On August 31, 2002, the Falcons did just that, defeating Northwestern in a blowout 52–3 victory. Following that win, the Falcons added five more in successive weeks, racing out to a 6–0 undefeated start. On October 19, the Falcons faced No. 19 Notre Dame, and in a close-fought game, suffered their first loss. In the five games that followed the loss to Notre Dame, the Falcons suffered three additional losses, culminating in a close regular-season defeat by the San Diego State Aztecs. After starting with six straight wins, the Falcons finished with an overall regular-season record of 8–4 and a Mountain West Conference record of 4–3, putting them third in the conference. Air Force was one of three bowl-eligible teams in the Mountain West during the 2002 season. MWC champion Colorado State earned an automatic bid to the Liberty Bowl, and the Las Vegas Bowl, which had second pick of MWC teams, selected New Mexico. By default, this left Air Force to the San Francisco Bowl. The Virginia Tech Hokies football team began the 2002 season having gone 8–4 the previous season and having suffered a season-ending defeat to Florida State in the 2002 Gator Bowl. The Hokies began the season against the Arkansas State Indians, hoping to rebuild after the loss of 11 starters from the previous season's team. Against the Indians, Tech started the season with a record performance, scoring 56 first-half points en route to a 63–7 rout. That overwhelming start was just the beginning for the Hokies, who won their next seven games, racing to an 8–0 start and a No. 3 ranking in the national polls. In their ninth game of the season, however, the Hokies suffered their first loss, falling 21–28 to the Pittsburgh Panthers. The next week, Tech suffered an even closer loss, losing to Syracuse in triple overtime despite a record performance from Tech quarterback Bryan Randall, who accumulated 504 passing yards and five touchdown passes. In the three games following the loss to Syracuse, Tech lost two, taking it to a final regular-season record of 9–4 overall and a Big East conference record of 3–4, meaning Tech was the fourth ranked team in the Big East that season. Prior to the season, the Big East had signed an agreement with the new San Francisco Bowl, giving that bowl the fifth pick of bowl-eligible teams in the Big East. But with the Gator Bowl (second pick of Big East teams) selecting Notre Dame instead of a Big East team, all the Big East's selections were pushed back one slot.