2004 NCAA Division I-A football season

American college football season August 2023 December 2025 2004 Matt Leinart's Heisman Trophy.jpg Heisman Trophy awarded to Matt Leinart 117 full members + 2 transitional USC 28 December 14, 2004 January 4, 2005 Bowl Championship Series 2005 Orange Bowl Dolphin Stadium,Miami Gardens, Florida None (vacated by USC) USC quarterback Matt Leinart The 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 28, 2004, and ended on December 4, 2004. The postseason concluded on January 4, 2005, with the Orange Bowl, which served as the season's Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship Game. USC defeated Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl by a score of 55–19, which earned the Trojans their second consecutive AP title and first-ever BCS title. The Orange Bowl win and accompanying BCS title were later vacated as part of the sanctions levied against USC following an NCAA investigation. The Coaches Poll and FWAA titles were also vacated. USC appealed the decision but was denied by the NCAA, and the 2004 BCS title was officially vacated on June 6, 2011. 2004 is the only season in the BCS era not to have a national champion.https://foxsportsradio.iheart.com/content/2024-04-24-usc-still-frosty-despite-reggie-bush-getting-heisman-back/ USC Still Frosty Despite Reggie Bush Getting Heisman Back Michael Lingard Fox Sports Radio April 24, 2024 April 24, 2024 Rule changes The NCAA Rules Committee adopted the following rule changes for the 2004 season: Instant replay would make its debut in college football, as the Big Ten Conference began to use it on a one-year experimental basis.Pointer Michael https://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/football/bigten/2004-08-04-replay-details_x.htm Big Ten reveals instant replay details USA Today 2004-08-04 2022-08-01 Officials are allowed to announce the number of a player committing a penalty, similar to the NFL. Modifying the rule regarding offensive substitutions made and rushing to snap the ball before the defense can make their changes; eliminating the five yard penalty for the first offense (but stopping play and warning the offensive team), but maintaining the 15 yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for further violations. Allowing the head coach to request a time-out. Allowing the receiving team the option to enforce encroachment penalties on punts/kickoffs either from the end of the return or from the previous line of scrimmage, requiring a re-kick. Leaping on PAT/Field Goal attempts is prohibited. Defensive pass interference will not be called when a kicker throws a ball high and downfield to simulate a pass. Roughing the passer will not be called if a defensive player is blocked into the passer. Conference changes 2005 NCAA conference realignment Prior to the 2004 season, Miami (FL) and Virginia Tech left the Big East Conference to join the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), giving the ACC 11 members. Connecticut joined the Big East after having been an Independent since ascending to Division I-A in 2000. Troy State also left their Independent status and joined the Sun Belt Conference. Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University moved up from Division I-AA and became I-A Independents.November 2023 Florida A&M also briefly attempted to move up to Division I-A and become the only HBCU at college football's highest level, but the team was forced to abort its bid.Powell Robert Andrew Florida A&M Tries to Recover From Failed Bid https://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/09/sports/ncaafootball/florida-am-tries-to-recover-from-failed-bid.html May 7, 2016 The New York Times October 9, 2004 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 State Trojans I-A Independent Sun Belt Virginia Tech Hokies Big East ACC Regular season top 10 matchups Rankings reflect the AP Poll. Rankings for Week 8 and beyond will list BCS Rankings first and AP Poll second. Teams that failed to be a top 10 team for one poll or the other will be noted. Week 2 No. 5 Miami defeated No. 4 Florida State, 16–10 OT (Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida) Week 5 No. 8 Auburn defeated No. 10 Tennessee, 34–10 (Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee) Week 6 No. 1 USC defeated No. 7 California, 23–17 (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California) No. 