The 2001–02 NCAA football bowl games concluded the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Miami Hurricanes won the BCS National Championship Game over the Nebraska Cornhuskers, 37–14.
A total of 25 team-competitive games were played—starting on December 18, 2001, and ending on January 3, 2002—with participation by 50 bowl-eligible teams. North Texas entered the New Orleans Bowl with a losing record of 5–6; they were able to play in a bowl game by being co-champions of the Sun Belt Conference, having compiled a 5–1 conference record. An additional five all-star games were played, ending with the Hula Bowl on February 2, 2002. One bowl game was established for the 2001–02 season, the New Orleans Bowl. The number of bowl games remained static from the previous season due to the dissolution of the Aloha Bowl after 19 seasons.
Poll rankings The below table lists top teams (per polls taken after the completion of the regular season and any conference championship games), their win–loss records (prior to bowl games), and the bowls they later played in. The AP column represents rankings per the AP Poll, while the BCS column represents the Bowl Championship Series rankings.
AP BCS Team W–L Bowl Miami Hurricanes Rose Bowl Oregon Ducks Fiesta Bowl Colorado Buffaloes Fiesta Bowl Nebraska Cornhuskers Rose Bowl Florida Gators Orange Bowl Maryland Terrapins Orange Bowl Illinois Fighting Illini Sugar Bowl Tennessee Volunteers Florida Citrus Bowl Texas Longhorns Holiday Bowl Oklahoma Sooners Cotton Bowl Classic Stanford Cardinal Seattle Bowl LSU Tigers Sugar Bowl Washington State Cougars Sun Bowl South Carolina Gamecocks Outback Bowl Virginia Tech Hokies Gator Bowl Georgia Bulldogs Music City Bowl Michigan Wolverines Florida Citrus Bowl Syracuse Orangemen Insight.com Bowl BYU Cougars Liberty Bowl Fresno State Bulldogs Silicon Valley Football Classic Washington Huskies Holiday Bowl Ohio State Buckeyes Outback Bowl Louisville Cardinals Liberty Bowl Florida State Seminoles Gator Bowl Toledo Rockets Motor City Bowl denotes a BCS bowl game
Non-BCS bowls DateTimeGameSiteMatchupRef. 8:00 PM New Orleans Bowl Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana Colorado State 45, North Texas 20 8:00 PM GMAC Bowl Ladd–Peebles Stadium Mobile, Alabama Marshall 64, East Carolina 61 (2 OT) 7:30 PM Tangerine Bowl Citrus Bowl Orlando, Florida Pittsburgh 34, N.C. State 19 3:30 PM Las Vegas Bowl Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, Nevada Utah 10, USC 6 4:00 PM Seattle Bowl Safeco Field Seattle, Washington Georgia Tech 24, Stanford 14 7:30 PM Independence Bowl Independence Stadium Shreveport, Louisiana Alabama 14, Iowa State 13 1:30 PM Galleryfurniture.com Bowl Houston Astrodome Houston, Texas Texas A&M 28, TCU 9 5:00 PM Music City Bowl Adelphia Coliseum Nashville, Tennessee Boston College 20, Georgia 16 8:30 PM Holiday Bowl Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, California Texas 47, Washington 43 12:00 PM Motor City Bowl Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac, Michigan Toledo 23, Cincinnati 16 3:30 PM Alamo Bowl Alamodome San Antonio, Texas Iowa 19, Texas Tech 16 5:30 PM Insight Bowl Bank One Ballpark Phoenix, Arizona Syracuse 26, Kansas State 3 12:00 PM Sun Bowl Sun Bowl Stadium El Paso, Texas Washington State 33, Purdue 27 12:30 PM Humanitarian Bowl Bronco Stadium Boise, Idaho Clemson 49, Louisiana Tech 24 3:00 PM Silicon Valley Football Classic Spartan Stadium San Jose, California Michigan State 44, Fresno State 35 4:00 PM Liberty Bowl Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, Tennessee Louisville 28, BYU 10 7:30 PM Peach Bowl Georgia Dome Atlanta, Georgia North Carolina 16, Auburn 10 11:00 AM Outback Bowl Raymond James Stadium Tampa, Florida South Carolina 31, Ohio State 28 11:00 AM Cotton Bowl Classic Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas Oklahoma 10, Arkansas 3 12:30 PM Gator Bowl Alltel Stadium Jacksonville, Florida Florida State 30, Virginia Tech 17 1:00 PM Florida Citrus Bowl Citrus Bowl Orlando, Florida Tennessee 45, Michigan 17 All times are in Eastern Time.
BCS bowls DateTimeGameSiteMatchupRef. 4:30 PM Fiesta Bowl Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona Oregon 38, Colorado 16 8:30 PM Sugar Bowl Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana LSU 47, Illinois 34 8:00 PM Orange Bowl Pro Player Stadium Miami Gardens, Florida Florida 56, Maryland 23 8:00 PM Rose Bowl (BCS National Championship Game) Rose Bowl Pasadena, California Miami 37, Nebraska 14
All-star games Date Game Winning Team Losing Team Venue City January 12, 2002 Paradise Bowl West All-Stars 33 Utah-Colorado All-Stars 30 Hansen Stadium St. George, Utah January 12, 2002 East–West Shrine Game West Team 21 East Team 13 SBC Park San Francisco, California January 26, 2002 Gridiron Classic Team Florida 42 Team USA 13 Citrus Bowl Orlando, Florida January 26, 2002 Senior Bowl South Team 41 North Team 26 Ladd–Peebles Stadium Mobile, Alabama February 2, 2002 Hula Bowl South 45 North 28 War Memorial Stadium Wailuku, Hawaii
Senior Bowl Game MVP: Antwaan Randle El (Indiana Hoosiers) Other notable players: David Carr, Ryan Sims, Patrick Ramsey, LeCharles Bentley, Javon Walker North coach: Mike Holmgren (Seattle Seahawks) South coach: Dave McGinnis (Arizona Cardinals) Source:
References