2002 Wisconsin Badgers football team
| 2002 Wisconsin Badgers football | |
|---|---|
Alamo Bowl champion | |
Alamo Bowl, W 31–28 OT vs. Colorado | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Record | 8–6 (2–6 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Brian White (4th season) |
| Offensive scheme | Multiple |
| Defensive coordinator | Kevin Cosgrove (8th season) |
| Base defense | 4–3color |
| MVP | Jim Leonhard |
| Captains | |
| Home stadium | Camp Randall Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2002 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 13th-year head coach Barry Alvarez, the Badgers compiled an overall record of 8–6 with a mark of 2–6 in conference play, tying for eighth place in the Big Ten. Wisconsin was invited to the Alamo Bowl, where the Badgers defeated Colorado. The team played home games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.
In the spring game, Wisconsin's offense suffered a devastating blow when top receiver Lee Evans was lost for the season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Evan's loss was a significant blow, but despite it, Wisconsin managed to start off the season by winning all five of their nonconference games. From there, though, things did not go Wisconsin's way; the Badgers lost their first three Big Ten games by less than seven points. Among those was a near-upset of eventual national champion Ohio State, a 19–14 Buckeyes win that was Jim Tressel's first over the Badgers (having lost 20–7 to Wisconsin the previous year). After going 0–3 to open their Big Ten slate, Wisconsin defeated Michigan State in Spartan Stadium, 42–24, for their first conference win of the season. After that game, Wisconsin lost their next three games against Big Ten opponents, including a 20–3 loss to Big Ten co-champion Iowa, and yet another close game against a Lloyd Carr-coached Michigan team. The loss to Michigan dropped Wisconsin to 1–6 in Big Ten play. To close out the regular season, Wisconsin finally put together a complete game in a 49–31 blowout of rival Minnesota, taking back Paul Bunyan's Axe and keeping Minnesota's losing streak in Camp Randall alive. The Badgers improved to 7–6 on the season.
Wisconsin was awarded a berth in the Alamo Bowl, having reached the required six wins in the regular season for Bowl eligibility, and faced Colorado, champion of the Big 12 Conference's North Division. At 9–4, Colorado entered the game ranked 14th in the nation, and hoping for a ten-win season. But Wisconsin managed to keep up with Colorado, and won the game 31–28 in overtime for their eighth win of the season, knocking Colorado to 9–5 on the year.
For Wisconsin, freshman wide receiver Jonathan Orr put together a good season in the absence of Evans, catching 47 passes for 842 yards, with 8 receiving touchdowns. RB Anthony Davis ran for 1,555 yards on 300 carries, with 13 touchdowns. Quarterback Brooks Bollinger, in his senior season, completed 131 passes on 245 attempts for 1,758 yards and 14 touchdowns, with just 4 interceptions.