2002 Nebraska Cornhuskers football
Independence Bowl, L 23–27 vs. Ole Miss
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Division	North Division
Record	7–7 (3–5 Big 12)
Head coach	Frank Solich (5th season)
Offensive scheme	I formation
Defensive coordinator	Craig Bohl (3rd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 2001 2003 →

The 2002 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Frank Solich and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. Nebraska finished in 4th place in the Big 12 North Division and tied for 8th conference–wide, with a final record of 7–7 (3–5). With their loss to Ole Miss in the Independence Bowl, the Huskers streak of 40 straight winning seasons came to an end. Earlier, a loss to Iowa State knocked the Huskers out of the AP Poll for the first time since October 11, 1981. The run of 348 consecutive weeks in the rankings was the longest in college football history.

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 24	6:45 pm	Arizona State*	No. 10	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (BCA Classic)	ESPN	W 48–10	77,779
August 31	6:00 pm	Troy State*	No. 9	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE		W 31–16	77,831
September 7	6:00 pm	Utah State*	No. 9	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE		W 44–13	78,176
September 14	7:00 pm	at Penn State*	No. 8	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ABC	L 7–40	110,753
September 28	2:30 pm	at No. 19 Iowa State	No. 20	Jack Trice Stadium Ames, IA	ABC	L 14–36	51,888
October 5	11:30 am	No. 2 (I-AA) McNeese State*		Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	HDNet	W 38–14	77,192
October 12	11:30 am	Missouri		Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	PPV	W 24–13	78,014
October 19	11:30 am	at Oklahoma State		Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	FSN	L 21–24	45,017
October 26	6:00 pm	at Texas A&M		Kyle Field College Station, TX	TBS	W 38–31	81,054
November 2	6:00 pm	No. 7 Texas		Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE	FSN	L 24–27	78,268
November 9	12:30 pm	Kansas		Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)		W 45–7	77,351
November 16	11:30 am	at No. 11 Kansas State		KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS (rivalry)	FSN	L 13–49	52,221
November 29	2:30 pm	No. 13 Colorado		Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	ABC	L 13–28	77,804
December 27	3:30 pm	vs. Ole Miss*		Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA (Independence Bowl)	ESPN	L 23–27	46,096
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[1]

This was the first week Nebraska was not featured in the AP Poll since their 59-0 defeat of Colorado on October 10, 1981.

Nebraska's first loss against Oklahoma State since 1961.

Nebraska finished in 4th place in the Big 12 North Division and tied for 8th conference-wide, with a final record of 7-7 (3-5).

^[2]

The following Nebraska players who participated in the 2002 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi-pro team as draftees or free agents.^[3]