2002 Michigan State Spartans football team

The 2002 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Bobby Williams in his third and final season as head, the Spartans compiled an overall record of 4–8 with a mark of 2–6 in conference play, tying for eighth place in the Big Ten. William was fired after the ninth game of the season. Michigan State offensive coordinator Morris Watts was appointed interim head coach for the remainder of the year. The team played home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.

2002 Michigan State Spartans football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record4–8 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach
  • Bobby Williams (3rd season; first 9 games)
  • Morris Watts (interim, final 3 games)
Offensive coordinatorMorris Watts (12th season)
Defensive coordinatorBill Miller (4th season)
Home stadiumSpartan Stadium
Seasons
← 2001
2003 →
2002 Big Ten Conference football standings
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

The Spartans' record of 4–8 was the program's worst record since the 1994 season.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 313:30 p.m.Eastern Michigan*No. 18
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
ESPN PlusW 56–773,927
September 71:05 p.m.Rice*No. 15
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 27–1074,014
September 1412:00 p.m.California*No. 15
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
ESPN2L 22–4672,634
September 213:30 p.m.No. 12 Notre Dame*
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI (rivalry)
ABCL 17–2175,182
September 281:05 p.m.Northwestern
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
W 39–2474,215
October 1212:00 p.m.at No. 17 Iowa
  • Kinnick Stadium
  • Iowa City, IA
ESPNL 16–4470,397
October 1912:00 p.m.Minnesota
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
ESPN PlusL 7–2874,232
October 267:00 p.m.Wisconsin
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
ESPN2L 24–4274,504
November 212:00 p.m.at No. 15 Michigan
  • Michigan Stadium
  • Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)
ESPN2L 3–49111,542
November 91:00 p.m.at Indiana
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Bloomington, IN (rivalry)
W 56–2129,253
November 1612:00 p.m.Purdue
  • Spartan Stadium
  • East Lansing, MI
ESPN PlusL 42–4572,828
November 233:30 p.m.at No. 15 Penn State
  • Beaver Stadium
  • University Park, PA (rivalry)
ABCL 7–61108,755
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP18181515RVRVRVRV
Coaches18171515RV
HarrisNot releasedNot released
BCSNot releasedNot released

Roster

2002 Michigan State Spartans football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
OL 69 Kyle Cook Fr
OL 73 Brian Ottney (C) Jr
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

Draft picks

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

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