2002 Maine Black Bears football team

The 2002 Maine Black Bears football team represented the University of Maine during the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season. It was the program's 111th season and they finished in a tie as Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) co-champions with Northeastern.^[1] The Black Bears earned a berth into the 16-team Division I-AA playoffs, but lost in the quarterfinals to Georgia Southern, 7–31.^[2] Maine was led by 10th-year head coach Jack Cosgrove.^[2]

2002 Maine Black Bears football
A-10 co-champion
NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal, L 7–31 at Georgia Southern
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 6
Record	11–3 (7–2 A-10)
Head coach	Jack Cosgrove (10th season)
Offensive coordinator	Bobby Wilder (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Rich Nagy (2nd season)
Captains	Stephen Cooper Brendan Curry Jake Eaton
Home stadium	Alfond Stadium
Seasons ← 2001 2003 →

2002 Atlantic 10 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 6 Maine $^		7	–	2					11	–	3
No. 11 Northeastern $^		7	–	2					10	–	3
No. 4 Villanova ^		6	–	3					11	–	4
UMass		6	–	3					8	–	4
William & Mary		5	–	4					6	–	5
Richmond		4	–	5					4	–	7
Delaware		4	–	5					6	–	6
Hofstra		4	–	5					6	–	6
James Madison		4	–	6					5	–	7
New Hampshire		2	–	7					3	–	8
Rhode Island		1	–	8					3	–	9
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
August 31		Central Connecticut*	No. 13	Fitzpatrick Stadium Portland, ME	W 52–3	5,710
September 7	6:00 p.m.	No. 10 William & Mary	No. 11	Alfond Stadium Orono, ME	W 27–14	6,326
September 14	6:00 p.m.	at No. 11 Villanova	No. 6	Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA	W 21–14	8,515
September 21	12:00 p.m.	at Howard*	No. 4	William H. Greene Stadium Washington, DC	W 42–12	2,518
September 28		Rhode Island	No. 3	Alfond Stadium Orono, ME	W 31–14	7,034
October 5	12:00 p.m.	at James Madison	No. 3	Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA	W 17–6	14,728	[3]
October 12	1:00 p.m.	at UMass	No. 2	McGuirk Stadium Hadley, MA	L 10–20	5,183
October 19	3:30 p.m.	at FIU*	No. 8	FIU Stadium Miami, FL	W 33–7	5,303
October 26	12:00 p.m.	Hofstra	No. 6	Alfond Stadium Orono, ME	W 24–17
November 9	12:00 p.m.	Delaware	No. 5	Alfond Stadium Orono, ME	L 13–37	4,792
November 16	1:00 p.m.	at Richmond	No. 11	UR Stadium Richmond, VA	W 21–14	3,554
November 23		New Hampshire	No. 9	Alfond Stadium Orono, ME (Battle for the Brice–Cowell Musket)	W 31–14
November 30	1:00 p.m.	at No. 5 Appalachian State*	No. 7	Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	W 14–13	4,311	[4]
December 7		at No. 3 Georgia Southern*	No. 6	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	L 7–31	6,708
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Awards and honors

• All-America – Stephen Cooper (Associated Press)
• First Team All-Atlantic 10 – Stephen Cooper, David Cusano, Dennis Dottin-Carter
• Second Team All-Atlantic 10 – Brendan Curry, Matt Hammond, Peter Richardson, Marcus Williams
• Third Team All-Atlantic 10 – Jake Eaton
• Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year – Stephen Cooper