American college football season
The 2002 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2002 college football season . The Gators competed in Division I-A of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. They were led by first-year head coach Ron Zook , who coached them to a second-place finish in the SEC East, an Outback Bowl berth, and an overall record of 8–5 (.615).
Schedule
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance August 31 7:00 p.m. UAB * No. 6 PPV W 51–385,575
September 7 5:15 p.m. No. 1 Miami (FL) * No. 6 CBS L 16–4185,777
September 14 6:00 p.m. Ohio * No. 12 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL PPV W 34–684,002
September 21 3:30 p.m. at No. 4 Tennessee No. 10 CBS W 30–13108,722
September 28 3:30 p.m. Kentucky No. 7 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry ) CBS W 41–3485,333
October 5 12:00 p.m. at Ole Miss No. 6 CBS L 14–1761,140
October 12 7:45 p.m. No. 18 LSU No. 16 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry ) ESPN L 7–3685,252
October 19 6:45 p.m. Auburn Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry ) ESPN W 30–23 OT 85,135
November 2 7:45 p.m. vs. No. 5 Georgia ESPN W 20–1384,433
November 9 2:00 p.m. at Vanderbilt No. 23 PPV W 21–1728,881
November 16 6:00 p.m. South Carolina No. 20 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL ESPN W 28–785,222
November 30 8:00 p.m. at No. 23 Florida State * No. 15 ABC L 14–3183,938
January 1, 2003 11:00 a.m. vs. No. 12 Michigan * No. 15 ESPN L 30–3865,101
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time
[2] [3]
Roster
2002 Florida Gators football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Pos.
#
Name
Class
K
Matt Leach
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Roster
Game summaries
UAB
Miami (FL)
Ohio
At Tennessee
Florida Gators (2–1) at Tennessee Volunteers (1–1)
at Neyland Stadium , Knoxville, Tennessee
Date : September 21Game time : 3:30 p.m. ESTGame weather : Light rain, 71 °F (22 °C)Game attendance : 108,722Referee : Rogers ReddingTV : CBS Box Score
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
FLA – Earnest Graham 1-yard run (Matt Leach kick), 4:55. Florida 7–0. Drive: 9 plays, 84 yards, 3:20.
FLA – Carlos Perez 28-yard pass from Rex Grossman (Matt Leach kick), 3:40. Florida 14–0. Drive: 3 plays, 24 yards, 1:12.
FLA – Taylor Jacobs 7-yard pass from Rex Grossman (Matt Leach kick), 0:35. Florida 21–0. Drive: 6 plays, 62 yards, 0:52.
FLA – Matt Leach 41-yard field goal, 0:00. Florida 24–0. Drive: 1 play, 0 yards, 0:02.
Third quarter
TENN – Derrick Tinsley 15-yard pass from Casey Clausen (Alex Walls kick), 9:51. Florida 24–7. Drive: 7 plays, 59 yards, 2:28.
TENN – Jabari Davis 1-yard run (kick failed), 0:28. Florida 24–13. Drive: 14 plays, 64 yards, 6:27.
Fourth quarter
FLA – Taylor Jacobs 21-yard pass from Rex Grossman (kick failed), 10:49. Florida 30–13. Drive: 11 plays, 80 yards, 4:32.
Top passers
Top rushers
FLA – Ran Carthon – 9 rushes, 51 yards
TENN – Troy Fleming – 9 rushes, 42 yards
Top receivers
Kentucky
1
2 3 4 Total
Kentucky
0
0 28 6
34
• Florida
6
13 13 9
41
Date: September 28Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Game start: 3:30 p.m. Elapsed time: 3:38Game attendance: 85,333Game weather: Sunny; 86 °F (30 °C); wind 9 mph (14 km/h) WReferee: Steve Shaw
[4]
At Ole Miss
LSU
Auburn
Vs. Georgia
1
2 3 4 Total
• Florida
0
12 0 8
20
Georgia
7
6 0 0
13
Date: Saturday, November 2Location: Alltel Stadium , Jacksonville, Florida Game start: 7:45 p.m. Elapsed time: 3:25Game attendance: 84,433Game weather: Clear, 58 °F (14 °C)Referee: Penn WagersTelevision network: ESPN
[5]
At Vanderbilt
South Carolina
At Florida State
Outback Bowl (vs. Michigan)
Players drafted into the NFL
References
^ University of Florida Sports Information Department. "Florida 2002 Media Guide" (PDF) . floridagators.com . University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2018 .
^ 2012 Florida Football Media Guide Archived May 27, 2013, at the Wayback Machine , University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 113 & 116 (2012). Retrieved September 16, 2012.
^ GatorZone.com, Football, History, Florida Football 20032 Archived September 15, 2011, at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved November 25, 2011.
^ GatorZone.com Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 2015-Sep-06.
^ "Gators Upend No. 5 Georgia, 20-13". Gatorzone.com. Retrieved 02-May-2012.
Bibliography
2009 Southeastern Conference Football Media Guide , Florida Year-by-Year Records, Southeastern Conference, Birmingham, Alabama, p. 60 (2009).
2012 Florida Football Media Guide , University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 107–116 (2012).
Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators , Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN 0-7948-2298-3.
Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory , Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). ISBN 0-9650782-1-3.
Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told , Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). ISBN 1-58261-514-4.
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold