2002 Week 12 College Football Team Rankings
2002 rankings calculated with the Classic formula (Ken's 2016-based hybrid, applied retroactively); records, NOW and game results come from official ESPN scores.
| Rank | Change | Rating | Team | Conf | Record | Win % | Place | NOW | Game Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 0.902 |  Ohio State (OHIO STATE) |  B10 | 11–0 | 1.000 | 1 | +58 | Beat Purdue 10–6 |
| 2 | -1 | 0.939 |  Oklahoma (OKLAHOMA) |  B12 | 8–1 | 0.889 | 9 | +41 | Lost to Texas A&M 26–30 |
| 3 | 2 | 0.957 |  Miami (MIAMI) | IND BE | 9–0 | 1.000 | 1 | +39 | Beat Tennessee 26–3 |
| 4 | -1 | 1.016 |  Texas (TEXAS) | B12 | 9–1 | 0.900 | 4 | +45 | Beat Baylor 41–0 |
| 5 | -1 | 1.079 |  Notre Dame (NOTRE DAME) | IND FBSI | 9–1 | 0.900 | 4 | +45 | Beat Navy 30–23 |
| 6 | 0 | 1.081 |  USC |  PAC | 7–2 | 0.778 | 20 | +37 | Beat Stanford 49–17 |
| 7 | 0 | 1.122 |  Georgia (GEORGIA) |  SEC | 9–1 | 0.900 | 4 | +40 | Beat Ole Miss 31–17 |
| 8 | 0 | 1.180 |  Iowa (IOWA) | B10 | 10–1 | 0.909 | 3 | +43 | Beat Northwestern 62–10 |
| 9 | 1 | 1.224 |  Washington State (WASHINGTON STATE) | PAC | 9–1 | 0.900 | 4 | +39 | Beat Oregon 32–21 |
| 10 | 10 | 1.399 |  Michigan (MICHIGAN) | B10 | 8–2 | 0.800 | 13 | +35 | Beat Minnesota 41–24 |
| 11 | 1 | 1.405 |  Alabama (ALABAMA) | SEC | 8–2 | 0.800 | 13 | +32 | Beat Mississippi State 28–14 |
| 12 | 1 | 1.424 |  Florida State (FLORIDA STATE) |  ACC | 7–3 | 0.700 | 25 | +35 | Beat Georgia Tech 21–13 |
| 13 | 4 | 1.448 |  Boise State (BOISE STATE) | IND WAC | 9–1 | 0.900 | 4 | +28 | Beat Rice 49–7 |
| 14 | 1 | 1.492 |  Colorado State (COLORADO STATE) |  MWC | 8–2 | 0.800 | 13 | +32 | BYE |
| 15 | 3 | 1.528 |  LSU | SEC | 7–2 | 0.778 | 20 | +26 | Beat Kentucky 33–30 |
| 16 | -7 | 1.534 |  Virginia Tech (VIRGINIA TECH) | IND BE | 8–2 | 0.800 | 13 | +28 | Lost to Syracuse 42–50 |
| 17 | 4 | 1.543 |  Kansas State (KANSAS STATE) | B12 | 8–2 | 0.800 | 13 | +21 | Beat Iowa State 58–7 |
| 18 | -2 | 1.554 |  Pittsburgh (PITTSBURGH) | IND BE | 8–2 | 0.800 | 13 | +30 | Beat Temple 29–22 |
| 19 | 3 | 1.561 |  Maryland (MARYLAND) | ACC | 8–2 | 0.800 | 13 | +27 | Beat NC State 24–21 |
| 20 | 5 | 1.616 |  TCU |  USA | 8–1 | 0.889 | 9 | +25 | Beat Tulane 17–10 |
| 21 | 2 | 1.621 |  Arkansas (ARKANSAS) | SEC | 6–3 | 0.667 | 37 | +27 | Beat South Carolina 23–0 |
| 22 | 4 | 1.622 |  Penn State (PENN STATE) | B10 | 7–3 | 0.700 | 25 | +30 | Beat Virginia 35–14 |
| 23 | -9 | 1.650 |  Florida (FLORIDA) | SEC | 7–3 | 0.700 | 25 | +30 | Beat Vanderbilt 21–17 |
| 24 | -13 | 1.700 |  Bowling Green (BOWLING GREEN) |  MAC | 8–1 | 0.889 | 9 | +21 | Lost to Northern Illinois 17–26 |
| 25 | -1 | 1.747 |  Colorado (COLORADO) | B12 | 7–3 | 0.700 | 25 | +29 | Beat Missouri 42–35 |
| 26 | -7 | 1.813 |  NC State (NORTH CAROLINA STATE) | ACC | 9–2 | 0.818 | 12 | +22 | Lost to Maryland 21–24 |
| 27 | 3 | 1.910 |  South Florida (SOUTH FLORIDA) | USA | 7–2 | 0.778 | 20 | +19 | Beat Memphis 31–28 |
| 28 | 1 | 1.930 |  UCLA | PAC | 7–3 | 0.700 | 25 | +21 | Beat Arizona 37–7 |
| 29 | 11 | 2.031 |  California (CALIFORNIA) | PAC | 6–4 | 0.600 | 44 | +22 | Beat Arizona State 55–38 |
| 30 | 7 | 2.126 |  Auburn (AUBURN) | SEC | 7–3 | 0.700 | 25 | +15 | Beat UL Monroe 52–14 |
| 31 | -4 | 2.129 |  Iowa State (IOWA STATE) | B12 | 7–4 | 0.636 | 40 | +27 | Lost to Kansas State 7–58 |
| 32 | -4 | 2.155 |  Oregon (OREGON) | PAC | 7–3 | 0.700 | 25 | +15 | Lost to Washington State 21–32 |
| 33 | 2 | 2.189 |  Hawai'i (HAWAII) | IND WAC | 7–2 | 0.778 | 20 | +13 | BYE |
| 34 | 13 | 2.196 |  Northern Illinois (NORTHERN ILLINOIS) | MAC | 7–3 | 0.700 | 25 | +27 | Beat Bowling Green 26–17 |
| 35 | 4 | 2.201 |  Miami (OH) (MIAMI (OH)) | MAC | 7–3 | 0.700 | 25 | +16 | BYE |
| 36 | 7 | 2.249 |  Texas Tech (TEXAS TECH) | B12 | 7–4 | 0.636 | 40 | +19 | Beat Oklahoma State 49–24 |
| 37 | 11 | 2.268 |  West Virginia (WEST VIRGINIA) | IND BE | 7–3 | 0.700 | 25 | +13 | Beat Boston College 24–14 |
| 38 | 6 | 2.317 |  Air Force (AIR FORCE) | MWC | 7–3 | 0.700 | 25 | +12 | Beat Army 49–30 |
| 39 | 6 | 2.352 |  Toledo (TOLEDO) | MAC | 6–3 | 0.667 | 37 | +11 | Beat Central Michigan 44–17 |
| 40 | -8 | 2.396 |  Minnesota (MINNESOTA) | B10 | 7–3 | 0.700 | 25 | +13 | Lost to Michigan 24–41 |
| 41 | -8 | 2.523 |  Georgia Tech (GEORGIA TECH) | ACC | 6–4 | 0.600 | 44 | +14 | Lost to Florida State 13–21 |
| 42 | 15 | 2.542 |  Texas A&M (TEXAS A & M) | B12 | 6–4 | 0.600 | 44 | +12 | Beat Oklahoma 30–26 |
| 43 | -9 | 2.545 |  Boston College (BOSTON COLLEGE) | IND BE | 5–4 | 0.556 | 53 | +13 | Lost to West Virginia 14–24 |
| 44 | 11 | 2.552 |  Southern Miss (SOUTHERN MISS) | USA | 6–3 | 0.667 | 37 | +9 | Beat UAB 20–13 |
| 45 | 1 | 2.578 |  Marshall (MARSHALL) | MAC | 6–2 | 0.750 | 24 | +6 | BYE |
| 46 | 4 | 2.591 |  Clemson (CLEMSON) | ACC | 6–4 | 0.600 | 44 | +12 | Beat North Carolina 42–12 |
| 47 | -11 | 2.606 |  Kentucky (KENTUCKY) | SEC | 6–4 | 0.600 | 44 | +10 | Lost to LSU 30–33 |
| 48 | 5 | 2.615 |  Nebraska (NEBRASKA) | B12 | 7–4 | 0.636 | 40 | +13 | Beat Kansas 45–7 |
| 49 | -18 | 2.672 |  Oregon State (OREGON STATE) | PAC | 6–4 | 0.600 | 44 | +7 | Lost to Washington 29–41 |
| 50 | -12 | 2.693 |  Arizona State (ARIZONA STATE) | PAC | 7–4 | 0.636 | 40 | +10 | Lost to California 38–55 |
| 51 | -2 | 2.717 |  Tennessee (TENNESSEE) | SEC | 5–4 | 0.556 | 53 | +10 | Lost to Miami 3–26 |
| 52 | -10 | 2.759 |  Virginia (VIRGINIA) | ACC | 6–4 | 0.600 | 44 | +10 | Lost to Penn State 14–35 |
| 53 | -12 | 2.795 |  Wisconsin (WISCONSIN) | B10 | 6–5 | 0.545 | 56 | +13 | Lost to Illinois 20–37 |
| 54 | 10 | 3.107 |  Cincinnati (CINCINNATI) | USA | 4–5 | 0.444 | 67 | +5 | Beat Louisville 24–14 |
| 55 | -3 | 3.139 |  Louisville (LOUISVILLE) | USA | 5–4 | 0.556 | 53 | +2 | Lost to Cincinnati 14–24 |
| 56 | 2 | 3.175 |  Ole Miss (MISSISSIPPI) | SEC | 5–5 | 0.500 | 57 | +5 | Lost to Georgia 17–31 |
| 57 | 8 | 3.210 |  Washington (WASHINGTON) | PAC | 5–5 | 0.500 | 57 | +3 | Beat Oregon State 41–29 |
| 58 | -7 | 3.221 |  South Carolina (SOUTH CAROLINA) | SEC | 5–5 | 0.500 | 57 | +6 | Lost to Arkansas 0–23 |
| 59 | 0 | 3.279 |  Wake Forest (WAKE FOREST) | ACC | 5–5 | 0.500 | 57 | +1 | BYE |
| 60 | -4 | 3.284 |  Tulane (TULANE) | USA | 6–4 | 0.600 | 44 | 0 | Lost to TCU 10–17 |
| 61 | -7 | 3.303 |  New Mexico State (NEW MEXICO STATE) |  SUN | 6–4 | 0.600 | 44 | +3 | Lost to Utah State 30–32 |
| 62 | -2 | 3.441 |  Fresno State (FRESNO STATE) | IND WAC | 5–5 | 0.500 | 57 | +2 | Beat Tulsa 31–12 |
| 63 | 5 | 3.535 |  North Texas (NORTH TEXAS) | SUN | 5–5 | 0.500 | 57 | -1 | Beat Idaho 10–0 |
| 64 | 3 | 3.564 |  Nevada (NEVADA) | IND WAC | 5–5 | 0.500 | 57 | 0 | Beat UTEP 23–17 |
| 65 | 4 | 3.589 |  BYU | MWC | 5–5 | 0.500 | 57 | -1 | Beat Wyoming 35–31 |
| 66 | -3 | 3.611 |  Purdue (PURDUE) | B10 | 4–6 | 0.400 | 74 | -2 | Lost to Ohio State 6–10 |
| 67 | -6 | 3.696 |  Oklahoma State (OKLAHOMA STATE) | B12 | 4–5 | 0.444 | 67 | -2 | Lost to Texas Tech 24–49 |
| 68 | -6 | 3.752 |  Missouri (MISSOURI) | B12 | 4–6 | 0.400 | 74 | -3 | Lost to Colorado 35–42 |
| 69 | 3 | 3.873 |  New Mexico (NEW MEXICO) | MWC | 5–5 | 0.500 | 57 | -6 | Beat San Diego State 15–8 |
