2002 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

Season overview

The 2002 season became known as a "Return to Glory" for the Irish. This phrase appeared on a student shirt that created a "Sea of Green" in the Irish stands. It was picked up by many in the media and was used on the front cover of Sports Illustrated. Despite not scoring an offensive touchdown in their first two games, the Irish won both, and in the process made Willingham the 24th Notre Dame head coach to win his opener in his first season. The team went on to win its next six games, including wins over Willingham's alma mater, Michigan State, and Stanford, his former team.

The team was initially led throughout the season by quarterback Carlyle Holiday, former quarterback and wide receiver Arnaz Battle, and on defense, Shane Walton. Running back Ryan Grant, who had to replace Julius Jones who was out for academic reasons, also played an important role. During the Michigan State game, however, Holiday was injured and replaced by backup Pat Dillingham. Dillingham led the Irish to a comeback win on a screen pass to Battle in that game, and he continued the winning streak until Holiday returned for the Florida State game. In that game, Holiday threw a 65-yard touchdown on his first play to Battle that helped the Irish win the game.

The first Irish loss of the season came against the Boston College Eagles, mirroring the 1993 season when Notre Dame narrowly lost a chance to participate in the national championship game due to a loss to Boston College. Willingham, wanting the team to be a part of the "Sea of Green" in the stands, decided that the team should wear green for the game. In 1985, the last time the Irish wore green at home, they came out after halftime against USC and won the game 37–3. The ploy, however, did not work this time, as the Irish committed 5 turnovers and Holliday was injured again and replaced by Dillingham, who threw 2 interception, one of which the Eagles returned for a touchdown that sealed the loss for the Irish.

The Fighting Irish won their next two games, including their 39th straight victory over Navy and a 42–0 blowout victory over struggling Rutgers. This gave Notre Dame a legitimate shot at a Bowl Championship Series (BCS) bowl game if they could win against perennial rival USC. The Irish were ranked higher than the Trojans, but USC quarterback Carson Palmer, who cited the game as the reason he went on to win the Heisman Trophy, threw for 425 yards in the Trojans' 31 point win. The Irish won 10 games but were not invited to a BCS bowl game, and they accepted a bid to play North Carolina State in the instead. With both an offense and defense that outmatched the Irish, the Wolfpack won the game 28–6, giving the Irish their sixth consecutive bowl loss. Despite the loss, the Irish ended the season ranked in both the Associated Press (AP) and Coaches Polls.

After the season, some Irish were honored with post-season awards. Battle was named by one foundation as their sportsman of the year, while Walton was named as a Consensus All-American. Finally, Willingham was honored with two Coach of the Year awards, was named by Sporting News as "Sportsman of the Year", and was the only coach listed by Sporting News as one of their "Most Powerful People in Sports".

Schedule

|{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = l |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = l |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = l

Roster

Rankings

Game summaries

At Florida State

at No. 6 USC

Vs. NC State (Gator Bowl)

• Source:

Main article: 2003 Gator Bowl

Team players in the NFL

References

References

1. Barra, Allen. (September 27, 2002). "Notre Dame's return to glory! (Part 23)". Salon.
2. Krivickas, Justin. (October 2, 2002). ""The Shirt" makes a return to glory". The Observer.
3. "SI Covers".
4. (September 7, 2002). "Irish defense scoring all the touchdowns". ESPN.
5. (August 31, 2002). "Notre Dame 22, Maryland 0". UND.cstv.com.
6. (September 21, 2002). "Irish Rally To Stop Spartans, 21–17". UND.cstv.com.
7. (October 5, 2002). "Fighting Irish Crush Cardinal, 31–7". UND.cstv.com.
8. (October 26, 2002). "No. 6 Notre Dame Rolls Past No. 11 FSU, 34–24". UND.cstv.com.
9. (November 2, 2002). "Post Game Notes". UND.cstv.com.
10. (November 2, 2002). "No. 4 Irish Fall To Boston College, 14–7". UND.cstv.com.
11. (November 9, 2002). "No. 9 Irish Come From Behind To Beat Navy". UND.cstv.com.
12. (November 23, 2002). "No. 8 Irish Rough Up Rutgers, 42–0". UND.cstv.com.
13. (December 16, 2002). "Palmer wins every region except Midwest". ESPN.
14. (November 30, 2002). "No. 7 Irish Fall To Trojans". UND.cstv.com.
15. (January 1, 2003). "No. 11 Irish Fall To No. 17 NC State In Gator Bowl, 28–6". UND.cstv.com.
16. (January 5, 2003). "2002 NCAA Football Rankings – Postseason Week 3 (Jan. 5)". ESPN.
17. (December 18, 2002). "Arnaz Battle Named Independence Bowl Foundation Sportsman of the Year". UND.cstv.com.
18. (January 3, 2003). "Shane Walton Named Consensus All-American". UND.cstv.com.
19. (December 9, 2002). "Tyrone Willingham Named Home Depot National Coach Of The Year". UND.cstv.com.
20. (December 13, 2002). "Tyrone Willingham Wins George Munger Award for College Coach of the Year". UND.cstv.com.
21. Bock, Hal. (December 11, 2002). "Willingham named Sporting News Sportsman of the Year". Centralohio.com.
22. (January 13, 2003). "Willingham Listed As One Of The Most Powerful People In Sports". UND.cstv.com.