2002 Marshall Thundering Herd football
MAC champion
MAC East Division champion
GMAC Bowl champion
GMAC Bowl, W 38–15 vs. Louisville
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionEast
Ranking
CoachesNo. 19
APNo. 24
Record11–2 (7–1 MAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMark McHale (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinatorLarry Kueck (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorBill Wilt (1st season)
Home stadiumMarshall University Stadium
Seasons
← 2001
2003 →
2002 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 24 Marshall x$   7 – 1     11 – 2  
UCF   6 – 2     7 – 5  
Miami (OH)   5 – 3     7 – 5  
Ohio   4 – 4     4 – 8  
Akron   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Kent State   1 – 7     3 – 9  
Buffalo   0 – 8     1 – 11  
West Division
Toledo xy   7 – 1     9 – 5  
Northern Illinois x   7 – 1     8 – 4  
Bowling Green   6 – 2     9 – 3  
Ball State   4 – 4     6 – 6  
Western Michigan   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Central Michigan   2 – 6     4 – 8  
Eastern Michigan   1 – 7     3 – 9  
Championship: Marshall 49, Toledo 45
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2002 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University in the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Thundering Herd played their home games at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia, and competed in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The team was coached by seventh-year head coach Bob Pruett. Marshall won its fifth MAC title in six years and its fifth consecutive bowl game.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
August 317:00 pmNo. 2 (I-AA) Appalachian State*No. 19
ESPN+W 50–1731,042[1]
September 127:45 pmat No. 11 Virginia Tech*No. 16
ESPNL 21–4765,049
September 207:00 pmUCF
  • Marshall University Stadium
  • Huntington, WV
ESPN2W 26–2132,900
October 52:00 pmat Kent State
W 42–2115,337
October 124:30 pmBuffalo
  • Marshall University Stadium
  • Huntington, WV
W 66–2128,200
October 194:30 pmTroy State*dagger
  • Marshall University Stadium
  • Huntington, WV
ESPN+W 24–727,121
October 261:00 pmat Central Michigan
W 23–1814,564
November 23:30 pmat Akron
L 20–3413,762
November 128:00 pmMiami (OH)
  • Marshall University Stadium
  • Huntington, WV
ESPNW 36–3426,851
November 233:30 pmat Ohio
W 24–2121,110
November 304:30 pmBall State
  • Marshall University Stadium
  • Huntington, WV
ESPN2W 38–1423,824
December 72:30 pmToledo
ESPN2W 49–4524,582
December 188:00 pmvs. Louisville*
ESPN2W 38–1540,646
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Appalachian State

See also: 2002 Appalachian State Mountaineers football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Mountaineers 7 3 7 0 17
No. 19 Thundering Herd 3 20 14 13 50

Virginia Tech

See also: 2002 Virginia Tech Hokies football team
1 2 3 4 Total
No. 16 Thundering Herd 0 0 0 21 21
No. 11 Hokies 10 10 6 21 47

UCF

See also: 2002 UCF Golden Knights football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Golden Knights 7 7 0 7 21
Thundering Herd 3 17 6 0 26

Kent State

See also: 2002 Kent State Golden Flashes football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Thundering Herd 7 14 14 7 42
Golden Flashes 14 0 7 0 21

Buffalo

See also: 2002 Buffalo Bulls football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Bulls 0 0 7 14 21
Thundering Herd 21 31 7 7 66

Troy State

See also: 2002 Troy State Trojans football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Trojans 0 0 0 7 7
Thundering Herd 10 7 0 7 24

Central Michigan

See also: 2002 Central Michigan Chippewas football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Thundering Herd 13 7 3 0 23
Chippewas 0 9 3 6 18

Akron

See also: 2002 Akron Zips football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Thundering Herd 7 3 7 3 20
Zips 7 17 10 0 34

Miami (OH)

See also: 2002 Miami RedHawks football team
1 2 3 4 Total
RedHawks 3 14 10 7 34
Thundering Herd 10 7 12 7 36

While Stan Hill and his Marshall teammates were celebrating a dramatic win, Miami (Ohio) defensive coordinator John Wauford was being led off the field in handcuffs by state police.

Moments after Hill scored on a 1-yard run with 5 seconds left for a 36-34 victory Tuesday night, Wauford allegedly shoved a Marshall fan and was arrested. The fan, Robert A. Flaugher of Pickerington, Ohio, hit his head on the artificial turf and was taken on a stretcher to a hospital with a concussion, according to a report filed by State Police in Huntington. Flaugher was in stable condition at St. Mary's Medical Center, said a nursing supervisor who did not want her name released.

