2002 Michigan State Spartans football team

2002 Michigan State Spartans football
2002 Michigan State Spartans football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	4–8 (2–6 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bobby Williams (3rd season; first 9 games); Morris Watts (interim, final 3 games);
Offensive coordinator	Morris Watts (12th season)
Defensive coordinator	Bill Miller (4th season)
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium
	Seasons ← 2001 2003 →

The 2002 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Bobby Williams in his third and final season as head, the Spartans compiled an overall record of 4–8 with a mark of 2–6 in conference play, tying for eighth place in the Big Ten. William was fired after the ninth game of the season. Michigan State offensive coordinator Morris Watts was appointed interim head coach for the remainder of the year. The team played home games at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.

Record4–8 (2–6 Big Ten)

Headcoach

OffensivecoordinatorMorris Watts (12th season)

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2002 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 1 Ohio State $#+	8	–	0	14	–	0
No. 8 Iowa %+	8	–	0	11	–	2
No. 9 Michigan	6	–	2	10	–	3
No. 16 Penn State	5	–	3	9	–	4
Purdue	4	–	4	7	–	6
Illinois	4	–	4	5	–	7
Minnesota	3	–	5	8	–	5
Wisconsin	2	–	6	8	–	6
Michigan State	2	–	6	4	–	8
Northwestern	1	–	7	3	–	9
Indiana	1	–	7	3	–	9

# – BCS National Champion $ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll^[1]

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The Spartans' record of 4–8 was the program's worst record since the 1994 season.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	3:30 p.m.	Eastern Michigan*	No. 18	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN Plus	W 56–7	73,927
September 7	1:05 p.m.	Rice*	No. 15	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 27–10	74,014
September 14	12:00 p.m.	California*	No. 15	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN2	L 22–46	72,634
September 21	3:30 p.m.	No. 12 Notre Dame*		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	ABC	L 17–21	75,182
September 28	1:05 p.m.	Northwestern		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI		W 39–24	74,215
October 12	12:00 p.m.	at No. 17 Iowa		Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ESPN	L 16–44	70,397
October 19	12:00 p.m.	Minnesota		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN Plus	L 7–28	74,232
October 26	7:00 p.m.	Wisconsin		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN2	L 24–42	74,504
November 2	12:00 p.m.	at No. 15 Michigan		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	ESPN2	L 3–49	111,542
November 9	1:00 p.m.	at Indiana		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (rivalry)		W 56–21	29,253
November 16	12:00 p.m.	Purdue		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN Plus	L 42–45	72,828
November 23	3:30 p.m.	at No. 15 Penn State		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ABC	L 7–61	108,755
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Schedule