2004 NCAA Division I-A football season

2004 NCAA Division I-A season

Heisman Trophy won by Matt Leinart for the 2004 season
Number of teams 117 full members, 2 transitional
Preseason AP #1 USC Trojans
Post-season
Duration December 14, 2004 –
January 4, 2005
Bowl games 33 (28 team-competitive and 5 all-star games)
Heisman Trophy Matt Leinart, USC QB
Bowl Championship Series
2005 Orange Bowl
Site Dolphin Stadium,
Miami Gardens, Florida
Winner USC Trojans (vacated)
Division I-A football seasons
← 2003
2005 →

The 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with several undefeated teams vying for a spot in the national title game, triggering controversy. In the 2003 season, no team finished the regular season unbeaten, and five teams finished the season with one loss. In 2004, the situation became even more complicated, as five teams went without losing, a record in the BCS era (this record was tied in 2009, when five teams also went undefeated and a sixth, Florida, lost to undefeated Alabama in the SEC title game). USC of the Pac-10, Oklahoma of the Big 12, Auburn of the SEC, Utah of the MWC, and Boise State of the WAC all finished the regular season undefeated. USC and Oklahoma started the season ranked #1 and #2, respectively, but the other three teams were handicapped by starting out of the top 15. Thus USC and OU played for the BCS National Championship, while Auburn, Utah, and Boise State had to content themselves with other bowl games.

The Orange Bowl proved a rout with USC defeating Oklahoma 55-19, which earned the Trojans their second consecutive AP title and first BCS title. This game, USC's victory over rival UCLA, and the BCS title were later vacated as part of the sanctions levied against USC as a result of an NCAA investigation. USC appealed the decision but was denied by the NCAA on May 26, 2011, and the BCS title for 2004 was officially vacated on June 6, 2011. The AP title was not vacated, as the AP does not punish teams for violations. These sanctions have been criticized by some NCAA football writers,[1][2][3][4][5] including ESPN's Ted Miller, who wrote, "It's become an accepted fact among informed college football observers that the NCAA sanctions against USC were a travesty of justice, and the NCAA's refusal to revisit that travesty are a massive act of cowardice on the part of the organization."[6]

Auburn played in the Sugar Bowl and beat Virginia Tech, the #8 ranked ACC champion. Utah became the first BCS Buster and beat Pitt, the #21 ranked champion of the Big East, in the Fiesta Bowl. Boise State lost a close, high scoring game in the Liberty Bowl to Louisville, the #10 ranked Conference USA champion.

As with previous seasons, fans of successful teams left out of the BCS were disappointed. Auburn, Utah, and Boise State all went unbeaten but were not offered a chance to compete for the championship. Auburn was especially the focus of national media attention on this topic; many thought that since Auburn managed to go undefeated in the traditionally tough SEC, they deserved a shot at the title. Adding to the BCS frustration was the fact that Auburn and Utah, though both in BCS bowl games, would not be able to play each other as a match-up of highly ranked unbeatens. The fact that the dismay over the shutout of several deserving unbeaten teams was paired with an understanding of the 2004 season details—that USC and Oklahoma deserved their top 2 BCS spots by having perfect seasons after their initial top rankings, that Auburn was fairly ranked in the preseason as a good but not great-looking team, and that Utah and Boise State played in mid-major conferences—made 2004 a seminal year for serious momentum building behind a multi-team playoff system in college football.

There was also a controversy in selecting the BCS bowls' second at-large team (Utah being the first). The University of California expected to get the invite, being ranked fourth in the BCS entering the last week of the regular season; the Texas Longhorns, who had been left out of the BCS the year before, was fifth before the final BCS rankings were released. Both teams finished at 10-1, but the Longhorns ultimately received enough support from poll voters to move into the fourth slot, which ensured they would also receive the final at-large bid. Texas coach Mack Brown was criticized for publicly politicking voters to put Texas ahead of California; Cal coach Jeff Tedford called for coaches' votes to be made public. Texas went on to defeat Michigan in the Rose Bowl, while California lost to Texas Tech in the Holiday Bowl.

The Associated Press, as a result of two consecutive seasons of BCS controversy, prohibited the BCS from using their poll as part of its ranking formula. The AP poll was replaced by the Harris Interactive poll, and the AP continues to award its own national championship trophy.

In another first, the LSU Tigers lost to the Iowa Hawkeyes on a last second Hail Mary pass in the Capital One Bowl, becoming the first school to lose a non-BCS bowl a year after winning the BCS National Championship Game.

Rule changes

The NCAA Rules Committee adopted the following rule changes for the 2004 season:

Conference changes

In conference moves, Miami (FL) and Virginia Tech left the Big East to join the ACC, giving the ACC 11 members. Connecticut left the Independent ranks to join the Big East. Troy also left their Independent status behind and joined the Sun Belt Conference. Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University made moves up from Division I-AA and became a I-A Independents.

