2002 Music City Bowl

The 2002 Music City Bowl was the fifth edition of the bowl game. It was played at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee on December 30, 2002, and featured the Arkansas Razorbacks and the Minnesota Golden Gophers. Sponsored by Gaylord Hotels, it was officially named the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl.

2002 Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl
Arkansas Razorbacks Minnesota Golden Gophers (9–4) (7–5) SEC Big Ten 14 29 Head coach:  Houston Nutt Head coach:  Glen Mason AP Coaches BCS 25 NR NR
1 2 3 4 Total Arkansas 7 0 0 7 14 Minnesota 6 6 7 10 29
Date	December 30, 2002
Season	2002
Stadium	LP Field
Location	Nashville, Tennessee
MVP	K Dan Nystrom, Minnesota
Favorite	Minnesota by 8.5
Referee	Dan Blum (C-USA)[1]
Attendance	39,183[1]
Payout	US$750,000 per team [2]
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Mark Jones, Bob Davie, and Holly Rowe
Music City Bowl  < 2001  2003 >

Game recap

Arkansas started the game with a 2-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Matt Jones to wide receiver George Wilson. Kicker Dan Nystrom got Minnesota on the board with a 24-yard field goal. He added another 45 yard field goal to make the score 7–6. In the second quarter, he added field goals of 21 and 22 yards, as Minnesota staked a 12–6 halftime lead.

Quarterback Asad Abdul-Khaliq threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to tight end Ben Utecht for a 19–9 lead. In the fourth quarter, Nystrom added his fifth field goal of the game, to put the Gophers ahead 22–7. Thomas Tapeh rushed for a 33-yard touchdown as Minnesota built a 29–7 lead. Ryan Sorahan threw a touchdown pass to Richard Smith to cut the lead to 29–14.

With the win, the Golden Gophers won their first bowl game since 1985.

The attendance of 39,183 is (as of 2017) the lowest attendance for any Music City Bowl.

References

1. "Music City Bowl". Archived from the original on August 20, 2008. Retrieved January 16, 2008.
2. "CNNSI.com - 2002 College Bowls - Complete 2002-03 bowl schedule - Saturday January 04, 2003 12:53 AM". Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2008.

External links

• USA Today game summary