| 70 | 1 | 3.905 |  Michigan State (MICHIGAN STATE) | B10 | 4–6 | 0.400 | 74 | -3 | Beat Indiana 56–21 |
| 71 | 4 | 3.945 |  Illinois (ILLINOIS) | B10 | 4–6 | 0.400 | 74 | -5 | Beat Wisconsin 37–20 |
| 72 | 7 | 4.249 |  San José State (SAN JOSE STATE) | IND WAC | 5–6 | 0.455 | 66 | -5 | Beat Louisiana Tech 42–30 |
| 73 | 1 | 4.269 |  Ball State (BALL STATE) | MAC | 4–5 | 0.444 | 67 | -7 | BYE |
| 74 | 8 | 4.347 |  UCF (CENTRAL FLORIDA) | MAC | 4–5 | 0.444 | 67 | -12 | Beat Buffalo 45–21 |
| 75 | -9 | 4.351 |  Houston (HOUSTON) | USA | 4–5 | 0.444 | 67 | -7 | Lost to East Carolina 48–54 |
| 76 | -6 | 4.407 |  UAB | USA | 4–5 | 0.444 | 67 | -9 | Lost to Southern Miss 13–20 |
| 77 | 15 | 4.488 |  Syracuse (SYRACUSE) | IND BE | 4–6 | 0.400 | 74 | -15 | Beat Virginia Tech 50–42 |
| 78 | -5 | 4.791 |  Central Michigan (CENTRAL MICHIGAN) | MAC | 4–6 | 0.400 | 74 | -13 | Lost to Toledo 17–44 |
| 79 | 7 | 4.822 |  Ohio (OHIO) | MAC | 4–6 | 0.400 | 74 | -6 | Beat Akron 27–10 |
| 80 | 14 | 4.845 |  East Carolina (EAST CAROLINA) | USA | 3–5 | 0.375 | 84 | -12 | Beat Houston 54–48 |
| 81 | -4 | 4.900 |  Mississippi State (MISSISSIPPI STATE) | SEC | 3–6 | 0.333 | 86 | -13 | Lost to Alabama 14–28 |
| 82 | -1 | 4.901 |  Temple (TEMPLE) | IND BE | 3–7 | 0.300 | 90 | -13 | Lost to Pittsburgh 22–29 |
| 83 | 12 | 4.968 |  Utah (UTAH) | MWC | 3–6 | 0.333 | 86 | -16 | Beat UNLV 28–17 |
| 84 | -6 | 5.006 |  Stanford (STANFORD) | PAC | 2–7 | 0.222 | 100 | -10 | Lost to USC 17–49 |
| 85 | -9 | 5.027 |  UNLV | MWC | 4–6 | 0.400 | 74 | -16 | Lost to Utah 17–28 |
| 86 | 5 | 5.027 |  UConn (CONNECTICUT) | IND FBSI | 4–6 | 0.400 | 74 | -20 | Beat Kent State 63–21 |
| 87 | 17 | 5.190 |  Utah State (UTAH STATE) | SUN | 3–6 | 0.333 | 86 | -14 | Beat New Mexico State 32–30 |
| 88 | -8 | 5.303 |  North Carolina (NORTH CAROLINA) | ACC | 2–8 | 0.200 | 102 | -14 | Lost to Clemson 12–42 |
| 89 | 8 | 5.312 |  Western Michigan (WESTERN MICHIGAN) | MAC | 3–7 | 0.300 | 90 | -20 | Beat Eastern Michigan 33–31 |
| 90 | -5 | 5.380 |  Arizona (ARIZONA) | PAC | 3–7 | 0.300 | 90 | -20 | Lost to UCLA 7–37 |
| 91 | -3 | 5.398 |  Rice (RICE) | IND WAC | 4–6 | 0.400 | 74 | -24 | Lost to Boise State 7–49 |
| 92 | -9 | 5.429 |  Arkansas State (ARKANSAS STATE) | SUN | 5–7 | 0.417 | 73 | -30 | Lost to Louisiana 10–13 |
| 93 | 0 | 5.596 |  Northwestern (NORTHWESTERN) | B10 | 3–8 | 0.273 | 99 | -17 | Lost to Iowa 10–62 |