2 Oklahoma defeated No. 5 Texas, 12–0 (Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas) Week 7 No. 7 Florida State defeated No. 6 Virginia, 36–3 (Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida) No. 10 Wisconsin defeated No. 5 Purdue, 20–17 (Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, Indiana) Week 11 No. 3/3 Auburn defeated No. 8/8 Georgia, 24–6 (Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama) Week 14 No. 12/10 Virginia Tech defeated No. 10/9 Miami, 16–10 (Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida) BCS Controversy Undefeated teams 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 (later tied in 2009). 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 were ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the preseason by both the AP and Coaches Polls, but the other three undefeated teams were handicapped by starting the season out of the top 15. Thus USC and OU played for the BCS National Championship in the Orange Bowl, while Auburn, Utah, and Boise State had to settle for other bowl games. Auburn played in the 2005 Sugar Bowl and beat Virginia Tech, the ACC champion and ranked No. 8 by the BCS. Utah became the first BCS Buster and beat Pittsburgh, the champion of the Big East and ranked No. 21, in the Fiesta Bowl. Boise State lost a close, high scoring game in the Liberty Bowl to Louisville, the No. 10 ranked Conference USA champion. As with previous seasons, fans of successful teams left out of BCS bowls were disappointed. Auburn, Utah, and Boise State all went unbeaten but were not offered a chance to compete for the BCS championship. Auburn was especially the focus of national media attention on this topic, since Auburn managed to go undefeated in the traditionally tough SEC. Adding to the frustration with the BCS system was that Auburn and Utah, though both picked to play in BCS bowl games, would not be able to play each other as a match-up of highly ranked unbeatens. This confluence of events made 2004 a seminal year for serious momentum building behind a multi-team playoff system in college football, which would later be realized with the advent of the College Football Playoff in 2014. USC was forced to vacate its BCS title win, along with its regular-season victory over rival UCLA, due to NCAA sanctions that stemmed from the USC athletics scandal. The AP title was not vacated, as the AP does not punish teams for violations. The severity of these sanctions has since been criticized by some pundits across college football.Jay Bilas, "Anyone know what NCAA's standards are?", ESPN.com, July 1, 2010.Bryant Gumbel, "Student/Athlete Behavior", Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, September 21, 2010.Bryan Fischer, " Trojans never stood a chance after taking NCAA's best shot" https://web.archive.org/web/20120121090724/http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/story/15168891/trojans-never-stood-a-chance-after-taking-ncaas-best-shot 2012-01-21, CBSSports.com, May 26, 2011.Pete Fiutak, "USC paying for NCAA's inconsistency?", FoxSports.com, May 26, 2011.Stewart Mandel, "What USC's sanctions mean for Ohio State", SportsIllustrated.com, April 27, 2011. Rose Bowl Controversy also arose in selecting the second at-large team of the BCS after Utah. California expected to get the invitation, having been ranked fourth by the BCS entering the last week of the regular season. Texas, which had been left out of the BCS the previous season, was ranked fifth. Both teams finished with 10–1 records, but the Longhorns received a boost of support from poll voters in the final regular season rankings to overtake Cal and move into the fourth position, 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, and 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. Much of the pre-bowl criticisms of Texas being given the spot vs. Michigan evaporated when the Longhorns and Wolverines produced an instant classic game that was marked by a breakthrough performance by Vince Young and a Texas FG as time expired to give them a 38–37 victory. AP Poll 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 following the 2004 season. The AP poll was replaced by the Harris Interactive poll starting in 2005, 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. Conference standings I-AA team wins over I-A teams Italics denotes I-AA teams. no no September 4 no Florida