The 2002 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented the Georgia Southern University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by first-year head coach Mike Sewak, the Eagles compiled an overall record of 11–3 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, winning the SoCon title for the sixth consecutive season. Georgia Southern advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they defeated Bethune–Cookman in the first round and Maine in the quarterfinals before falling to Western Kentucky in the semifinals. Eagles played their home games at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia.
2002 Georgia Southern Eagles football | |
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SoCon champion | |
NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal, L 28–31 vs. Western Kentucky | |
Conference | Southern Conference |
Ranking | |
Sports Network | No. 3 |
Record | 11–3 (7–1 SoCon) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Mitch Ware (1st season) |
Defensive coordinator | Rusty Russell (6th season) |
Home stadium | Paulson Stadium |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 3 Georgia Southern $^ | 7 | – | 1 | 11 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 14 Wofford | 6 | – | 2 | 9 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 10 Appalachian State ^ | 6 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 9 Furman ^ | 6 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
VMI | 3 | – | 5 | 6 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Western Carolina | 3 | – | 5 | 5 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
East Tennessee State | 2 | – | 6 | 4 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chattanooga | 2 | – | 6 | 2 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Citadel | 1 | – | 7 | 3 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
editDate | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
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August 29 | 7:00 pm | at No. 22 Delaware* | No. 5 | L 19–22 | 19,056 | ||
September 7 | Gardner–Webb* | No. 12 | W 56–0 | 18,895 | |||
September 21 | 7:00 pm | Wofford | No. 9 |
| L 7–14 | 15,564 | |
September 28 | at Chattanooga | No. 18 | W 38–10 | 8,566 | |||
October 5 | VMI | No. 18 |
| W 52–7 | 15,621 | ||
October 12 | at Western Carolina | No. 16 | W 41–24 | 7,749 | |||
October 19 | Appalachian State | No. 13 |
| W 36–20 | 15,146 | [1] | |
October 26 | 2:00 pm | at The Citadel | No. 10 | W 28–24 | 16,427 | ||
November 2 | East Tennessee State | No. 9 |
| W 40–7 | 16,106 | ||
November 9 | at Furman | No. 9 | W 39–24 | 15,794 | [2] | ||
November 16 | Jacksonville State* | No. 4 |
| W 37–13 | 8,544 | ||
November 30 | No. 11 Bethune–Cookman* | No. 2 |
| W 34–0 | 7,395 | ||
December 7 | No. 7 Maine* | No. 2 |
| W 31–7 | 6,708 | ||
December 14 | 5:30 pm | No. 15 Western Kentucky* | No. 2 |
| L 28–31 | 6,573 | |
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References
edit- ^ "No. 13 and growing up". The Atlanta Constitution. October 20, 2002. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Georgia Southern takes easy win over Paladins". The Item. November 10, 2002. Retrieved September 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "2002 Football Schedule". CFBDataWarehouse.com. Archived from the original on January 13, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2017.