| 94 | -5 | 5.621 |  Louisiana Tech (LOUISIANA TECH) | IND WAC | 3–6 | 0.333 | 86 | -22 | Lost to San José State 30–42 |
| 95 | -11 | 5.622 |  Kent State (KENT STATE) | MAC | 3–7 | 0.300 | 90 | -20 | Lost to UConn 21–63 |
| 96 | 6 | 5.658 |  Louisiana (LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE) | SUN | 3–7 | 0.300 | 90 | -19 | Beat Arkansas State 13–10 |
| 97 | -7 | 5.679 |  San Diego State (SAN DIEGO STATE) | MWC | 3–7 | 0.300 | 90 | -24 | Lost to New Mexico 8–15 |
| 98 | 2 | 5.716 |  Troy (TROY) | IND FBSI | 4–7 | 0.364 | 85 | -30 | Beat FCS 24–7 |
| 99 | -1 | 5.738 |  Baylor (BAYLOR) | B12 | 3–7 | 0.300 | 90 | -20 | Lost to Texas 0–41 |
| 100 | -13 | 5.862 |  Indiana (INDIANA) | B10 | 3–7 | 0.300 | 90 | -21 | Lost to Michigan State 21–56 |
| 101 | -2 | 6.087 |  Vanderbilt (VANDERBILT) | SEC | 2–8 | 0.200 | 102 | -26 | Lost to Florida 17–21 |
| 102 | -6 | 6.216 |  Akron (AKRON) | MAC | 2–8 | 0.200 | 102 | -28 | Lost to Ohio 10–27 |
| 103 | 4 | 6.276 |  Duke (DUKE) | ACC | 2–8 | 0.200 | 102 | -28 | BYE |
| 104 | -3 | 6.447 |  Wyoming (WYOMING) | MWC | 2–8 | 0.200 | 102 | -29 | Lost to BYU 31–35 |
| 105 | 0 | 6.576 |  Memphis (MEMPHIS) | USA | 2–8 | 0.200 | 102 | -29 | Lost to South Florida 28–31 |
| 106 | -3 | 6.855 |  UTEP | IND WAC | 2–8 | 0.200 | 102 | -28 | Lost to Nevada 17–23 |
| 107 | -1 | 6.863 |  Eastern Michigan (EASTERN MICHIGAN) | MAC | 3–7 | 0.300 | 90 | -33 | Lost to Western Michigan 31–33 |
| 108 | 0 | 6.986 |  Middle Tennessee (MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE) | SUN | 2–7 | 0.222 | 100 | -24 | BYE |
| 109 | 0 | 7.028 |  Idaho (IDAHO) | SUN | 2–8 | 0.200 | 102 | -25 | Lost to North Texas 0–10 |
| 110 | 1 | 7.154 |  UL Monroe (LOUISIANA MONROE) | SUN | 2–8 | 0.200 | 102 | -25 | Lost to Auburn 14–52 |
| 111 | -1 | 7.205 |  Kansas (KANSAS) | B12 | 2–9 | 0.182 | 111 | -36 | Lost to Nebraska 7–45 |
| 112 | 2 | 7.773 |  Navy (NAVY) | IND FBSI | 1–8 | 0.111 | 112 | -35 | Lost to Notre Dame 23–30 |
| 113 | 0 | 7.799 |  Rutgers (RUTGERS) | IND BE | 1–8 | 0.111 | 112 | -26 | BYE |
| 114 | 1 | 8.005 |  SMU | IND WAC | 1–9 | 0.100 | 114 | -39 | BYE |
| 115 | -3 | 8.239 |  Tulsa (TULSA) | IND WAC | 1–9 | 0.100 | 114 | -42 | Lost to Fresno State 12–31 |
| 116 | 0 | 8.774 |  Buffalo (BUFFALO) | MAC | 1–9 | 0.100 | 114 | -38 | Lost to UCF 21–45 |
| 117 | 0 | 9.605 |  Army (ARMY) | USA | 0–9 | 0.000 | 117 | -34 | Lost to Air Force 30–49 |