2002 Sugar Bowl

2002 Nokia Sugar Bowl
BCS Bowl Game 68th Sugar Bowl
Illinois Fighting Illini LSU Tigers (10–1) (9–3) Big Ten SEC 34 47 Head coach:  Ron Turner Head coach:  Nick Saban AP Coaches BCS 7 7 8 AP Coaches BCS 12 12 13
1 2 3 4 Total Illinois 0 7 14 13 34 LSU 7 27 7 6 47
Date	January 1, 2002
Season	2001
Stadium	Louisiana Superdome
Location	New Orleans, Louisiana
MVP	Rohan Davey (QB, LSU)
Favorite	LSU by 2
Referee	Steve Usechek (Big XII)
Attendance	77,688
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC
Announcers	Mike Tirico and David Norrie
Nielsen ratings	8.6

The 2002 Sugar Bowl, a 2001–02 BCS game, was played on January 1, 2002. This 68th edition to the Sugar Bowl featured the Illinois Fighting Illini, and the LSU Tigers. Illinois came into the game 10–1, and ranked 8th in the BCS, whereas LSU came into the game 9–3, and ranked 13th in the BCS. Sponsored by Nokia, the game was officially known as the Nokia Sugar Bowl.

Teams

The Sugar Bowl during the BCS era usually selected the SEC champion, meaning that the winner of the SEC in 2001, LSU received an invitation to the Sugar Bowl. Their opponent would be Big Ten champion Illinois.

Illinois Fighting Illini

Main article: 2001 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

Illinois won the Big Ten title and earn a BCS berth as their conference's champion. The Big Ten's champion usually gets an invitation to the Rose Bowl, however the 2002 Rose Bowl was the designated BCS National Championship Game for 2001. This meant the Fighting Illini would get an at-large berth to another BCS bowl, which in turn was the Sugar Bowl. Illinois entered the bowl with a 10–1 record (7–1 in conference).

LSU Tigers

Main article: 2001 LSU Tigers football team

LSU defeated Tennessee in the 2001 SEC Championship Game to earn a berth in the Sugar Bowl as their conference's champion. LSU entered the bowl with a 9–3 record (5–3 in conference).

Game summary

Domanick Davis started the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run to open up a 7–0 LSU lead. In the second quarter, he posted touchdown runs of 25 and 16 yards, as LSU opened a 21–0 lead. Quarterback Rohan Davey found wide receiver Josh Reed in the end zone for a 28–0 lead. Quarterback Kittner threw a touchdown pass to Hodges to close the deficit to 28–7. Rohan Davey added another touchdown pass before the half to open a 34–7 half-time lead.

Illinois tried to rally but were too far behind, and LSU ended up winning 47–34. Davey and Josh Reed would play in their final game together. Davey would graduate and Reed would forgo his senior season to play in the NFL at Buffalo.

Scoring summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP ILL LSU 1 7:22 7 43 3:03 LSU Domanick Davis 4-yard touchdown run, John Corbello kick good 0 7 2 13:29 3 36 1:08 LSU Domanick Davis 25-yard touchdown run, John Corbello kick no good (blocked) 0 13 2 10:23 6 69 1:31 LSU Domanick Davis 16-yard touchdown run, John Corbello kick good 0 20 2 4:42 3 5 0:54 LSU Josh Reed 5-yard touchdown reception from Rohan Davey, John Corbello kick good 0 27 2 3:47 3 75 0:55 ILL Brian Hodges 2-yard touchdown reception from Kurt Kittner, Peter Christofilakos kick good 7 27 2 0:18 10 73 3:29 LSU Robert Royal 6-yard touchdown reception from Rohan Davey, John Corbello kick good 7 34 3 10:35 4 70 1:54 ILL Brandon Lloyd 17-yard touchdown reception from Kurt Kittner, Peter Christofilakos kick good 14 34 3 9:29 3 67 1:06 LSU Josh Reed 32-yard touchdown reception from Rohan Davey, John Corbello kick good 14 41 3 7:20 7 78 2:09 ILL Brandon Lloyd 10-yard touchdown reception from Kurt Kittner, Peter Christofilakos kick good 21 41 4 11:33 6 54 1:23 ILL Walter Young 17-yard touchdown reception from Kurt Kittner, Peter Christofilakos kick good 28 41 4 8:39 6 64 2:54 LSU Domanick Davis 4-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass intercepted 28 47 4 5:41 1 40 0:12 ILL Walter Young 40-yard touchdown reception from Kurt Kittner, 2-point pass incomplete 34 47 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 34 47

Statistics

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 8 Fighting Illini	0	7	14	13	34
No. 13 Tigers	7	27	7	6	47

Statistics	ILL	LSU
First downs	14	32
Plays–yards	57–363	97–595
Rushes–yards	21–61	44–151
Passing yards	302	444
Passing: comp–att–int	15–36–1	31–53–0
Time of possession	20:44	39:16

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Illinois	Passing	Kurt Kittner	14/35, 262 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Rocky Harvey	9 car, 42 yds
	Receiving	Walter Young	6 rec, 178 yds, 2 TD
LSU	Passing	Rohan Davey	33/53, 444 yds, 3 TD
	Rushing	Domanick Davis	28 car, 122 yds, 4 TD
	Receiving	Josh Reed	14 rec, 239 yds, 2 TD