Atlantic Hawaii Aloha Stadium Hālawa, Hawaii no 35–28 OT 39,390 FCS wins vs. FBS teams: All-time victories, upsets, wins vs. ranked teams https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/fcs-wins-vs-fbs-teams-all-time-victories-upsets NCAA.com September 7, 2025 October 2, 2025 September 11 no Florida Atlantic North Texas Fouts Field Denton, Texas no 20–13 15,803 September 11 no 19 (I-AA) New Hampshire Rutgers Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, New Jersey no 35–24 31,615 September 18 no Florida Atlantic Middle Tennessee Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium Murfreesboro, Tennessee no 27–20 13,348 September 18 no 15 (I-AA) Maine Mississippi State Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, Mississippi no 9–7 43,486 September 25 no Eastern Illinois Eastern Michigan Rynearson Stadium Ypsilanti, Michigan no 31–28 Note: Florida Atlantic was transitioning from I-AA to I-A. Final AP Poll thumb|right|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). 2004 NCAA Division I-A football rankings USC (11–0)* Auburn (13–0) Oklahoma (12–1) Utah (12–0) Texas (11–1) Louisville (11–1) Georgia (10–2) Iowa (10–2) California (10–2) Virginia Tech (10–3) Miami (9–3) Boise State (11–1) Tennessee (10–3) Michigan (9–3) Florida State (9–3) LSU (9–3) Wisconsin (9–3) Texas Tech (8–4) Arizona State (9–3) Ohio State (8–4) Boston College (9–3) Fresno State (9–3) Virginia (8–4) Navy (10–2) Pittsburgh (8–4) * USC finished the season with a 13–0 record but was forced to vacate two wins in 2010 as a result of NCAA sanctions. Bowl games 2004–05 NCAA football bowl games BCS bowls Rankings given are AP rankings going into bowl games Orange Bowl: No. 1 (BCS No. 1) USC 55, No. 2 (BCS No. 2) Oklahoma 19 (vacated due to NCAA violations) Rose Bowl: (At Large) No. 6 Texas 38, (Big Ten Champ) No. 13 Michigan 37 Fiesta Bowl: (At Large, MWC Champ) No. 5 Utah 35, (Big East Co-Champ) No. 19 Pittsburgh 7 Sugar Bowl: (SEC Champ) No. 3 Auburn 16, (ACC Champ) No. 9 Virginia Tech 13 Other New Years Day bowls Cotton Bowl Classic: No. 15 Tennessee 38, No. 22 Texas A&M 7 Capital One Bowl: No. 11 Iowa 30, No. 12 LSU 25 Gator Bowl: No. 17 Florida State 30, West Virginia 18 Outback Bowl: No. 8 Georgia 24, No. 16 Wisconsin 21 December bowl games thumb|UCLA vs. Wyoming in the 2004 Las Vegas Bowl Peach Bowl: No. 14 Miami (FL) 27, No. 20 Florida 10 Houston Bowl: Colorado 33, UTEP 28 Liberty Bowl: (C-USA Champ) No. 7 Louisville 44, (WAC Champ) No. 10 Boise State 40 MPC Computers Bowl: Fresno State 37, No. 18 Virginia 34 (OT) Continental Tire Bowl: No. 25 Boston College 37, North Carolina 24 Independence Bowl: Iowa State 17, Miami (Ohio) 13 Silicon Valley Classic: Northern Illinois 34, Troy State 21 Sun Bowl: No. 21 Arizona State 27, Purdue 23 Music City Bowl: Minnesota 20, Alabama 16 Holiday Bowl: No. 23 Texas Tech 45, No. 4 California 31 Emerald Bowl: Navy 34, New Mexico 19 Alamo Bowl: No. 24 Ohio State 33, Oklahoma State 7 Insight Bowl: Oregon State 38, Notre Dame 21 Champs Sports Bowl: Georgia Tech 51, Syracuse 14 Motor City Bowl: UConn 39, (MAC Champ) Toledo 10 Hawaii Bowl: Hawaii 59, UAB 40 Fort Worth Bowl: Cincinnati 32, Marshall 14 Las Vegas Bowl: Wyoming 24, UCLA 21 GMAC Bowl: Bowling Green 52, Memphis 35 New Orleans Bowl: Southern Miss 31, (SBC Champ) North Texas 10 Heisman Trophy voting The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player Player School Position 1st 2nd 3rd Total Matt Leinart USC QB 267 211 102 1,325 Adrian Peterson Oklahoma RB 154 180 175 997 Jason White Oklahoma QB 171 149 146 957 Alex Smith Utah QB 98 112 117 635 Reggie Bush USC RB 118 80 83 597 Cedric Benson Texas RB 12 41 69 187 Jason Campbell Auburn QB 21 24 51 162 J. J. Arrington California RB 10 33 19 115 Aaron Rodgers California QB 8 14 15 67 Braylon Edwards Michigan WR 3 13 27 62 Other major awards Walter Camp Award (top player): Matt Leinart, USC Maxwell Award (top player): Jason White, Oklahoma AP Player of the Year: Matt Leinart, USC Lombardi Award (top linebacker): David Pollack, Georgia John Mackey Award (tight end): Heath Miller, Virginia Doak Walker Award (running back): Cedric Benson, Texas Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player): David Pollack, Georgia Outland Trophy (interior lineman): Jammal Brown, Oklahoma Davey O'Brien Award (quarterback): Jason White, Oklahoma Johnny Unitas Award (Sr. quarterback): Jason White, Oklahoma