| 2002 Rose Bowl presented by AT&T | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| BCS National Championship Game 88th Rose Bowl Game | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 3, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Rose Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Pasadena, California | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Ken Dorsey (Miami QB) andAndre Johnson (Miami WR) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Miami by 8.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Yolanda Adams | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Courtney Mauzy (ACC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Band of the Hour,University of Nebraska Cornhusker Marching Band | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 93,781[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Keith Jackson (play-by-play) Tim Brant (analyst) Todd Harris andLynn Swann (sideline) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 13.8[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The2002 Rose Bowl, played on January 3, 2002, was a college football bowl game. It was the 88thRose Bowl game and was theBCS National Championship Game of the2001 college football season. The game featured theMiami Hurricanes and theNebraska Cornhuskers, marking the first time since the1919 Rose Bowl, and only the third time in the game's history, that neither theBig Ten nor thePac-10 Conferences had a representative in this game. The Hurricanes won the game, 37–14, for their fifth national title.[3] Miami quarterbackKen Dorsey and wide receiverAndre Johnson were named the Rose Bowl Players of the Game.[4]
Because the Rose Bowl was hosting the BCS Championship game, as part of the agreement begun in the 1998 season, the Tournament of Roses committee would get the number one and number two ranked teams in theBowl Championship Series system. However, this was actually the third Rose Bowl number one versus two pairing, with the first two in the1963 and1969 games.
In yet another controversial season for the BCS, Nebraska was chosen as a national title contender despite not having played in the Big 12 championship game. The Huskers went into their last regularly scheduled game at Colorado undefeated, but were beaten by Colorado 62–36. The Huskers dropped to the 6th in the wire service pollsbut only 4th in the BCS. In the ensuing two weeks, #2 Florida lost to Tennessee, the Colorado Buffaloes (ranked 7th in the BCS) went on to win theBig 12 Championship Game over Texas (ranked 3rd), and in theSEC Championship Game, Tennessee (now at #2) was stunned by LSU. This left Miami as the undefeated and undisputed No. 1 team in the country but a host of other teams vying for #2. The BCS computers did not take into account at which point a team's loss came during the season. There were also components for strength of schedule, quality win, and margin of victory. With this calculation, one-loss Nebraska came out ahead of two-loss Colorado and one-loss, second-ranked Oregon.
Previously, Nebraska had appeared in the1941 Rose Bowl in a 21–13 loss to Stanford. This was the first appearance for the Miami Hurricanes in the Rose Bowl.
Oregon was the champion of thePacific-10 Conference and was ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll. They were selected for the2002 Fiesta Bowl, where they faced No. 3 ranked Colorado, who was No. 4 in the BCS poll. The Illinois Fighting Illini, ranked No. 8 in the BCS, won theBig Ten Conference championship and were picked for the2002 Sugar Bowl.
| Scoring Play | Score | ||||
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| 1st quarter | |||||
| UM –Andre Johnson 50-yard pass fromKen Dorsey (Todd Sievers kick). 6:51 | UM 7–0 | ||||
| 2nd quarter | |||||
| UM –Clinton Portis 39-yard run (Sievers kick). 14:33 | UM 14–0 | ||||
| UM –James Lewis 47-yard interception return (Sievers kick). 12:52 | UM 21–0 | ||||
| UM –Jeremy Shockey 21-yard pass from Dorsey (Kick failed). 10:40 | UM 27–0 | ||||
| UM – Johnson 8-yard pass from Dorsey (Sievers kick). 3:35 | UM 34–0 | ||||
| 3rd quarter | |||||
| NU –Judd Davies 16-yard run. (Josh Brown kick). 2:39 | UM 34–7 | ||||
| 4th quarter | |||||
| NU –DeJuan Groce 71-yard punt return (Brown kick). 14:28 | UM 34–14 | ||||
| UM – Sievers 37-yard field goal. 10:04 | UM 37–14 | ||||
Oregon defeated Colorado in the2002 Fiesta Bowl. In the final AP poll, Miami was the unanimous No. 1 team, Oregon was #2. The next time that the Rose Bowl hosted the BCS championship, the2006 Rose Bowl, the USC Trojans would be a participant. The 2002 contest was the last one not to feature a team from either the Big Ten or Pacific-10 until the2018 Rose Bowl, which was a component of theCollege Football Playoff and pittedGeorgia againstOklahoma.[5]
The game, which was played on a Thursday night, two days after the parade, has been remembered as a low point for the Rose Bowl.[6] University of Michigan coachBo Schembechler remarked, "Didn't watch it," when asked what he thought of the 2002 Rose Bowl.[6][7]
The 2002 Rose Bowl was the first broadcast not set at the traditional 2:00pm West Coast time.[8] The visual of the afternoon sun setting on theSan Gabriel Mountains on New Year's Day is recognized as an important part of the tradition of the game.[9][10]