School 2003 Conference 2004 Conference
Connecticut Huskies I-A Independent Big East
Florida Atlantic Owls I-AA Independent I-A Independent
Florida International Panthers I-AA Independent I-A Independent
Miami Hurricanes Big East ACC
Troy Trojans I-A Independent Sun Belt
Virginia Tech Hokies Big East ACC

Conference standings

2004 ACC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#10 Virginia Tech $   7 – 1         10 – 3  
#15 Florida State   6 – 2         9 – 3  
#11 Miami   5 – 3         9 – 3  
#23 Virginia   5 – 3         8 – 4  
North Carolina   5 – 3         6 – 6  
Georgia Tech   4 – 4         7 – 5  
Clemson   4 – 4         6 – 5  
NC State   3 – 5         5 – 6  
Maryland   3 – 5         5 – 6  
Wake Forest   1 – 7         4 – 7  
Duke   1 – 7         2 – 9  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
2004 Big East football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#25 Pittsburgh $+   4 – 2         8 – 4  
#21 Boston College +   4 – 2         9 – 3  
West Virginia +   4 – 2         8 – 4  
Syracuse +   4 – 2         6 – 6  
Connecticut   3 – 3         8 – 4  
Rutgers   1 – 5         4 – 7  
Temple   1 – 5         2 – 9  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
2004 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#8 Iowa +   7 – 1         10 – 2  
#14 Michigan $+   7 – 1         9 – 3  
#17 Wisconsin   6 – 2         9 – 3  
Northwestern   5 – 3         6 – 6  
#20 Ohio State   4 – 4         8 – 4  
Purdue   4 – 4         7 – 5  
Michigan State   4 – 4         5 – 7  
Minnesota   3 – 5         7 – 5  
Penn State   2 – 6         4 – 7  
Illinois   1 – 7         3 – 8  
Indiana   1 – 7         3 – 8  
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
2004 Big 12 football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
Northern Division
Colorado xy   4 – 4         8 – 5  
Iowa State x   4 – 4         7 – 5  
Missouri   3 – 5         5 – 6  
Nebraska   3 – 5         5 – 6  
Kansas   2 – 6         4 – 7  
Kansas State   2 – 6         4 – 7  
Southern Division
#3 Oklahoma xy$   8 – 0         12 – 1  
#5 Texas %   7 – 1         11 – 1  
#18 Texas Tech   5 – 3         8 – 4  
Texas A&M   5 – 3         7 – 5  
Oklahoma State   4 – 4         7 – 5  
Baylor   1 – 7         3 – 8  
Championship: Oklahoma 42, Colorado 3
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll
2004 Conference USA football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#6 Louisville $   8 – 0         11 – 1  
Memphis   5 – 3         8 – 4  
Southern Miss   5 – 3         7 – 5  
Cincinnati   5 – 3         7 – 5  
UAB   5 – 3         7 – 5  
TCU   3 – 5         5 – 6  
Tulane   3 – 5         5 – 6  
South Florida   3 – 5         4 – 7  
Houston   3 – 5         3 – 8  
East Carolina   2 – 6         2 – 9  
Army   2 – 6         2 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
2004 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
East Division
Miami x   7 – 1         8 – 5  
Akron   6 – 2         6 – 5  
Marshall   6 – 2         6 – 6  
Kent State   4 – 4         5 – 6  
Ohio   2 – 6         4 – 7  
Buffalo   2 – 6         2 – 9  
UCF   0 – 8         0 – 11  
West Division
Toledo xy$   7 – 1         9 – 4  
Northern Illinois x   7 – 1         9 – 3  
Bowling Green   6 – 2         9 – 3  
Eastern Michigan   4 – 4         4 – 7  
Central Michigan   3 – 5         4 – 7  
Ball State   2 – 6         2 – 9  
Western Michigan   0 – 8         1 – 10  
Championship: Toledo 35, Miami 27
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll
2004 Mountain West football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#4 Utah $   7 – 0         12 – 0  
New Mexico   5 – 2         7 – 5  
BYU   4 – 3         5 – 6  
Wyoming   3 – 4         7 – 5  
Air Force   3 – 4         5 – 6  
Colorado State   3 – 4         4 – 7  
San Diego State   2 – 5         4 – 7  
UNLV   1 – 6         2 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion and BCS representative as top non-AQ school to meet automatic qualification criteria
Rankings from AP Poll
2004 Pacific-10 football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#1 USC * $   8 – 0         13 – 0  
#9 California   7 – 1         10 – 2  
#19 Arizona State   5 – 3         9 – 3  
Oregon State   5 – 3         7 – 5  
UCLA   4 – 4         6 – 6  
Oregon   4 – 4         5 – 6  
Washington State   3 – 5         5 – 6  
Stanford   2 – 6         4 – 7  
Arizona   2 – 6         3 – 8  
Washington   0 – 8         1 – 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • * – USC later vacated 2 wins (1 in conference), as well as the BCS and Pac-10 Championships, due to NCAA sanctions.
Rankings from AP Poll
2004 SEC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
Eastern Division
#13 Tennessee x   7 – 1         10 – 3  
#7 Georgia   6 – 2         10 – 2  
Florida   4 – 4         7 – 5  
South Carolina   4 – 4         6 – 5  
Kentucky   1 – 7         2 – 9  
Vanderbilt   1 – 7         2 – 9  
Western Division
#2 Auburn x$   8 – 0         13 – 0  
#16 LSU   6 – 2         9 – 3  
Alabama   3 – 5         6 – 6  
Arkansas   3 – 5         5 – 6  
Ole Miss   3 – 5         4 – 7  
Mississippi State   2 – 6         3 – 8  
Championship: Auburn 38, Tennessee 28
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
2004 Sun Belt football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
North Texas $   7 – 0         7 – 5  
Troy   4 – 2         7 – 5  
New Mexico State   3 – 2         5 – 6  
Louisiana–Monroe   3 – 3         5 – 6  
Middle Tennessee   4 – 4         5 – 6  
Arkansas State   3 – 4         3 – 8  
Louisiana–Lafayette   2 – 5         4 – 7  
Utah State   2 – 5         3 – 8  
Idaho   2 – 5         3 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
2004 WAC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#12 Boise State $   8 – 0         11 – 1  
UTEP   6 – 2         8 – 4  
#22 Fresno State   5 – 3         9 – 3  
Louisiana Tech   5 – 3         6 – 6  
Hawaii   4 – 4         8 – 5  
Nevada   3 – 5         5 – 7  
Tulsa   3 – 5         4 – 8  
SMU   3 – 5         3 – 8  
Rice   2 – 6         3 – 8  
San Jose State   1 – 7         2 – 9  
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
2004 Division I-A independents football records
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
Navy   –         10 – 2  
Florida Atlantic   –         9 – 3  
Florida International *   –         3 – 7  
Notre Dame   –         6 – 6  
  • * - Florida International later vacated 3 wins, due to NCAA sanctions
Rankings from AP Poll

