2002 Washington Huskies football team

American college football season February 2026 August 2023 2002 Washington Huskies football Washington Huskies logo.svg Pacific-10 Conference Pac-10 7–6 4–4 Rick Neuheisel 4th Keith Gilbertson 4th Spread Tim Hundley 4th Multiple Husky Stadium Cody Pickett (offense) Ben Mahdavi (defense) Paul Arnold Ben Mahdavi Jafar Williams Elliot Zajac Sun Bowl L 24–34 vs. Purdue The 2002 Washington Huskies football team was an American football team that represented the University of Washington during the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its fourth season under head coach Rick Neuheisel, the team compiled a 7–6 record, finished in a four-way tie for fourth place in the Pacific-10 Conference, and outscored opponents 398 to 342. Cody Pickett and Ben Mahdavi were selected as the team's most valuable player offensive and defensive players, respectively. Schedule 2002 AP Pacific August 31 12:30 p.m. l y y 11 Michigan 13 Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI College GameDay ABC 29–31 111,491 September 7 12:30 p.m. w y 11 San Jose State Husky Stadium Seattle, WA FSN 34–10 70,147 September 21 7:00 p.m. w y 11 Wyoming Husky Stadium Seattle, WA FSN 38–7 72,898 September 28 12:30 p.m. w y 13 Idaho Husky Stadium Seattle, WA FSN 41–27 70,070 October 5 12:30 p.m. l 12 California Husky Stadium Seattle, WA FSN 27–34 71,337 October 12 12:30 p.m. w 22 Arizona Husky Stadium Seattle, WA FSN 32–28 71,016 October 19 12:30 p.m. l y 22 USC 19 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA ABC 21–41 52,961 October 26 7:00 p.m. l y Arizona State 23 Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ FSN 16–27 56,101 November 2 4:00 p.m. l UCLA Husky Stadium Seattle, WA TBS 24–34 72,017 November 9 12:30 p.m. w Oregon State Husky Stadium Seattle, WA FSN 41–29 72,557 November 16 12:30 p.m. w y Oregon 23 Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR rivalry ABC 42–14 57,112 November 23 3:30 p.m. w y Washington State 3 Martin Stadium Pullman, WA Apple Cup FSN 29–26 3OT 37,600 December 31, 2002 11:00 a.m. l y y Purdue Sun Bowl El Paso, TX Sun Bowl CBS 24–34 48,917 Northwest Championship Northwest Championship Following the UCLA game, the Huskies had a 4–5 record, 1–4 against Pac-10 opponents, and had lost 4 of the last 5 games. The Huskies were at serious risk of a losing season, their first since 1974, and of missing a bowl game. Through rare happenstance, Washington was scheduled to play the three other Pacific Northwest schools in order to end the season. Neuheisel, sensing an opportunity to motivate his team, declared that despite the thus far disappointing season the Huskies were still fighting to win the "Northwest Championship" by sweeping Oregon State, Oregon, and Washington State in their remaining games. It was a successful rallying cry, and the Huskies first beat Oregon State. The next week they won at Autzen Stadium, their first win against Oregon at home since 1996. The Huskies capped the season with a triple-overtime victory over No. 3 Washington State in the Apple Cup, claiming the Northwest Championship with back-to-back-to-back wins over the other northwest schools. Roster 2002 Washington Huskies f 24 Jr Rich Alexis RB y 20 Sr Paul Arnold Paul Arnold (American football) WR y C 72 Jr Todd Bachert C 65 So Khalif Barnes T y 12 Sr Taylor Barton QB 53 So Aaron Butler G 29 Sr Braxton Cleman RB 82 Fr Matt DeBord WR 78 So Dan Dicks G 22 Fr Ty Eriks FB 10 So Charles Frederick Charles Frederick (American football) WR y 7 Sr Wilbur Hooks WR 67 Jr Nick Newton T 15 Fr Casey Paus QB y 3 Jr Cody Pickett QB y 5 Sr Patrick Reddick WR 83 Fr Joe Toledo TE 5 So Zach Tuiasosopo FB 84 Sr Kevin Ware Kevin Ware (American football) TE y 1 So Reggie Williams Reggie Williams (wide receiver) WR y 75 Sr Elliott Zajac G C 3 Jr Roc Alexander CB y 43 Sr Owen Biddle FS 34 Jr Greg Carothers SS 88 Jr Marquis Cooper LB y 5 