2002 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

2002 Marshall Thundering Herd football
MAC champion MAC East Division champion GMAC Bowl champion
MAC Championship Game, W 49–45 vs. Toledo
GMAC Bowl, W 38–15 vs. Louisville
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	East
Ranking
Coaches	No. 19
AP	No. 24
Record	11–2 (7–1 MAC)
Head coach	Bob Pruett (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	Mark McHale (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinator	Larry Kueck (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Bill Wilt (1st season)
Home stadium	Marshall University Stadium
Seasons ← 2001 2003 →

2002 Mid-American Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 24 Marshall x$		7	–	1					11	–	2
UCF		6	–	2					7	–	5
Miami (OH)		5	–	3					7	–	5
Ohio		4	–	4					4	–	8
Akron		3	–	5					4	–	8
Kent State		1	–	7					3	–	9
Buffalo		0	–	8					1	–	11
West Division
Toledo xy		7	–	1					9	–	5
Northern Illinois x		7	–	1					8	–	4
Bowling Green		6	–	2					9	–	3
Ball State		4	–	4					6	–	6
Western Michigan		3	–	5					4	–	8
Central Michigan		2	–	6					4	–	8
Eastern Michigan		1	–	7					3	–	9
Championship: Marshall 49, Toledo 45
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2002 Marshall Thundering Herd football team represented Marshall University in the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Thundering Herd played their home games at Marshall University Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia, and competed in the East Division of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The team was coached by seventh-year head coach Bob Pruett. Marshall won its fifth MAC title in six years and its fifth consecutive bowl game.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 31	7:00 pm	No. 2 (I-AA) ESPN+	W 50–17	31,042	[1]
September 12	7:45 pm	at No. 11 Virginia Tech*	No. 16	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ESPN	L 21–47	65,049
September 20	7:00 pm	UCF		Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV	ESPN2	W 26–21	32,900
October 5	2:00 pm	at Kent State		Dix Stadium Kent, OH		W 42–21	15,337
October 12	4:30 pm	Buffalo		Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV		W 66–21	28,200
October 19	4:30 pm	Troy State*		Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV	ESPN+	W 24–7	27,121
October 26	1:00 pm	at Central Michigan		Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI		W 23–18	14,564
November 2	3:30 pm	at Akron		Rubber Bowl Akron, OH		L 20–34	13,762
November 12	8:00 pm	Miami (OH)		Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV	ESPN	W 36–34	26,851
November 23	3:30 pm	at Ohio		Peden Stadium Athens, OH (Battle for the Bell)		W 24–21	21,110
November 30	4:30 pm	Ball State		Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV	ESPN2	W 38–14	23,824
December 7	2:30 pm	Toledo		Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV (MAC Championship Game)	ESPN2	W 49–45	24,582
December 18	8:00 pm	vs. Louisville*		Ladd–Peebles Stadium Mobile, AL (GMAC Bowl)	ESPN2	W 38–15	40,646
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Appalachian State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mountaineers	7	3	7	0	17
No. 19 Thundering Herd	3	20	14	13	50

Virginia Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 16 Thundering Herd	0	0	0	21	21
No. 11 Hokies	10	10	6	21	47

UCF

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Knights	7	7	0	7	21
Thundering Herd	3	17	6	0	26

Kent State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	7	14	14	7	42
Golden Flashes	14	0	7	0	21

Buffalo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulls	0	0	7	14	21
Thundering Herd	21	31	7	7	66

Troy State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Trojans	0	0	0	7	7
Thundering Herd	10	7	0	7	24

Central Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	13	7	3	0	23
Chippewas	0	9	3	6	18

Akron

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	7	3	7	3	20
Zips	7	17	10	0	34

Miami (OH)

	1	2	3	4	Total
RedHawks	3	14	10	7	34
Thundering Herd	10	7	12	7	36

While Stan Hill and his Marshall teammates were celebrating a dramatic win, Miami (Ohio) defensive coordinator John Wauford was being led off the field in handcuffs by state police.

Moments after Hill scored on a 1-yard run with 5 seconds left for a 36-34 victory Tuesday night, Wauford allegedly shoved a Marshall fan and was arrested. The fan, Robert A. Flaugher of Pickerington, Ohio, hit his head on the artificial turf and was taken on a stretcher to a hospital with a concussion, according to a report filed by State Police in Huntington. Flaugher was in stable condition at St. Mary's Medical Center, said a nursing supervisor who did not want her name released.

Wauford was charged with battery, a misdemeanor. He was transported to Cabell County Magistrate Court and posted bail. The amount wasn't immediately released. Miami officials refused to comment on the incident, and did not make players or coaches available to media.

Marshall fans stormed the field after Stan Hill's winning score. Playing in place of the injured Byron Leftwich and making his first career start, Hill also threw four touchdown passes.

Ben Roethlisberger twice brought Miami back from double-digit deficits, and Luke Clemens' 17-yard TD run gave the RedHawks a 34-29 lead with 6:33 left.

After a dropped pass in the end zone by Darius Watts - who caught three TD passes from Hill - a pair of interference calls against Miami put the ball at the 1, setting up Hill's run.

External link: http://www.muredhawks.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/111202aaa.html

Ohio

	1	2	3	4	Total
Thundering Herd	0	3	14	7	24
Bobcats	7	0	6	8	21

Ball State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	7	0	0	7	14
Thundering Herd	10	14	14	0	38

Toledo

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rockets	0	17	15	13	45
Thundering Herd	14	14	7	14	49

A month's worth of limping on a sore shin didn't deter Byron Leftwich, and neither did getting flattened by Toledo's David Gardner. Leftwich got up from the third-quarter hit to throw two late touchdowns, including a 40-yarder to Darius Watts with 49 seconds left, as Marshall beat the Rockets 49-45 in the Mid-American Conference championship game.

Marshall atoned for a loss at Toledo in the 2001 championship game, in which the Rockets overcame a 23-0 deficit to win 41-36.

Leftwich completed 32 of 42 passes for 404 yards and four TDs to overshadow the four rushing touchdowns by Toledo redshirt freshman Trinity Dawson, who finished with a career-high 130 yards. Leftwich became the conference's all-time leading passer with 11,654, surpassing the 11,299 yards set by Tim Lester from 1996 to 1999.

External link: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=223410276

Louisville

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	0	7	0	8	15
Thundering Herd	7	10	7	14	38

Roster

2002 Marshall Thundering Herd football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 87 Oscar Alcantara Sr WR 83 Brad Bates So OL 77 Josh Blakey So OL 56 Toby Bullock Fr RB 8 Bradon Carey Jr WR 82 Josh Davis So QB 4 Stan Hill So WR 80 Curtis Jones Sr QB 7 Byron Leftwich Sr TE 90 Jason Rader Jr G 75 Steve Sciullo Sr WR 40 Darius Watts Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 3 Moriah Anderson So LB 5 Kevin Atkins So LB 1 Gladstone Coke Jr FS 19 Chris Crocker Sr DE 50 Johnathan Goddard So DE 99 Jamus Martin So DE 55 Maurice McKinney Jr LB 53 Ashley McNeely Fr LB 42 Ryan Kobbe Sr LB 47 Henry Moore Sr LB 44 Carlos Morgan So DB 15 Yancey Satterwhite Sr LB 12 Scott Wilks Fr DB 28 Renaldo Williams So LB 33 Dionte' Wilson So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 9 Jesse Cortez Fr P/K 36 Curtis Head Sr K 16 Nick Kelly So LS 68 Cory Dennison Sr	Head coach Bob Pruett Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 2002-10-22

Team players drafted in the NFL

The following players were selected in the

.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Byron Leftwich	Quarterback	1	7	Jacksonville Jaguars
Chris Crocker	Defensive Back	3	84	Cleveland Browns
Steve Sciullo	Guard	4	122	Indianapolis Colts

^[2]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	19	19	16	16	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	24
Coaches	21	22	18	17	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	24	19
BCS	Not released									—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Not released

References