2004 Florida Gators football team

American college football season February 2026 August 2023 2004 Florida Gators football Florida Gators script logo.svg Southeastern Conference Eastern Division SEC 25 7–5 4–4 Ron Zook 3rd regular season Charlie Strong interim, bowl game Larry Fedora 1st Spread Charlie Strong 2nd 4–3 Channing Crowder Mike Degory Ciatrick Fason Travis Harris Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Peach Bowl L Lost 10–27 vs. Miami (FL) The 2004 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida as a member of the Eastern Division in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Ron Zook in his third and final season as head coach, the Gators compiled an overall record of 7–5 with a mark of 4–4 in conference play, tying for third place in the SEC's Eastern Division. Florida was invited to the Peach Bowl, where the Gators lost to the Miami Hurricanes. The team played home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. Zook was fired after Florida's loss to Mississippi State in October 2004, but coached the team through the remainder of the regular season before leaving to become the head football coach at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Florida's defensive coordinator, Charlie Strong, was appointed interim head coach for the team's bowl game. Schedule 2004 AP September 11 w y 11 Eastern Michigan Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL PPV 49–10 90,009 September 18 l y 11 Tennessee 13 Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN rivalry CBS 28–30 109,061 September 25 w 16 Kentucky Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL rivalry ESPN2 20–3 89,741 October 2 w 16 Arkansas Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL CBS 45–30 90,014 October 9 l 12 LSU 24 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL rivalry ESPN 21–24 90,377 October 16 w y 22 Middle Tennessee Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL PPV 52–16 90,018 October 23 l y 19 Mississippi State Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS JPS 31–38 43,170 October 30 l y Georgia 7 Alltel Stadium Jacksonville, FL rivalry CBS 24–31 84,753 November 6 w y Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN PPV 34–17 32,716 November 13 w y South Carolina Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL ESPN2 48–14 90,294 November 20 w y y Florida State 10 Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL rivalry ESPN 20–13 84,223 December 31 l y y 19 Miami (FL) 14 Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA Peach Bowl, rivalry ESPN 10–27 69,322 2012 Florida Football Media Guide https://web.archive.org/web/20130527130648/http://web.gatorzone.com/football/media/2012/media_guide.pdf 2013-05-27 , University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 113 & 116 (2012). Retrieved September 16, 2012.GatorZone.com, Football, History, Florida Football 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20120502052039/http://www.gatorzone.com/football/history/2004/team.pdf 2012-05-02 . Retrieved November 25, 2011. Game summaries Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan 3 7 0 10 Florida 7 21 21 0 September 11 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida Tennessee Florida 7 14 0 7 Tennessee 7 7 0 16 September 18 Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee Kentucky Kentucky 3 0 0 0 Florida 3 7 3 7 September 25 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida Arkansas Arkansas 0 7 7 16 Florida 7 28 3 7 October 2 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida LSU 2004 LSU Tigers football team LSU 0 14 3 7 Florida 14 7 0 0 October 9 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee 3 10 3 0 Florida 17 14 21 0 October 16 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida The match with MTSU was intended to be the season opener for the Gators, but was canceled and rescheduled because of Hurricane Frances. This left the Gators without a regular-season bye week. Mississippi State Florida 0 14 10 7 Mississippi St 7 10 7 14 October 23 Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Mississippi Following this loss, head coach Ron Zook was fired, but allowed to coach the remainder of the season. Georgia Florida 0 0 7 10 Georgia 7 7 3 7 October 30 Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida 2004 Georgia Bulldogs football team Vanderbilt Florida 7 7 0 10 Vanderbilt 10 7 0 0 November 6 Vanderbilt Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee South Carolina South Carolina 7 0 0 7 Florida 0 21 10 17 November 13 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida Florida State 2004 Florida State Seminoles football team Florida–Florida State football rivalry Florida Gators 2; text-align:center collapsed Florida Gators at #8 Florida State Seminoles November 20 7:45 EDT Florida 7 3 0 10 Florida St 0 3 0 10 Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, Florida 84,223 68 F C • Wind S 10 mph km/h knot to 12 mph km/h knot Steve Shaw Gatorzone.com Florida Chris Leak19/39, 231 Yds, TD, INT Ciatrick Fason24 Rush, 103 Yds, TD Chad Jackson3 Rec, 65 Yds, TD Florida St Will Sexton14/32, 164 Yds, INT Lorenzo Booker5 Rush, 25 Yds Chauncey Stovall11 Rec, 181 Yds, TD Ron Zook's last game as head coach of the Florida Gators and spoiled the dedication of the field for Bobby Bowden. FLA FSU collapsed 1 7:56 Florida 14 97 4:46 RecTD Chad Jackson Chris Leak 13 good Matt Leach run/pass good/failed/incomplete 7 0 2 9:01 Florida 10 59 3:25 FG 38 Matt Leach 10 0 2 0:17 Florida St 8 32 2:58 FG 20 Gary Cismesia 10 3 4 11:51 Florida 9 74 3:05 FG 21 Matt Leach 13 3 4 8:30 Florida St 7 80 3:21 RecTD Chauncey Stovall Chris Rix 27 good Xavier Beitia run/pass good/failed/incomplete 13 10 4 4:59 Florida 9 80 3:26 RushTD Ciatrick Fason 8 good Matt Leach run/pass good/failed/incomplete 20 10 4 3:48 Florida St 4 -10 0:57 FG 52 Xavier Beitia 20 13 20 13 Peach Bowl 2004 Peach Bowl (December) Florida 0 3 7 0 Miami (FL) 7 10 7 3 December 31 Georgia Dome, Atlanta Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong was interim head coach for the bowl game. Coaching staff Ron Zook – head coach Jerry "Red" Anderson – defensive line coach Dan Disch – secondary coach Dwayne Dixon – assistant head coach / inside receivers coach Larry Fedora – offensive coordinator / receivers coach Mike Locksley – running backs coach / recruiting coordinator Bill Miller – associate head coach / linebackers coach Charlie Strong – defensive coordinator/ interim head coach Joe Wickline – offensive line coach / running game coordinator Ed Zaunbrecher – quarterbacks coach Players drafted into the NFL 2005 NFL draft Florida Gators Round Pick Player Position NFL club 3 70 Channing Crowder LB Miami Dolphins 4 112 Ciatrick Fason RB Minnesota Vikings 7 218 Reynaldo Hill CB Tennessee Titans 2005 NFL Draft Listing https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/2005/draft.htm February 8, 2025 Pro-Football-Reference.com References Bibliography 2009 Southeastern Conference Football Media Guide, Florida Year-by-Year Records, Southeastern Conference, Birmingham, Alabama, p. 60 (2009). Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). 0-7948-2298-3. Florida Category:Florida Gators football seasons Florida Gators football