2004 Florida Gators football team

2004 SEC football standings
	Eastern Division
	Western Division
	Championship: Auburn 38, Tennessee 28
	$ – BCS representative as conference champion; x – Division champion/co-champions; Rankings from AP Poll

Florida Gators football
2004 Florida Gators football
Peach Bowl, L 27–10 vs. Miami (FL)
Conference	Southeastern Conference
	Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 25
2004 record	7–5 (4–4 SEC)
Head coach	Ron Zook (3rd season); Charlie Strong (interim);
Offensive coordinator	Larry Fedora (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Charlie Strong (2nd season)
Captain	Channing Crowder; Mike Degory; Ciatrick Fason; Travis Harris
Home stadium	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium; (Capacity: 88,548)

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
September 11	Eastern Michigan*	No. 11	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	PPV	W 49–10	90,009
September 18	at No. 13 Tennessee	No. 11	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	CBS	L 28–30	109,061
September 25	Kentucky	No. 16	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	ESPN2	W 20–3	89,741
October 2	Arkansas	No. 16	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	CBS	W 45–30	90,014
October 9	No. 24 LSU	No. 12	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	ESPN	L 21–24	90,377
October 16	Middle Tennessee*	No. 22	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	PPV	W 52–16	90,018
October 23	at Mississippi State	No. 19	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	JPS	L 31–38	43,170
October 30	vs. No. 7 Georgia		Alltel Stadium Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)	CBS	L 24–31	84,753
November 6	at Vanderbilt		Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	PPV	W 34–17	32,716
November 13	South Carolina		Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	ESPN2	W 48–14	90,294
November 20	at No. 10 Florida State*		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)	ESPN	W 20–13	84,223
December 31	vs. No. 14 Miami (FL)*	No. 19	Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA (Peach Bowl) (rivalry)	ESPN	L 10–27	69,322
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Sources: 2012 Florida Football Media Guide,^[2] and GatorZone.com.^[3]

Game summaries

Eastern Michigan

Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida	7	14	0	7	28
• Tennessee	7	7	0	16	30

Date: September 11
Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee

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 canceled 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

Date: October 23
Location: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Mississippi

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

Date: October 31
Location: Jacksonville, Florida

Vanderbilt

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Florida	7	7	0	10	24
Vanderbilt	10	7	0	0	17

Date: November 6
Location: Vanderbilt Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee

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

Florida Gators at #8 Florida State Seminoles

	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida	7	3	0	10	20
Florida St	0	3	0	10	13

at Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, Florida

Date: November 20
Game time: 7:45 EDT
Game weather: 68 °F (20 °C) • Wind S 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn) to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)
Game attendance: 84,223
Referee: Steve Shaw
Gatorzone.com

Game information

Ron Zook's last game as head coach of the Florida Gators and spoiled the dedication of the field for Bobby Bowden.

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	FLA	FSU
1	7:56	14	97	4:46	Florida	Chad Jackson 13-yard touchdown reception from Chris Leak, Matt Leach kick good	7	0
2	9:01	10	59	3:25	Florida	38-yard field goal by Matt Leach	10	0
2	0:17	8	32	2:58	Florida St	20-yard field goal by Gary Cismesia	10	3
4	11:51	9	74	3:05	Florida	21-yard field goal by Matt Leach	13	3
4	8:30	7	80	3:21	Florida St	Chauncey Stovall 27-yard touchdown reception from Chris Rix, Xavier Beitia kick good	13	10
4	4:59	9	80	3:26	Florida	Ciatrick Fason 8-yard touchdown run, Matt Leach kick good	20	10
4	3:48	4	-10	0:57	Florida St	52-yard field goal by Xavier Beitia	20	13
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							20	13

Peach Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida	0	3	7	0	10
• Miami (FL)	7	10	7	3	27

Date: December 31
Location: 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

References

^ University of Florida Sports Information Department. "Florida 2004 Media Guide" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
^ 2012 Florida Football Media Guide Archived 2013-05-27 at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 113 & 116 (2012). Retrieved September 16, 2012.
^ GatorZone.com, Football, History, Florida Football 2004 Archived 2012-05-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 25, 2011.

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.

[1] University of Florida Sports Information Department. "Florida 2004 Media Guide" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved 15 March 2018.

[ufmediaguide-2] 2012 Florida Football Media Guide Archived 2013-05-27 at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 113 & 116 (2012). Retrieved September 16, 2012.

[3] GatorZone.com, Football, History, Florida Football 2004 Archived 2012-05-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved November 25, 2011.

[1]

[2]

[3]

2004 SEC football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
Eastern Division
No. 13 Tennessee x		7	–	1		10	–	3
No. 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
No. 2 Auburn x$		8	–	0		13	–	0
No. 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