Final AP Poll

Utah Utes fans rush the field and carry the goalpost after defeating rival BYU, completing a perfect regular season, and becoming the first BCS Buster by clinching a spot in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl (hence the sombrero).
  1. USC (11–0) Previously (13–0), forced to vacate two wins in 2010.
  2. Auburn (13–0)
  3. Oklahoma (12–1)
  4. Utah (12–0)
  5. Texas (11–1)
  6. Louisville (11–1)
  7. Georgia (10–2)
  8. Iowa (10–2)
  9. California (10–2)
  10. Virginia Tech (10–3)
  11. Miami (9–3)
  12. Boise St. (11–1)
  13. Tennessee (10–3)
  14. Michigan (9–3)
  15. Florida State (9–3)
  16. Louisiana St. (9–3)
  17. Wisconsin (9–3)
  18. Texas Tech (8–4)
  19. Arizona State (9–3)
  20. Ohio St. (8–4)
  21. Boston College (9–3)
  22. Fresno St. (9–3)
  23. Virginia (8–4)
  24. Navy (10–2)
  25. Pittsburgh (8–4)

Bowl games

BCS bowls

Rankings given are AP rankings going into bowl games

Other New Years Day bowls

December bowl games

UCLA vs. Wyoming in the 2004 Las Vegas Bowl

Heisman Trophy voting

The Heisman Trophy is given annually to college football's most outstanding player

Other major awards

See also

References

  1. ↑ Jay Bilas, "Anyone know what NCAA's standards are?", ESPN.com, July 1, 2010.
  2. ↑ Bryant Gumbel, "Student/Athlete Behavior", Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, September 21, 2010.
  3. ↑ Bryan Fischer, " Trojans never stood a chance after taking NCAA's best shot", CBSSports.com, May 26, 2011.
  4. ↑ Pete Fiutak, "USC paying for NCAA's inconsistency?", FoxSports.com, May 26, 2011.
  5. ↑ Stewart Mandel, "What USC's sanctions mean for Ohio State", SportsIllustrated.com, April 27, 2011.
  6. ↑ http://espn.go.com/blog/pac12/post/_/id/31040/what-we-learned-in-the-pac-12-week-14
  7. ↑ http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/bigten/2004-08-04-replay-details_x.htm
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