| Year: | 2004 |
| Number Of Teams: | 117 full members + 2 transitional |
| Preseason Ap: | USC |
| Number Of Bowls: | 28 |
| Bowl Start: | December 14, 2004 |
| Bowl End: | January 4, 2005 |
| Championship System: | Bowl Championship Series |
| Championship Bowl: | 2005 Orange Bowl |
| Championship Location: | Dolphin Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida |
| Champions: | USC (BCS—vacated, AP) |
| Heisman: | Matt Leinart (quarterback, USC) |
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 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. USC appealed the decision but was denied by the NCAA, and the 2004 BCS title was officially vacated on June 6, 2011. To this day, USC remains stripped of this national title.[1]
The NCAA Rules Committee adopted the following rule changes for the 2004 season:
See main article: article and 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. 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.[3]
| School | 2003 Conference | 2004 Conference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I-A Independent | |||
| I-A Independent | |||
| ACC | |||
| ACC |
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.
The 2004 season ended with five undefeated teams vying for a spot in the national title game. 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 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.[4] [5] [6] [7] [8]
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.
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.
See main article: article and 2004 NCAA Division I-A football rankings.
* USC finished the season with a 13–0 record but was forced to vacate two wins in 2010 as a result of NCAA sanctions.
See main article: article and 2004–05 NCAA football bowl games.
Rankings given are AP rankings going into bowl games
No. 1 (BCS No. 1) USC 55, No. 2 (BCS No. 2) Oklahoma 19 (vacated due to NCAA violations)
(At Large) No. 6 Texas 38, (Big Ten Champ) No. 13 Michigan 37
(At Large, MWC Champ) No. 5 Utah 35, (Big East Co-Champ) No. 19 Pittsburgh 7
(SEC Champ) No. 3 Auburn 16, (ACC Champ) No. 9 Virginia Tech 13
No. 15 Tennessee 38, No. 22 Texas A&M 7
No. 17 Florida State 30, West Virginia 18
No. 8 Georgia 24, No. 16 Wisconsin 21
No. 14 Miami (FL) 27, No. 20 Florida 10
(C-USA Champ) No. 7 Louisville 44, (WAC Champ) No. 10 Boise State 40
Fresno State 37, No. 18 Virginia 34 (OT)
No. 25 Boston College 37, North Carolina 24
Iowa State 17, Miami (Ohio) 13
Northern Illinois 34, Troy State 21
No. 21 Arizona State 27, Purdue 23
No. 23 Texas Tech 45, No. 4 California 31
Navy 34, New Mexico 19
No. 24 Ohio State 33, Oklahoma State 7
Oregon State 38, Notre Dame 21
Georgia Tech 51, Syracuse 14
UConn 39, (MAC Champ) Toledo 10
Cincinnati 32, Marshall 14
Bowling Green 52, Memphis 35
Southern Miss 31, (SBC Champ) North Texas 10
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 | |
| RB | 154 | 180 | 175 | 997 | |||
| Oklahoma | QB | 171 | 149 | 146 | 957 | ||
| QB | 98 | 112 | 117 | 635 | |||
| USC | RB | 118 | 80 | 83 | 597 | ||
| RB | 12 | 41 | 69 | 187 | |||
| QB | 21 | 24 | 51 | 162 | |||
| RB | 10 | 33 | 19 | 115 | |||
| California | QB | 8 | 14 | 15 | 67 | ||
| WR | 3 | 13 | 27 | 62 |
Matt Leinart, USC
Urban Meyer, Utah
Paul Johnson, Navy