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
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. # Name Class
DE 95 Matthias Askew Jr
LB 42 Mike Labinjo Jr
DE 99 Brandon McKinney Fr
LB 55 Matt Ott So
DT 97 Kyle Rasmussen Jr
DB 36 Eric Smith   Fr
LB 44 Ronald Stanley So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
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 TreadwellWide receivers coach
  • Pat Perles – Tight ends coach
  • Jeff StoutlandOffensive line coach
  • Brad MillerDefensive coordinator
  • Brad Lawing – Defensive line coach/recruiting coordinator
  • Danny CrossmanSpecial teams coordinator/linebackers coach
  • Troy Douglas – Defensive backs coach
  • Matt HouseGraduate Assistant

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2020-12-31

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP18181515RVRVRVRV
Coaches18171515RV
HarrisNot releasedNot released
BCSNot releasedNot released

Draft picks

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Rnd. Pick No. NFL team Player Pos. College Conf. Notes
1 2 Charles Rogers  WR    

References

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