Fred Biletnikoff Award (wide receiver): Braylon Edwards, Michigan Jim Thorpe Award (defensive back): Carlos Rogers, Auburn Lou Groza Award (placekicker): Mike Nugent, Ohio State Ray Guy Award (punter): Daniel Sepulveda, Baylor Paul "Bear" Bryant Award (Coach of the Year): Tommy Tuberville, Auburn The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award: Urban Meyer, Utah Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award: Paul Johnson, Navy Attendances # Team Games Total Average 1 Michigan 6 666,149 111,025 2 Tennessee 7 746,507 106,644 3 Ohio State 6 629,257 104,876 4 Penn State 6 618,665 103,111 5 Georgia 6 556,476 92,746 6 LSU 7 638,462 91,209 7 Florida 6 530,453 88,409 8 Southern California 6 511,373 85,229 9 Oklahoma 6 507,189 84,532 10 Texas 6 498,566 83,094 11 Auburn 7 581,597 83,085 12 Florida State 6 497,047 82,841 13 Wisconsin 6 494,209 82,368 14 Alabama 7 573,092 81,870 15 Notre Dame 6 484,770 80,795 16 South Carolina 6 482,200 80,367 17 Clemson 6 478,000 79,667 18 Nebraska 6 466,153 77,692 19 Texas A&M 6 446,988 74,498 20 Michigan State 6 441,613 73,602 21 Iowa 6 422,382 70,397 22 Arkansas 6 409,275 68,213 23 Virginia Tech 7 455,805 65,115 24 Washington 6 388,423 64,737 25 California 5 320,095 64,019 26 Purdue 6 381,292 63,549 27 Arizona State 6 375,846 62,641 28 Kentucky 6 374,002 62,334 29 Virginia 6 368,963 61,494 30 UCLA 6 363,092 60,515 31 Missouri 6 357,424 59,571 32 Miami Hurricanes 6 354,803 59,134 33 BYU 6 350,849 58,475 34 Mississippi 6 350,237 58,373 35 Oregon 6 348,352 58,059 36 West Virginia 6 339,269 56,545 37 North Carolina State 6 337,200 56,200 38 Texas Tech 5 264,116 52,823 39 North Carolina 6 314,750 52,458 40 Maryland 6 308,463 51,411 41 Arizona 7 350,774 50,111 42 Illinois 7 340,381 48,626 43 Kansas State 7 338,833 48,405 44 Colorado 6 287,368 47,895 45 Minnesota 6 285,438 47,573 46 Georgia Tech 6 280,902 46,817 47 Oklahoma State 6 280,832 46,805 48 Utah 6 264,670 44,112 49 Mississippi State 7 306,545 43,792 50 Boston College 5 215,952 43,190 51 Pittsburgh 6 249,599 41,600 52 Iowa State 6 249,106 41,518 53 UTEP 6 247,256 41,209 54 Memphis 5 205,874 41,175 55 Kansas 6 246,399 41,067 56 Louisville 5 202,657 40,531 57 Fresno State 5 198,885 39,777 58 Connecticut 7 275,129 39,304 59 Air Force 7 266,302 38,043 60 New Mexico 5 186,408 37,282 61 Syracuse 5 185,341 37,068 62 Hawaii 8 294,404 36,801 63 Oregon State 5 181,672 36,334 64 San Diego State 5 179,976 35,995 65 Stanford 6 215,650 35,942 66 Washington State 4 139,531 34,883 67 Army 5 159,816 31,963 68 Navy 6 186,099 31,017 69 Rutgers 6 185,966 30,994 70 Wake Forest 6 184,575 30,763 71 East Carolina 5 153,418 30,684 72 Baylor 6 183,518 30,586 73 Boise State 7 213,493 30,499 74 TCU 6 176,477 29,413 75 Southern Miss 5 144,821 28,964 76 Vanderbilt 6 170,832 28,472 77 Northwestern 6 170,449 28,408 78 Indiana 5 141,887 28,377 79 Colorado State 6 163,776 27,296 80 USF 6 162,361 27,060 81 Northern Illinois 5 135,260 27,052 82 Marshall 5 129,664 25,933 83 Toledo 5 120,124 24,025 84 Tulane 6 136,976 22,829 85 Duke 5 112,524 22,505 86 UNLV 5 109,352 21,870 87 Louisiana-Lafayette 5 107,006 21,401 88 Cincinnati 5 106,275 21,255 89 Troy 5 106,140 21,228 90 Houston 5 105,834 21,167 91 UAB 5 103,032 20,606 92 UCF 5 99,761 19,952 93 Utah State 4 78,000 19,500 94 New Mexico State 5 91,506 18,301 95 SMU 5 88,530 17,706 96 Louisiana Tech 5 87,740 17,548 97 Bowling Green 5 87,114 17,423 98 Nevada 6 103,882 17,314 99 Tulsa 6 101,434 16,906 100 Idaho 4 66,478 16,620 101 Temple 6 98,736 16,456 102 Wyoming 6 98,477 16,413 103 Western Michigan 5 79,983 15,997 104 Ohio 5 79,893 15,979 105 Akron 5 79,243 15,849 106 Rice 5 78,926 15,785 107 Miami RedHawks 5 78,712 15,742 108 Arkansas State 4 61,307 15,327 109 North Texas 5 75,921 15,184 110 Central Michigan 5 75,216 15,043 111 Louisiana-Monroe 4 58,869 14,717 112 Eastern Michigan 5 71,937 14,387 113 Ball State 5 71,498 14,300 114 Middle Tennessee 5 66,938 13,388 115 Kent State 5 64,384 12,877 116 Buffalo 5 60,923 12,185 117 FAU 5 53,921 10,784 118 San Jose State 5 32,395 6,479 Sources:Football Records https://s3.amazonaws.com/fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/Attend.pdf ATTENDANCE RECORDShttps://kenn.com/blog/sports-attendance/ncaa-football-attendance/ NCAA Football Attendance – kenn.com blog kenn.com See also BCS controversies#2004–05 season References Category:2004 controversies in the United States