2002 Rice Owls football team

The 2002 Rice Owls football team represented Rice University as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their ninth year under head coach Ken Hatfield, the Owls compiled an overall record of 4–7 record with a mark of 3–5 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for sixth in the WAC. The team played home games at Rice Stadium in Houston.

2002 Rice Owls football
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	4–7 (3–5 WAC)
Head coach	Ken Hatfield (9th season)
Offensive coordinator	Scott Wachenheim (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Roger Hinshaw (5th season)
Home stadium	Rice Stadium
Seasons ← 2001 2003 →

2002 Western Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 15 Boise State $		8	–	0					12	–	1
Hawaii		7	–	1					10	–	4
Fresno State		6	–	2					9	–	5
San Jose State		4	–	4					6	–	7
Nevada		4	–	4					5	–	7
Rice		3	–	5					4	–	7
Louisiana Tech		3	–	5					4	–	8
SMU		3	–	5					3	–	9
UTEP		1	–	7					2	–	10
Tulsa		1	–	7					1	–	11
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	7:00 pm	Houston*	Rice Stadium Houston, TX (rivalry)		L 10–24	30,747
September 7	12:00 pm	at No. 15 Michigan State*	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		L 10–27	74,014
September 21	3:00 pm	at Nevada	Mackay Stadium Reno, NV		L 21–31	17,201
September 28	7:00 pm	Fresno State	Rice Stadium Houston, TX		L 28–31	18,143
October 5	7:00 pm	Louisiana Tech	Reliant Stadium Houston, TX		W 37–20	20,895
October 12	11:00 am	at Navy*	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		W 17–10	25,104
October 19	9:15 pm	at UTEP	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	FSN	L 35–38	32,392
October 25	2:00 pm	SMU	Rice Stadium Houston, TX (rivalry)		W 27–15	10,845
November 2	2:00 pm	at Tulsa	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK		W 33–18	12,587
November 9	2:05 pm	at Boise State	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID		L 7–49	23,962
November 16	2:00 pm	Hawaii	Rice Stadium Houston, TX		L 28–33	19,714
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

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