2002 Utah Utes football team

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.

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)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Kyle Whittingham (8th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Rice-Eccles Stadium
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

Schedule

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

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Roster

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

NFL draft

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

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.