The 2002 Michigan State Spartans football team represented

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

in the

2002 NCAA Division I-A football season The 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with a double overtime national championship game. Ohio State and Miami both came into the Fiesta Bowl undefeated. The underdog Buckeyes defeated the defending-champion Hurricanes 31–24, end ...

. The Spartans played their home games at Spartan Stadium in

East Lansing, Michigan East Lansing is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Most of the city lies within Ingham County, Michigan, Ingham County with a smaller portion extending north into Clinton County, Michigan, Clinton County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 ...

. This was the third and final season for head coach

Bobby Williams Robert Vann Williams (born November 21, 1958) is an American football coach who most recently served as the special teams coordinator and tight ends coach at the University of Oregon from 2018 to 2021. Williams served as the head coach at Michi ...

, who was replaced after the Michigan game by interim head coach

Morris Watts Morris Watts (born 1936) is a former American football player and coach. Until his retirement in 2016, he was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Central Michigan University. He previously served as the offensive coordinator at Mia ...

. The Spartans were coming off a 7–5 season which ended with a victory in the

2001 Silicon Valley Football Classic The 2001 Silicon Valley Football Classic was a post-season college football bowl game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Fresno State Bulldogs on December 31, 2001, at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California. It was the second time the Si ...

over the

Fresno State Bulldogs The Fresno State Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent California State University, Fresno (commonly referred to as Fresno State). The university is a member of NCAA Division I's Mountain West Conference (MW). It was a ...

. However, the 2002 season turned out to be very different. The Spartans finished 4–8, their worst record since 1994, and second losing season out of the previous three. Michigan State also finished 2–6 in the Big Ten, their 3rd straight losing season in Big Ten play.

Schedule

Roster

Rankings

Draft picks

References

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...

Michigan State Spartans football seasons

Michigan State Spartans football The Michigan State Spartans football program represents Michigan State University (MSU) in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level. The Spartans are members of the Big Ten Conference. Michigan State claims a ...

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