2002 Michigan State Spartans football team

2002 Big Ten Conference football standings
	# – BCS National Champion; $ – BCS representative as conference champion; % – BCS at-large representative; + – Conference co-champions; Rankings from AP Poll

2002 Michigan State Spartans football
2002 Michigan State Spartans football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
2002 record	4–8 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bobby Williams (4th season); Morris Watts (interim);
Offensive coordinator	Morris Watts (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Bill Miller (4th season)
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium (c. 72,027 natural grass)
	Seasons ← 2001 2003 →

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.

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[]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	3:30 p.m.	Eastern Michigan*	No. 18	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN+	W 56–7	73,927
September 7	1:05 p.m.	Rice*	No. 15	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 27–10	74,014
September 14	12:00 p.m.	California*	No. 15	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN2	L 22–46	72,634
September 21	3:30 p.m.	No. 12 Notre Dame*		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (Megaphone Trophy)	ABC	L 17–21	75,182
September 28	1:05 p.m.	Northwestern		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 39–24	74,215
October 12	12:00 p.m.	at No. 17 Iowa		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPN	L 16–44	70,397
October 19	12:00 p.m.	Minnesota		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN+	L 7–28	74,232
October 26	7:00 p.m.	Wisconsin		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN2	L 24–42	74,504
November 2	12:00 p.m.	at No. 15 Michigan		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (Paul Bunyan Trophy)	ESPN2	L 3–49	111,542
November 9	1:00 p.m.	at Indiana		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (Old Brass Spittoon)		W 56–21	29,253
November 16	12:00 p.m.	Purdue		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN+	L 42–45	72,828
November 23	3:30 p.m.	at No. 15 Penn State		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (Land Grant Trophy)	ABC	L 7–61	108,755
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Roster[]

2002 Michigan State Spartans football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
OL	`69`	Kyle Cook	Fr
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

Bobby Williams (fired after Michigan game)
Morris Watts – interim head coach (finished last three games)

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

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2020-12-31

Rankings[]

Ranking movement
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. NR: Not Ranked. RV: Receiving votes.
Poll	Pre	Wk 1	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Final
AP	18	18	15	15	RV	RV	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
Coaches	18	17	15	15	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
Harris	Not released							NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR
BCS	Not released								NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR

Draft picks[]

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

References[]

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

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

[1]

v t Michigan State Spartans football
Venues	Old College Field (1902–1922) Spartan Stadium (1923–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Indiana (Old Brass Spittoon) Michigan (Paul Bunyan Trophy) Notre Dame (Megaphone Trophy) Penn State (Land Grant Trophy)
Culture & lore	Sparty "Victory for MSU" Marching band Zeke the Wonder Dog 1966 "Game of the Century" Clockgate 2006 Northwestern game
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
National championship seasons in bold

2002 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t	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]