. "The 2002 UCF Golden Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. Their head coach was Mike Kruczek, who was in his fifth season with the team. 2002 marked the Golden Knights first season in the Mid-American Conference, in the East Division. This was the first time UCF had joined a conference since ascending to the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision in 1996. On opening day, UCF once again played up to a ranked opponent on the road, but failed to pull off the upset. Trailing 10\u20139 at halftime against Penn State, a near-disastrous third quarter saw the Golden Knights fall behind 20\u20139. In the fourth quarter UCF rallied. Quarterback Ryan Schneider capped off an 80\u2013yard drive with a 6\u2013yard touchdown pass to Tavaris Capers with 24 seconds to go. With the score 27\u201324, a failed onside kick attempt sealed the victory for the Nittany Lions. UCF's first conference game came on September 20 against eventual MAC champion Marshall. With Thundering Herd quarterback Byron Leftwich faltering throughout the night, UCF largely failed to capitalize. Trailing 21\u201326 in the final three minutes, UCF intercepted Leftwich, and subsequently drove to the Marshall 26\u2013yard line. Facing 4th & 3 at the Marshall 26, was picked off by Terence Tarpley. Marshall ran out the clock, and held on for the victory. The Knights first conference victory in the MAC came at Western Michigan on October 12. Finishing the season with a winning record (7\u20135 overall, 6\u20132 conference), UCF did not receive a bowl berth."@en . . "1.0"^^ . . "football"@en . "2"^^ . . . . . "MAC"@en . . . . "5"^^ . . . . "6"^^ . . . . "1122716645"^^ . . . . . . . "East Division"@en . . . . . . "2002"^^ . . . . "150"^^ . . . . . . . . . "UCF Golden Knights"@en . . . . "6401"^^ . "The 2002 UCF Golden Knights football team represented the University of Central Florida in the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. Their head coach was Mike Kruczek, who was in his fifth season with the team. 2002 marked the Golden Knights first season in the Mid-American Conference, in the East Division. This was the first time UCF had joined a conference since ascending to the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision in 1996."@en . . "33479229"^^ . . . . . ""@en . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "2002 UCF Golden Knights football team"@en . "Bill D'Ottavio"@en . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . "7"^^ . . . . .