The 2002 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida as a member of the Eastern Division in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Ron Zook, the Gators compiled an overall record of 8–5 with mark of 6–2 in conference play, placing second in the SEC's Eastern Division title. Florida was invited to the Outback Bowl, where the Gators lost Michigan. The team played home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus.
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
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August 31 | 7:00 p.m. | UAB* | No. 6 | | PPV | W 51–3 | 85,575 |
September 7 | 5:15 p.m. | No. 1 Miami (FL)* | No. 6 | | CBS | L 16–41 | 85,777 |
September 14 | 6:00 p.m. | Ohio* | No. 12 | - Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
- Gainesville, FL
| PPV | W 34–6 | 84,002 |
September 21 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 4 Tennessee | No. 10 | | CBS | W 30–13 | 108,722 |
September 28 | 3:30 p.m. | Kentucky | No. 7 | - Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
- Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
| CBS | W 41–34 | 85,333 |
October 5 | 12:00 p.m. | at Ole Miss | No. 6 | | CBS | L 14–17 | 61,140 |
October 12 | 7:45 p.m. | No. 18 LSU | No. 16 | - Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
- Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
| ESPN | L 7–36 | 85,252 |
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 20–13 | 84,433 |
November 9 | 2:00 p.m. | at Vanderbilt | No. 23 | | PPV | W 21–17 | 28,881 |
November 16 | 6:00 p.m. | South Carolina | No. 20 | - Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
- Gainesville, FL
| ESPN | W 28–7 | 85,222 |
November 30 | 8:00 p.m. | at No. 23 Florida State* | No. 15 | | ABC | L 14–31 | 83,938 |
January 1, 2003 | 11:00 a.m. | vs. No. 12 Michigan* | No. 15 | | ESPN | L 30–38 | 65,101 |
- *Non-conference game
- Homecoming
- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
- All times are in Eastern time
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[1][2]
Game summaries
UAB
Miami (FL)
Ohio
At Tennessee
Florida Gators (2–1) at Tennessee Volunteers (1–1)
at Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee
- Date: September 21
- Game time: 3:30 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Light rain, 71 °F (22 °C)
- Game attendance: 108,722
- Referee: Rogers Redding
- TV: CBS
- Box Score
Game information
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- 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.
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- Top passers
- Top rushers
- FLA – Ran Carthon – 9 rushes, 51 yards
- TENN – Troy Fleming – 9 rushes, 42 yards
- Top receivers
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Kentucky
Team |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Kentucky |
0 |
0 | 28 | 6 |
34 |
• Florida |
6 |
13 | 13 | 9 |
41 |
- Date: September 28
- Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
- Game start: 3:30 p.m.
- Elapsed time: 3:38
- Game attendance: 85,333
- Game weather: Sunny; 86 °F (30 °C); wind 9 mph (14 km/h) W
- Referee: Steve Shaw
Scoring summary |
Q1 | 2:08 | FLA | Graham 1-yard run (kick blocked) | FLA 6–0 |
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Q2 | 11:55 | FLA | Carthon 19-yard run (pass failed) | FLA 12–0 |
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Q2 | 2:54 | FLA | Carthon 6-yard run (Leach kick) | FLA 19–0 |
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Q3 | 11:05 | UK | Abney 14-yard pass from Lorenzen (Begley kick) | FLA 19–7 |
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Q3 | 7:21 | FLA | Jacobs 4-yard pass from Grossman (kick blocked) | FLA 25–7 |
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Q3 | 6:59 | UK | Abney 100-yard kickoff return (Begley kick) | FLA 25–14 |
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Q3 | 3:21 | UK | Pinner 1-yard run (Begley kick) | FLA 25–21 |
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Q3 | 3:03 | UK | Boone 39-yard pass from Lorenzen (Begley kick) | UK 28–25 |
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Q3 | 0:18 | FLA | Jacobs 35-yard pass from Grossman (Leach kick) | FLA 32–28 |
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Q4 | 9:25 | FLA | Ratliff 62-yard interception return (Leach kick) | FLA 39–28 |
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Q4 | 5:24 | UK | Abney 49-yard punt return (pass failed) | FLA 39–34 |
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Q4 | 5:24 | FLA | Ratliff PAT return | FLA 41–34 |
[3]
At Ole Miss
LSU
Auburn
Vs. Georgia
Team |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
• Florida |
0 |
12 | 0 | 8 |
20 |
Georgia |
7 |
6 | 0 | 0 |
13 |
- Date: Saturday, November 2
- Location: Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida
- Game start: 7:45 p.m.
- Elapsed time: 3:25
- Game attendance: 84,433
- Game weather: Clear, 58 °F (14 °C)
- Referee: Penn Wagers
- Television network: ESPN
Scoring summary |
1 | 6:59 | UGA | J.T. Wall 10-yard pass from David Greene (Billy Bennett kick) (3-48, 0:49) | UGA 7-0 |
|
2 | 9:39 | FLA | Aaron Walker 5-yard pass from Rex Grossman (Brendt Talcott kick failed) (13-58, 5:21) | UGA 7-6 |
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2 | 3:56 | FLA | Guss Scott 47-yard interception return (pass failed) | FLA 12-6 |
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2 | 1:20 | UGA | Billy Bennett 47-yard field goal (8-48, 2:36) | FLA 12-10 |
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2 | 0:03 | UGA | Billy Bennett 25-yard field goal (4-(-2), 1:08) | UGA 13-12 |
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4 | 11:32 | FLA | Ben Troupe 10-yard pass from Rex Grossman (Grossman run) (10-89, 3:49) | FLA 20-13 |
[4]
At Vanderbilt
South Carolina
At Florida State
Outback Bowl (vs. Michigan)
Roster
2002 Florida Gators football team roster
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Players
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Coaches
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Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
Pos. |
# |
Name |
Class
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K
|
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Matt Leach
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- Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
Roster
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Players drafted into the NFL
References
- ^ 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.
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National championship seasons in bold |