So Sam Cunningham CB 90 Sr Kai Ellis LB y 56 So Manase Hopoi DE 21 So Derrick Johnson Derrick Johnson (cornerback) CB y 99 Jr Tank Johnson DT y 47 Sr Anthony Kelley DE 41 Sr Ben Mahdavi LB y C 28 Jr Chris Massey CB 65 So Josh Miller DT 23 So B. J. Newberry DB 13 Fr Nate Robinson CB y 38 Fr James Sims FS 1 Sr Jafar Williams LB C 15 Sr John Anderson K 17 So Derek McLaughlin P https://web.archive.org/web/20030102000521/http://gohuskies.ocsn.com:80/sports/m-footbl/mtt/wash-m-footbl-mtt-alph.html *Rick Neuheisel (4th year) Keith Gilbertson (OC, TE) Tim Hundley (DC, OLB) Steve Axman (AHC, QB) Randy Hart (DL) Bobby Hauck (DB) Chuck Heater (RB) Cornell Jackson (ILB) Bobby Kennedy (WR) Brent Myers (OL) https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZFBWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jesDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5313%2C4245900 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Today's lineups November 16, 2002 4Dhttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=W2VWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=pPIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6901%2C1350891 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Apple Cup preview: WSU November 23, 2002 C15 Team players in the NFL No Washington players were selected in the 2003 NFL draft. The following finished their college career in 2002, were not drafted, but played in the NFL. Player Position First NFL team Paul Arnold Wide receiver Indianapolis Colts Kevin Ware Tight end Washington Redskins References https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20041012&slug=uwfb12 Huskies eyeing mythical Northwest title Fans of other schools cried that the Northwest Championship was strictly mythical, just another devious Neuheisel ploy. But the Huskies didn't care, and proudly laid claim to it again last year when, in the midst of one of the most chaotic seasons in school history, the lone highlight was beating Oregon State, Oregon and Washington State by a combined 61 points. Condotta Bob The Seattle Times October 12, 2004 January 8, 2022 https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/?date=20041012&slug=uwfb12 Ten years ago, Huskies won a wild Apple Cup in Pullman Washington [...] had meandered through the first three-quarters of the season at 4-5 before Neuheisel said his team’s new goal was to sweep its last three games against Oregon State, Oregon and WSU and win what he coined the “Northwest Championship.” Washington had two-thirds of that title in hand as it headed to Pullman. Condotta Bob The Seattle Times November 21, 2012 January 8, 2022 http://www.espn.com/ncf/columns/maisel_ivan/1466409.html https://web.archive.org/web/20201225071205/http://www.espn.com/ncf/columns/maisel_ivan/1466409.html dead December 25, 2020 Tale Of Two T-Shirts Washington is content with its unofficial Northwest Championship. "It had to be enough," quarterback Cody Pickett said Sunday. "Everybody left us for dead. We had to rally around something." Maisel Ivan ESPN.com November 25, 2002 January 8, 2022 https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-football/silence-was-golden-and-purple-remembering-when-uw-last-won-at-oregon-in-2002/ Silence was Golden, and purple: Remembering when UW last won at Oregon in 2002 That completed what Neuheisel had dubbed the Northwest Championship, with the Huskies closing out the season with successive victories over Oregon State, Oregon and WSU (after losing to USC, Arizona State and UCLA the three weeks prior). Neuheisel even had T-shirts made up with blank boxes to check off after each win. [...] The Huskies wore those T-shirts as they marched back onto the Autzen Stadium turf for their postgame brouhaha. Jude Adam The Seattle Times October 5, 2016 January 8, 2022 Washington Category:Washington Huskies football seasons Washington Huskies football Washington Huskies football