Wauford was charged with battery, a misdemeanor. He was transported to Cabell County Magistrate Court and posted bail. The amount wasn't immediately released. Miami officials refused to comment on the incident, and did not make players or coaches available to media.

Marshall fans stormed the field after Stan Hill's winning score. Playing in place of the injured Byron Leftwich and making his first career start, Hill also threw four touchdown passes.

Ben Roethlisberger twice brought Miami back from double-digit deficits, and Luke Clemens' 17-yard TD run gave the RedHawks a 34-29 lead with 6:33 left.

After a dropped pass in the end zone by Darius Watts - who caught three TD passes from Hill - a pair of interference calls against Miami put the ball at the 1, setting up Hill's run.

External link: http://www.muredhawks.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/111202aaa.html

Ohio

See also: 2002 Ohio Bobcats football team and Battle for the Bell
1 2 3 4 Total
Thundering Herd 0 3 14 7 24
Bobcats 7 0 6 8 21

Ball State

See also: 2002 Ball State Cardinals football team
1 2 3 4 Total
Cardinals 7 0 0 7 14
Thundering Herd 10 14 14 0 38

Toledo

See also: 2002 Toledo Rockets football team and 2002 MAC Championship Game
1 2 3 4 Total
Rockets 0 17 15 13 45
Thundering Herd 14 14 7 14 49

A month's worth of limping on a sore shin didn't deter Byron Leftwich, and neither did getting flattened by Toledo's David Gardner. Leftwich got up from the third-quarter hit to throw two late touchdowns, including a 40-yarder to Darius Watts with 49 seconds left, as Marshall beat the Rockets 49-45 in the Mid-American Conference championship game.

Marshall atoned for a loss at Toledo in the 2001 championship game, in which the Rockets overcame a 23-0 deficit to win 41-36.

Leftwich completed 32 of 42 passes for 404 yards and four TDs to overshadow the four rushing touchdowns by Toledo redshirt freshman Trinity Dawson, who finished with a career-high 130 yards. Leftwich became the conference's all-time leading passer with 11,654, surpassing the 11,299 yards set by Tim Lester from 1996 to 1999.

External link: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=223410276

Louisville

See also: 2002 Louisville Cardinals football team and 2002 GMAC Bowl
1 2 3 4 Total
Cardinals 0 7 0 8 15
Thundering Herd 7 10 7 14 38

Roster

2002 Marshall Thundering Herd football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 87 Oscar Alcantara Sr
WR 83 Brad Bates So
OL 77 Josh Blakey So
OL 56 Toby Bullock Fr
RB 8 Bradon Carey Jr
WR 82 Josh Davis So
QB 4 Stan Hill So
WR 80 Curtis Jones Sr
QB 7 Byron Leftwich Sr
TE 90 Jason Rader Jr
G 75 Steve Sciullo Sr
WR 40 Darius Watts Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 3 Moriah Anderson So
LB 5 Kevin Atkins So
LB 1 Gladstone Coke Jr
FS 19 Chris Crocker Sr
DE 50 Johnathan Goddard So
DE 99 Jamus Martin So
DE 55 Maurice McKinney Jr
LB 53 Ashley McNeely Fr
LB 42 Ryan Kobbe Sr
LB 47 Henry Moore Sr
LB 44 Carlos Morgan So
DB 15 Yancey Satterwhite Sr
LB 12 Scott Wilks Fr
DB 28 Renaldo Williams So
LB 33 Dionte' Wilson So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 9 Jesse Cortez Fr
P/K 36 Curtis Head Sr
K 16 Nick Kelly So
LS 68 Cory Dennison Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2002-10-22

Team players drafted in the NFL

The following players were selected in the 2003 NFL Draft.

Player Position Round Pick Franchise
Byron Leftwich Quarterback 1 7 Jacksonville Jaguars
Chris Crocker Defensive Back 3 84 Cleveland Browns
Steve Sciullo Guard 4 122 Indianapolis Colts

[2]

Rankings

See also: 2002 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP19191616RVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV24
Coaches21221817RVRVRVRVRVRV25RVRVRVRVRV2419
BCSNot released————————Not released

References

  1. ^ "Marshall flies by ASU". The News and Observer. September 1, 2002. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "2003 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
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