2002 Harvard Crimson football team
{{short description|American college football season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox college sports team season
| year = 2002
| team = Harvard Crimson
| sport = football
| image = Harvard Crimson logo.svg
| image_size = 100
| conference = Ivy League
| short_conf = Ivy
| record = 7–3
| conf_record = 6–1
| head_coach = Tim Murphy
| hc_year = 9th
| off_coach = Jay Mills
| oc_year = 7th
| off_scheme = Multiple pro-style
| def_coach = Kevin Doherty
| dc_year = 1st
| def_scheme = 3–4
| captain = Neil Rose
| stadium = Harvard Stadium
}}
{{2002 Ivy League football standings}}
The 2002 Harvard Crimson football team was an American football team that represented Harvard University during the 2002 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Crimson finished second in the Ivy League.
In their ninth year under head coach Timothy Murphy, the Crimson compiled a 7–3 record and outscored opponents 267 to 230. Neil Rose was the team captain.{{cite web |title=Football Record Book: Year-by-Year Results |publisher=Harvard University |location=Cambridge, Mass. |access-date=June 20, 2020 |url=https://gocrimson.com/documents/2020/6/17//FBL_RecordBook_Year_by_Year_Results.pdf?id=6334 |archive-date=July 6, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706155918/https://gocrimson.com/documents/2020/6/17//FBL_RecordBook_Year_by_Year_Results.pdf?id=6334 |url-status=dead }}
Harvard's 6–1 conference record placed second in the Ivy League standings. The Crimson outscored Ivy opponents 190 to 154.{{cite book|url=https://ivyleague.com/documents/2017/8/23/3_Year_By_Year_History_2017.pdf?id=2998|title=Ivy League Football Media Guide|chapter=Year-by-Year History|publisher=Ivy League|location=Princeton, N.J.|date=2017|access-date=July 10, 2020|page=40}}
The Crimson appeared briefly, twice, in the national Division I-AA rankings: they were ranked No. 23 in the preseason poll, but dropped out of the top 25 before playing a game; and after opening the year with two wins, they were ranked No. 25 in the first poll of October. After their record dropped to 2–1, they again fell out of the national rankings, and did not reappear in 2002.
On November 16, the annual Harvard–Penn game was the first Division I-AA matchup to host an episode of ESPN's "College GameDay", which had only visited Division I-A sites in its first nine years of remote broadcasts. The Ivy League had called ESPN to suggest highlighting the matchup of two teams with 5–0 conference records.{{cite news |title=GameDay: Note Cards, Knowledge and Nuttiness |first=Doug |last=Lesmerises |date=November 17, 2002 |page=D6 |newspaper=Sunday News Journal |location=Wilmington, Del.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60731226/2002-penn-gameday/ }}
Harvard played its home games at Harvard Stadium in the Allston neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts.
Schedule
{{CFB schedule
| attend = y
| source = y
| rankyear = 2002
| rankdivision = NCAA Division I-AA
| poll = The Sports Network
| September 21 | | #23 Holy Cross
| Harvard Stadium | Boston, MA | W 28-23
| 10,107 | {{cite news |title=Cross Cannot Bear Crimson |first=Marvin |last=Pave |date=September 22, 2002 |page=C17 |newspaper=Boston Sunday Globe |location=Boston, Mass.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60712233/2002-harvard-hc/ }}
| September 28 | @ | Brown
| Brown Stadium | Providence, RI | W 26-24
| 13,523 | {{cite news |title=Crimson Fit Enough, Survive |first=Mark |last=Blaudschun |date=September 29, 2002 |page=C17 |newspaper=Boston Sunday Globe |location=Boston, Mass.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60714432/2002-brown-harvard/ }}
| October 5 | @ | #14 Lehigh
| Goodman Stadium | Bethlehem, PA | L 35-36
| 9,458 | {{cite news |title=Crimson Thrown for a Loss |first=Joe |last=Burris |date=October 6, 2002 |page=C17 |newspaper=Boston Sunday Globe |location=Boston, Mass.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60716324/2002-harvard-lehigh/ }}
| October 12 | | Cornell
| Harvard Stadium | Boston, MA | W 52-23
| 6,533 | {{cite news |title=Crimson's Numbers Do Lie |first=Paul |last=Harber |date=October 13, 2002 |page=C16 |newspaper=Boston Sunday Globe |location=Boston, Mass.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60717709/2002-cornell-harvard/ }}
| October 19 | | #15 Northeastern
| Harvard Stadium | Boston, MA | L 14-17
| 13,402 | {{cite news |title=Crimson Done In by Wild Pitch |first=Mark |last=Blaudschun |date=October 20, 2002 |page=E17 |newspaper=Boston Sunday Globe |location=Boston, Mass.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60719056/2002-harvard-nu/ }}
| October 26 | @ | Princeton
| Princeton Stadium | Princeton, NJ (rivalry) | W 24-17
| 15,015 | {{cite news |title=Rose Flourishes for the Crimson |first=Frank |last=Dell'Apa |date=October 27, 2002 |page=C18 |newspaper=Boston Sunday Globe |location=Boston, Mass.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60719934/2002-harvard-princeton/ }}
| November 2 | @ | Dartmouth
| Memorial Field | Hanover, NH (rivalry) | W 31-26
| 8,102 | {{cite news |title=Morris, Crimson Can't Be Caught |first=Tony |last=Chamberlain |date=November 3, 2002 |page=C17 |newspaper=Boston Sunday Globe |location=Boston, Mass.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60728115/2002-dartmouth-harvard/ }}
| November 9 | | Columbia
| Harvard Stadium | Boston, MA | W 28-7
| 8,241 | {{cite news |title=No Faking, Crimson Cruise |first=Marvin |last=Pave |date=November 10, 2002 |page=D18 |newspaper=Boston Sunday Globe |location=Boston, Mass.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60729240/2002-columbia-harvard/ }}
| November 16 | @ | #17 Penn
| Franklin Field | Philadelphia, PA (rivalry / College GameDay) | L 9-44
| 18,630 | {{cite news |title=Penn Clinches at Least Ivy Tie with 44-9 Pasting of Harvard |first=Joe |last=Juliano |date=November 17, 2002 |page=D7 |newspaper=The Philadelphia Inquirer |location=Philadelphia, Pa.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60730478/2002-harvard-penn/ }}
| November 23 | | Yale
| Harvard Stadium | Boston, MA (The Game) | W 20-13
| 30,323 | {{cite news |title=Harvard Scrambles for a Solution |first=Tommy |last=Hine |date=November 24, 2002 |page=E1 |newspaper=Hartford Courant |location=Hartford, Conn.|via=Newspapers.com |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/60732138/2002-harvard-yale/ }}
}}
Roster
{{American football roster/Header
| year = 2002
| team = Harvard Crimson
| teamcolors = f
| offensive_players =
{{American football roster/Player|num=14|class=So|first=Ryan|last=Fitzpatrick|pos=QB|link=y}}
| defensive_players=
| special_teams_players=
}}
{{American football roster/Footer|roster_url=https://gocrimson.com/sports/football/roster/2002
| head_coach = *Timothy Murphy
| asst_coach =
| accessdate=
}}