2002 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team explained

Year:	2002
Team:	Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Sport:	football
Conference:	Gateway Football Conference
Short Conf:	Gateway
Tsnrank:	1
Record:	12–3
Conf Record:	7–1
Head Coach:	Jack Harbaugh
Hc Year:	14th
Cooff Coach1:	Willie Taggart
Cooc1 Year:	2nd
Cooff Coach2:	Keven Lightner
Cooc2 Year:	2nd
Off Scheme:	Multiple
Def Coach:	David Elson
Dc Year:	2nd
Def Scheme:	3–4
Stadium:	L. T. Smith Stadium
Champion:	NCAA Division I-AA champion Gateway co-champion
Bowl:	NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game
Bowl Result:	W 34–14 vs. McNeese State

The 2002 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University in the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season and were led by head coach Jack Harbaugh in his 14th and final season as head coach. They claimed a share of the Gateway Football Conference championship and made the school's third straight appearance in the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.^[1] After a rocky start, the team rallied to win their last 10 games including the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, beating McNeese State, 34–14, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Hilltoppers finished the season ranked number 1 in both final 1AA postseason national polls.^[2]

This team won the school's first NCAA team championship and tied the program record for victories in a season set by the 1973 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team. Their roster included future National Football League (NFL) players Sherrod Coates, Jeremi Johnson, and Brian Claybourn, and future NFL coach Jason Michael. Coates, Chris Price, and Buster Ashley were named to the AP All American team and Harbuagh was named AFCA Coach of the Year Award. The All Conference team included Ashley, Coates, Price, Jeremy Chandler, Erik Dandy, Jon Frazier, and Daniel Withrow.^[3]

Schedule

Game summaries

At Kansas State

See also: 2002 Kansas State Wildcats football team.

Statistics	WKU	KSU
First downs	12	23
Total yards	183	412
Rushing yards	110	240
Passing yards	73	172
Turnovers	2	0
Time of possession	31:55	27:14

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing		7/11, 73 yards, INT
Rushing	Maurice Bradley	19 rushes, 64 yards
Receiving	Casey Rooney	2 receptions, 28 yards
Kansas State	Passing		4/8, 108 yards
Rushing		19 rushes, 135 yards, TD
Receiving	Derrick Evans	3 receptions, 74 yards

Kentucky State

Statistics	KSU	WKU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Kentucky State	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Western Kentucky	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Western Illinois

See also: 2002 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team.

Statistics	WIU	WKU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Illinois	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Western Kentucky	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

No. 11 Youngstown State

Statistics	YSU	WKU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Youngstown State	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Western Kentucky	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

At No. 2 McNeese State

See also: 2002 McNeese State Cowboys football team.

Statistics	WKU	MCN
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
McNeese State	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

At No. 6 Northern Iowa

See also: 2002 Northern Iowa Panthers football team.

Statistics	WKU	UNI
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Northern Iowa	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

FIU

See also: 2002 FIU Golden Panthers football team.

Statistics	FIU	WKU
First downs	7	28
Total yards	65	498
Rushing yards	-7	401
Passing yards	72	97
Turnovers	5	3
Time of possession	23:13	36:47

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
FIU	Passing	Jamie Burke	5/14, 75 yards, 4 INT
Rushing	Rashod Smith	6 rushes, 21 yards
Receiving	Harold Leath	2 receptions, 38 yards
Western Kentucky	Passing	Jason Michael	6/10, 97 yards, TD, INT
Rushing	Jon Frazier	15 rushes, 126 yards, TD
Receiving	Jeremi Johnson	2 receptions, 45 yards

At Southwest Missouri State

See also: 2002 Southwest Missouri State Bears football team.

Statistics	WKU	SMS
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Southwest Missouri State	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Indiana State

See also: 2002 Indiana State Sycamores football team.

Statistics	INS	WKU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Indiana State	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Western Kentucky	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Illinois State

See also: 2002 Illinois State Redbirds football team.

Statistics	ILS	WKU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Illinois State	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Western Kentucky	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

At Southern Illinois

See also: 2002 Southern Illinois Salukis football team.

Statistics	WKU	SIU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Southern Illinois	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

No. 23 Murray State (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)

Statistics	MUR	WKU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Murray State	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Western Kentucky	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

At No. 3 Western Illinois (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)

Statistics	WKU	WIU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Western Illinois	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

At No. 2 Georgia Southern (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)

See also: 2002 Georgia Southern Eagles football team.

Statistics	WKU	GSO
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Georgia Southern	Passing
Rushing
Receiving

Vs No. 1 McNeese State (NCAA Division I-AA Championship Game)

See main article: 2002 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game.

Statistics	WKU	MCN
First downs	13	26
Total yards	380	405
Rushing yards	195	137
Passing yards	185	268
Turnovers	1	3
Time of possession	30:18	29:42

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Western Kentucky	Passing	Jason Michael	6/10, 185 yards, TD
Rushing	Jon Frazier	27 rushes, 159 yards, 2 TD
Receiving	Jeremi Johnson	3 receptions, 90 yards, TD
McNeese State	Passing	Scott Pendarvis	21/38, 244 yards, TD, INT
Rushing	Marcus Trahan	12 rushes, 82 yards
Receiving	B. J. Sams	7 receptions, 69 yards

Notes and References

1. http://www.mvc.org/football/records.pdf 2019 MVC Football Records, retrieved 30 April 2020
2. News: Div. I-AA poll. The Burlington Free Press. Burlington, Vermont. December 24, 2002. 6B. Newspapers.com. May 20, 2017.
3. https://wkusports.com/documents/2019/7/17/2019_WKU_Football_Media_Guide.pdf WKU Football Media Guide retrieved 31 March 2020.