The 2002 GMAC Bowl was an American college football bowl game. It was part of the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season and was the fifth edition of the bowl game. It was played in December 2002 and featured the Louisville Cardinals, and the Marshall Thundering Herd.
Marshall started the scoring with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Byron Leftwich to wide receiver Denero Marriott for a 7âÂÂ0 lead. In the second quarter, Marshall's Curtis Head kicked a 23-yard field goal to give Marshall a 10âÂÂ0 lead. Leftwich later tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Demetrius Doss for a 17âÂÂ0 lead. Louisville got on the board with a 2-yard TJ Patterson touchdown run, making the score 17âÂÂ7.
In the third quarter, Leftwich again connected with Doss for a 12-yard touchdown pass and a 24âÂÂ7 lead. He later found Marriott for a 26-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter. Franklin Wallace added a 15-yard touchdown run to give Marshall a 38âÂÂ7 lead. With 13 seconds left in the game, quarterback Dave Ragone found Tiger Jones in the end zone for a Louisville touchdown. The two-point conversion to Jones made the final score 38âÂÂ15.
The game was also notorious for Louisville's players learning from fans during the first half that head coach John L. Smith had accepted the head coaching job at Michigan State.