2002 Florida Gators football team

2002 Florida Gators football
Outback Bowl, L 38–30 vs. Michigan
Conference	Southeastern Conference Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	#24
2002 record	8–5 (6–2 SEC)
Head coach	Ron Zook (1st year)
Offensive coordinator	Ed Zaunbrecher
Defensive coordinator	John Thompson
Captain	Earnest Graham Rex Grossman Byron Hardmon Taylor Jacobs Todd Johnson
Home stadium	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium

2002 SEC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
#3 Georgia x$		7	–	1					13	–	1
Florida		6	–	2					8	–	5
Tennessee		5	–	3					8	–	5
Kentucky		3	–	5					7	–	5
South Carolina		3	–	5					5	–	7
Vanderbilt		0	–	8					2	–	10
Western Division
#11 Alabama		6	–	2					10	–	3
Arkansas xy		5	–	3					9	–	5
#14 Auburn x		5	–	3					9	–	4
LSU x		5	–	3					8	–	5
Ole Miss		3	–	5					7	–	6
Mississippi State		0	–	8					3	–	9
Championship: Georgia 30, Arkansas 3
$ – BCS representative as conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Alabama had the best division record, but did not participate in postseason play due to NCAA probation. Rankings from AP Poll

The 2002 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2002 college football season. The Gators competed in Division I-A of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. They were led by first-year head coach Ron Zook, who coached them to a second-place finish in the SEC East, an Outback Bowl berth, and an overall record of 8–5 (.615).

Schedule

Date	Opponent#	Rank#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
8–31–2002	Alabama-Birmingham*	#6	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL	PPV	W 51–3	85,575
9–7–2002	#1 Miami*	#6	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL	CBS	L 16–41	85,777
9–14–2002	Ohio*	#12	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL	PPV	W 34–6	84,002
9–21–2002	#4 Tennessee	#10	Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN	CBS	W 30–13	108,722
9–28–2002	Kentucky	#7	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL	CBS	W 41–34	85,333
10–5–2002	Ole Miss	#6	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS	CBS	L 14–17	61,140
10–12–2002	#18 Louisiana State	#16	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL	ESPN	L 7–36	85,252
10–19–2002	Auburn		Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL	ESPN	W 30–23 OT	85,135
11–2–2002	#5 Georgia		Alltel Stadium • Jacksonville, FL	ESPN	W 20–13	84,433
11–9–2002	Vanderbilt	#23	Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, TN	PPV	W 21–17	28,881
11–16–2002	South Carolina	#20	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL (HC)	ESPN	W 28–7	85,222
11–30–2002	#23 Florida State*	#15	Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL	ABC	L 14–31	83,938
1–1–2003	#12 Michigan*	#15	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL (Outback Bowl)	ESPN	L 30–38	65,101
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game.

Sources: 2012 Florida Football Media Guide, and GatorZone.com.

Game notes

Kentucky

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; wind 9 W Referee: Steve Shaw

Scoring summary Q1 2:08 FLA Graham 1-yard run (kick blocked) FLA 6–0 Q2 11:55 FLA Carthon 19-yard run (pass failed) FLA 12–0 Q2 2:54 FLA Carthon 6-yard run (Leach kick) FLA 19–0 Q3 11:05 UK Abney 14-yard pass from Lorenzen (Begley kick) FLA 19–7 Q3 7:21 FLA Jacobs 4-yard pass from Grossman (kick blocked) FLA 25–7 Q3 6:59 UK Abney 100-yard kickoff return (Begley kick) FLA 25–14 Q3 3:21 UK Pinner 1-yard run (Begley kick) FLA 25–21 Q3 3:03 UK Boone 39-yard pass from Lorenzen (Begley kick) UK 28–25 Q3 0:18 FLA Jacobs 35-yard pass from Grossman (Leach kick) FLA 32–28 Q4 9:25 FLA Ratliff 62-yard interception return (Leach kick) FLA 39–28 Q4 5:24 UK Abney 49-yard punt return (pass failed) FLA 39–34 Q4 5:24 FLA Ratliff PAT return FLA 41–34

Georgia

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, FL Game start: 7:45 p.m. Elapsed time: 3:25 Game attendance: 84,433 Game weather: Clear, 58 F 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 2 3:56 FLA Guss Scott 47-yard interception return (pass failed) FLA 12-6 2 1:20 UGA Billy Bennett 47-yard field goal (8-48, 2:36) FLA 12-10 2 0:03 UGA Billy Bennett 25-yard field goal (4-(-2), 1:08) UGA 13-12 4 11:32 FLA Ben Troupe 10-yard pass from Rex Grossman (Grossman run) (10-89, 3:49) FLA 20-13

Coaching staff

• Ron Zook - Head Coach
• Ed Zaunbrecher- Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
• John Thompson - Defensive Coordinator
• Mike Woodford - Defense
• Jerry "Red" Anderson - Defensive
• Joe Wickline - Offensive Line
• Dwayne Dixon - Wide Receivers
• Larry Fedora - Running Backs
• Jerry Odom - Inside Linebackers
• Tyke Tolbert - Tight Ends/Recruiting Coordinator

Season links

1. Schedule/Results - http://gatorzone.com/sched.php?sport=footb
2. Coaching Staff - http://gatorzone.com/football/bios.php?year=2002

See also

• Auburn–Florida football rivalry
• Florida–Florida State football rivalry
• Florida Gators
• Florida–Georgia football rivalry
• Florida–LSU football rivalry
• Florida–Miami football rivalry
• Florida–Tennessee football rivalry
• History of the University of Florida

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.

External links

• College Football Data Warehouse, Florida Yearly Results: 2000–2004. Retrieved August 6, 2015.