# 2002 Miami Hurricanes football team

The 2002 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami during the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Hurricanes' 77th season of football and 12th as a member of the Big East Conference. The Hurricanes were led by second-year head coach Larry Coker and played their home games at the Orange Bowl. They finished the season 12–1 overall and 7–0 in the Big East to finish as conference champion. They were invited to the Fiesta Bowl, which served as the BCS National Championship Game, and lost against Ohio State, 31–24, in double overtime.

## Pre-season

Miami had just come off a national championship season. Many of the starters left for the NFL, but a few key players, including quarterback Ken Dorsey, wide receiver Andre Johnson, and linebackers Jonathan Vilma and D. J. Williams returned. Despite the loss of numerous starters, Miami was still ranked 1st in the preseason coaches poll.

### Pre-season awards

* Andre Johnson- Blietnikoff Award Watch List
* Ken Dorsey- Davey O'Brien Award Watch List, Walter Camp Player of the Year Award candidate
* Brett Romberg- Rimington Trophy Watch List, Outland Trophy Watch List
* Sherko Haji-Rasouli (OG)- Outland Trophy Watch List
* William Joseph (DT)- Outland Trophy Watch List
* Matt Walters (DT)- Outland Trophy Watch List
* Todd Sievers- Groza Award Preseason Watch List

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 31 | 7:00 pm | Florida A&M* | No. 1 | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL | PPV | W 63–17 | 68,548 |
| September 7 | 5:15 pm | at No. 6 Florida* | No. 1 | Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL (rivalry) (College GameDay) | CBS | W 41–16 | 85,777 |
| September 14 | 12:00 pm | at Temple | No. 1 | Franklin FieldPhiladelphia, PA | ESPN+ | W 44–21 | 33,169 |
| September 21 | 7:45 pm | Boston College | No. 1 | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL | ESPN | W 38–6 | 73,622 |
| October 5 | 7:00 pm | Connecticut* | No. 1 | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL | PPV | W 48–14 | 52,131 |
| October 12 | 12:00 pm | No. 9 Florida State* | No. 1 | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL (rivalry) | ABC | W 28–27 | 81,927 |
| October 26 | 12:00 pm | at West Virginia | No. 1 | Mountaineer FieldMorgantown, WV | ESPN2 | W 40–23 | 56,817 |
| November 2 | 12:00 pm | at Rutgers | No. 1 | Rutgers StadiumPiscataway, NJ | ESPN+ | W 42–17 | 27,222 |
| November 9 | 3:30 pm | at Tennessee* | No. 2 | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN (College GameDay) | CBS | W 26–3 | 107,745 |
| November 21 | 7:30 pm | No. 17 Pittsburgh | No. 1 | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL | ESPN | W 28–21 | 64,897 |
| November 30 | 1:00 pm | at Syracuse | No. 1 | Carrier DomeSyracuse, NY | ABC | W 49–7 | 45,679 |
| December 7 | 1:00 pm | No. 18 Virginia Tech | No. 1 | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL (rivalry) | ABC | W 56–45 | 76,108 |
| January 3 | 8:00 pm | vs. No. 2 Ohio State* | No. 1 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl) | ABC | L 24–31 $^{2OT}$ | 77,502 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | 1 (27) | 1т (27) | 1 (34) | 1 (68) | 1 (68) | 1 (69) | 1 (71) | 1 (73) | 1 (65) | 1 (61) | 1 (59) | 2 (32) | 1 (74) | 1 (74) | 1 (71) | 1 (73) | 1 (74) | 2 |
| Coaches | 1 (34) | 1 (42) | 1 (49) | 1 (58) | 1 (58) | 1 (59) | 1 (59) | 1 (60) | 1 (58) | 1 (55) | 1 (53) | 1 (47) | 1 (61) | 1 (61) | 1 (60) | 1 (60) | 1 (61) | 2 |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 2 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Not released |

## Depth chart

Bold indicates starters at that position. Bold italics indicates a returning starter.

### Offense

* QB- Ken Dorsey, Derrick Crudup, Eric Moore
* FB- Kyle Cobia, Quadtrine Hill
* RB- Willis McGahee, Jarrett Payton, Frank Gore
* WR- Andre Johnson, Roscoe Parrish Jason Geathers
* WR- Kevin Beard, Ethenic Sands, Tim Zwart
* TE- Kellen Winslow II, David Williams
* LT- Carlos Joseph, Tony Tella
* LG- Sherko Haji-Rasouli, Joe McGrath
* C- Brett Romberg. Joel Rodriguez
* RG- Ed Wilkins, Chris Myers
* RT- Vernon Carey , Rashad Butler

### Defense

* DE- Andrew Williams, Jamaal Green
* DT- Matt Walters, Santonio Thomas
* DT- William Joseph, Vince Wilfork
* DE- Jerome McDougle, Cornelius Green
* WLB- D.J. Williams, Jerrel Weaver
* MLB- Jonathan Vilma, Leon Williams
* SLB- Howard Clark, Rocky McIntosh
* CB- Antrel Rolle, Jean Leone
* CB- Kelly Jennings, Al Marshall
* SS- Maurice Sikes, Marcus Maxey
* FS- Sean Taylor, James Scott

### Special teams

* K- Todd Sievers, Mark Gent
* P- Freddie Capshaw, Dan Lundy
* KR- Roscoe Parrish

## Season recap
### Vs. Ohio State (Fiesta Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| • No. 2 Buckeyes | 0 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 31 |
| No. 1 Hurricanes | 7 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 24 |

## Statistics

* QB Ken Dorsey: 222/393 (56.5%) for 3,369 yards (8.57) with 28 TD vs. 12 INT (3.05%).
* RB Willis McGahee: 282 carries for 1,753 yards (6.22) and 28 TD. 27 catches for 355 yards and 0 TD.
* WR Andre Johnson: 52 catches for 1,092 yards (21.00) and 9 TD.
* TE Kellen Winslow Jr.: 57 catches for 726 yards (12.74) and 8 TD.
* K Todd Sievers: 12/20 (60.0%) on FG with 63 XPM. Long FG of 53 yards.

## Awards

* Brett Romberg- Rimmington Trophy