2004 Florida Gators football team
The 2004 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Gators competed in Division I-A of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. The season was the third and last for head coach Ron Zook, who led the Gators to a regular season record of 7–4 (.636).
Pre-season
For the fifth time in school history, Florida played five of its first six games at home. Four of the last five games were on the road. Florida's record for the two prior seasons under Zook on the road in conference play was an SEC league best 7–1. Eight starters returned and true sophomore Chris Leak would start the first game of the season at the helm for the first time. The Gators opened the season against Eastern Michigan from the Mid-American Conference.
Schedule
Date |
Opponent# |
Rank# |
Site |
TV |
Result |
Attendance |
9–11–2004 |
Eastern Michigan* |
No. 11 |
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, Florida |
PPV |
W 49–10 |
90,009 |
9–18–2004 |
No. 13 Tennessee |
No. 11 |
Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, Tennessee |
CBS |
L 28–30 |
109,061 |
9–25–2004 |
Kentucky |
No. 16 |
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, Florida |
ESPN2 |
W 20–3 |
89,741 |
10–2–2004 |
Arkansas |
No. 16 |
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, Florida |
CBS |
W 45–30 |
90,014 |
10–9–2004 |
No. 24 Louisiana State |
No. 12 |
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, Florida |
ESPN |
L 21–24 |
90,377 |
10–16–2004 |
Middle Tennessee* |
No. 22 |
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, Florida |
PPV |
W 52–16 |
90,018 |
10–23–2004 |
Mississippi State |
No. 19 |
Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, Mississippi |
JPS |
L 31–38 |
43,170 |
10–30–2004 |
No. 7 Georgia |
|
Alltel Stadium • Jacksonville, Florida |
CBS |
L 24–31 |
84,753 |
11–6–2004 |
Vanderbilt |
|
Vanderbilt Stadium • Nashville, Tennessee |
PPV |
W 34–17 |
32,716 |
11–13–2004 |
South Carolina |
|
Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, Florida (HC) |
ESPN2 |
W 48–14 |
90,294 |
11–20–2004 |
No. 10 Florida State* |
|
Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, Florida |
ESPN |
W 20–13 |
84,223 |
12–31–2004 |
No. 14 Miami* |
No. 19 |
Georgia Dome • Atlanta (Peach Bowl) |
ESPN |
L 10–27 |
69,322 |
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. |
Sources: 2012 Florida Football Media Guide,[1] and GatorZone.com.[2]
Game notes
Eastern Michigan
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Eastern Michigan |
3 |
7 | 0 | 10 |
20 |
• Florida |
7 |
21 | 21 | 0 |
49 |
|
Tennessee
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Florida |
7 |
14 | 0 | 7 |
28 |
• Tennessee |
7 |
7 | 0 | 16 |
30 |
|
Kentucky
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Kentucky |
3 |
0 | 0 | 0 |
3 |
• Florida |
3 |
7 | 3 | 7 |
20 |
- Date: September 25
- Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
|
Arkansas
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Arkansas |
0 |
7 | 7 | 16 |
30 |
• Florida |
7 |
28 | 3 | 7 |
45 |
- Date: October 2
- Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
|
LSU
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
• LSU |
0 |
14 | 3 | 7 |
24 |
Florida |
14 |
7 | 0 | 0 |
21 |
- Date: October 9
- Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
|
Middle Tennessee State
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Middle Tennessee St |
3 |
10 | 3 | 0 |
16 |
• Florida |
17 |
14 | 21 | 0 |
52 |
- Date: October 16
- Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
|
The match with MTSU was intended to be the season opener for the Gators, but was cancelled and rescheduled because of Hurricane Frances. This left the Gators without a regular-season bye week.
Mississippi State
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Florida |
0 |
14 | 10 | 7 |
31 |
• Mississippi St |
7 |
10 | 7 | 14 |
38 |
|
Following this loss, head coach Ron Zook was fired, but allowed to coach the remainder of the season.
Georgia
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Florida |
0 |
0 | 7 | 10 |
17 |
• Georgia |
7 |
7 | 3 | 7 |
24 |
|
Vanderbilt
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
• Florida |
7 |
7 | 0 | 10 |
24 |
Vanderbilt |
10 |
7 | 0 | 0 |
17 |
|
South Carolina
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
South Carolina |
7 |
0 | 0 | 7 |
14 |
• Florida |
0 |
21 | 10 | 17 |
48 |
- Date: November 13
- Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
|
Florida State
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
• Florida |
7 |
3 | 0 | 10 |
20 |
Florida St |
0 |
3 | 0 | 10 |
13 |
|
|
Scoring summary |
---|
|
1 |
7:56 | Florida | Chad Jackson 13 yard pass from Chris Leak (Matt Leach kick) | Florida 7-0 |
|
2 |
9:01 | Florida | Matt Leach 38 yard field goal | Florida 10-0 |
|
2 |
0:17 | Florida St | Gary Cismesia 20 yard field goal | Florida 10-3 |
|
4 |
11:51 | Florida | Matt Leach 21 yard field goal | Florida 13-3 |
|
4 |
8:30 | Florida St | Chauncey Stovall 27 yard pass from Chris Rix (Xavier Beitia kick) | Florida 13-10 |
|
4 |
4:59 | Florida | Ciatrick Fason 8 yard run (Matt Leach kick) | Florida 20-10 |
|
4 |
3:48 | Florida St | Xavier Beitia 52 yard field goal | Florida 20-13 |
|
Ron Zook's last game as head coach of the Florida Gators.
[3]
Peach Bowl
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Florida |
0 |
3 | 7 | 0 |
10 |
• Miami (FL) |
7 |
10 | 7 | 3 |
27 |
|
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
See also
References
Bibliography
- 2009 Southeastern Conference Football Media Guide, Florida Year-by-Year Records, Southeastern Conference, Birmingham, Alabama, p. 60 (2009).
- 2012 Florida Football Media Guide, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 107–116 (2012).
- Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN 0-7948-2298-3.
External links
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National championship seasons in bold |