2002 Utah Utes football team

American college football season

2002 Utah Utes football

Conference| Mountain West Conference
Record| 5–6 (3–4 MW)
Head coach|

* Ron McBride (13th season)

Offensive coordinator| Craig Ver Steeg (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator| Kyle Whittingham (8th season)
Home stadium| Rice-Eccles Stadium
(Capacity: 45,634)

Seasons

<- 2001

2003 ->

2002 Mountain West Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

Team |  | W |  | L |  |  |  |  | W |  | L |
Colorado State $  |  | 6  | - | 1  |  |  |  |  | 10  | - | 4  |
New Mexico |  | 5  | - | 2  |  |  |  |  | 7  | - | 7  |
Air Force |  | 4  | - | 3  |  |  |  |  | 8  | - | 5  |
San Diego State |  | 4  | - | 3  |  |  |  |  | 4  | - | 9  |
Utah |  | 3  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 6  |
UNLV |  | 3  | - | 4  |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 7  |
BYU |  | 2  | - | 5  |  |  |  |  | 5  | - | 7  |
Wyoming |  | 1  | - | 6  |  |  |  |  | 2  | - | 10  |

* $ - Conference champion

Rankings from AP Poll

This season was Ron McBride's last at Utah. The team won their first two games, before dropping six straight. At 2–6 with only three games remaining, the team was guaranteed a losing record and would be ineligible for bowl play. However, the team then won the final three games of the season, capped by a 13–6 home victory over their biggest rivals, the BYU Cougars, finishing the season with a 5–6 record.

## Schedule[edit]

Date| Time| Opponent| Site| TV| Result| Attendance

|
|
|
|
|
|

August 31| 7:00 pm| at Utah State*|

* Romney Stadium
* Logan, Utah (Battle of the Brothers)

| KJZZ| W 23–3| 30,757
September 7| 6:00 pm| Indiana*|

* Rice-Eccles Stadium
* Salt Lake City

| KJZZ| W 40–13| 33,419
September 14| 7:22 pm| at Arizona*|

* Arizona Stadium
* Tucson, Arizona

| KJZZ| L 17–23| 44,243
September 21| 10:00 am| at No. 14 Michigan*|

* Michigan Stadium
* Ann Arbor, Michigan

| ESPN| L 7–10| 109,734
September 28| 1:00 pm| Air Force|

* Rice-Eccles Stadium
* Salt Lake City

| ESPN+| L 26–30| 35,659
October 12| 5:00 pm| at San Diego State|

* Qualcomm Stadium
* San Diego

| KJZZ| L 17–36| 20,410
October 19| 1:00 pm| Colorado State|

* Rice-Eccles Stadium
* Salt Lake City

| ESPN+| L 20–28| 34,374
October 26| 1:00 pm| at New Mexico|

* University Stadium
* Albuquerque, New Mexico

| ESPN+| L 35–42 OT| 27,300
November 9| 5:00 pm| UNLV|

* Rice-Eccles Stadium
* Salt Lake City

| KJZZ| W 28–17| 28,528
November 16| 10:00 am| at Wyoming|

* War Memorial Stadium
* Laramie, Wyoming

| KJZZ| W 23–18| 10,611
November 23| 1:00 pm| BYU|

* Rice-Eccles Stadium
* Salt Lake City (Holy War)

| ESPN+| W 13–6| 45,167

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
* All times are in Mountain time

[1][2] [3] [4]

## Roster[edit]

2002 Utah Utes football team roster

Players  | Coaches
Offense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

OT | `69` | Jordan Gross | Sr
TE | `89` | Matt Hansen | Jr
WR | `88` | Travis LaTendresse | Fr
QB | `11` | Alex Smith | Fr
Defense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

DB | `4` | Antwoine Sanders | Jr
DL | `97` | Lauvale Sape | Sr
DE | `44` | Josh Savage | Jr
DE | `63` | Garrett Smith | Sr
DB | `30` | Soane Taliauli | Fr
LB | `5` | Steven Thompson | Fr
LB | `49` | Spencer Toone | So
LB | `13` | Zach Tune | So
DB | `3` | Cody Weight | Sr
DB | `10` | Anthony White | Jr
DB | `2` | Antonio Young | Fr
Special teams | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

Head coach

* Ron McBride

Coordinators/assistant coaches

* * *

Legend

* (C) Team captain
* (S) Suspended
* (I) Ineligible

* Injured
* Redshirt

* * *

Roster
Last update: 2002-12-02

## After the season[edit]

### NFL draft[edit]

Three players went in the 2003 NFL Draft, including first rounder and future pro bowler Jordan Gross.

Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club

|
|
|
|

Jordan Gross | Offensive tackle | 1 | 8 | Carolina Panthers
Lauvale Sape | Defensive tackle | 6 | 187 | Buffalo Bills
Antwoine Sanders | Defensive back | 7 | 258 | Baltimore Ravens

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Ute Record Book" (PDF). University of Utah. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
2. ^ "2002 record". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on April 20, 2012. Retrieved June 1, 2009.
3. ^ "2003 Media Guide" (PDF). University of Utah. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved June 4, 2009.
4. ^ "2002 Season Results". Utah Official Athletic Site. Archived from the original on December 22, 2007. Retrieved June 4, 2009.

* v
* t
* e

Utah Utes football

Venues|

* Robert Rice Stadium (1927–1997)
* Rice–Eccles Stadium (1998–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* BYU: Holy War (Beehive Boot)
* Colorado: Rumble in the Rockies
* Utah State: Battle of the Brothers (Beehive Boot)

Culture & lore|

* Swoop
* "Utah Man"
* Pride of Utah
* Utah pass

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1892
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National championship seasons in bold
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses