2002 Marshall Thundering Herd football team

2002 Marshall Thundering Herd football
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
	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
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) Appalachian State*	No. 19	Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV	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: [1]

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

Lou Anarumo
(Defensive backs)

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 2003 NFL draft.

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

^ "Marshall flies by ASU". The News and Observer. September 1, 2002. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "2003 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.

[1] "Marshall flies by ASU". The News and Observer. September 1, 2002. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[2] "2003 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.

[1]

[2]

v t Marshall Thundering Herd football
Venues	Central Field (1895–1927) Fairfield Stadium (1928–1990) Joan C. Edwards Stadium (1991–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Appalachian State East Carolina Ohio: Battle for the Bell West Virginia: Friends of Coal Bowl
Culture & lore	Marco the Bison "Sons of Marshall" Marching Thunder Plane crash Marshall University: Ashes to Glory We Are Marshall
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold