2004 Florida Gators football team
American college football season
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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 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.
| 2004 Florida Gators football | |
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| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| Eastern Division | |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 25 |
| Record | 7–5 (4–4 SEC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Larry Fedora (1st season) |
| Offensive scheme | Spread |
| Defensive coordinator | Charlie Strong (2nd season) |
| Base defense | 4–3 |
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Ben Hill Griffin Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Zook was fired after Florida's loss to Mississippi State in October 2004, but coaching the team through the remainder of the regular season before leaving to home 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
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 11 | Eastern Michigan* | No. 11 | PPV | W 49–10 | 90,009 | |
| September 18 | at No. 13 Tennessee | No. 11 | CBS | L 28–30 | 109,061 | |
| September 25 | Kentucky | No. 16 |
| ESPN2 | W 20–3 | 89,741 |
| October 2 | Arkansas | No. 16 |
| CBS | W 45–30 | 90,014 |
| October 9 | No. 24 LSU | No. 12 |
| ESPN | L 21–24 | 90,377 |
| October 16 | Middle Tennessee* | No. 22 |
| PPV | W 52–16 | 90,018 |
| October 23 | at Mississippi State | No. 19 | JPS | L 31–38 | 43,170 | |
| October 30 | vs. No. 7 Georgia | CBS | L 24–31 | 84,753 | ||
| November 6 | at Vanderbilt | PPV | W 34–17 | 32,716 | ||
| November 13 | South Carolina |
| ESPN2 | W 48–14 | 90,294 | |
| November 20 | at No. 10 Florida State* | ESPN | W 20–13 | 84,223 | ||
| December 31 | vs. No. 14 Miami (FL)* | No. 19 | ESPN | L 10–27 | 69,322 | |
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Game summaries
Eastern Michigan
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eastern Michigan | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 20 |
| • Florida | 7 | 21 | 21 | 0 | 49 |
- Date: September 11
- Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
Tennessee
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 7 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
| • Tennessee | 7 | 7 | 0 | 16 | 30 |
- Date: September 18
- Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee
Kentucky
| Team | 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
| Team | 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
| Team | 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
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Middle Tennessee | 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
| Team | 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
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 17 |
| • Georgia | 7 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 24 |
- Date: October 30
- Location: Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida
Vanderbilt
| Team | 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
| Team | 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
| Quarter | 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 | ||
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Ron Zook's last game as head coach of the Florida Gators and spoiled the dedication of the field for Bobby Bowden.
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Peach Bowl
| Team | 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
Players drafted into the NFL
| 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 |