CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2004 Ball State

2–⁠9 (2–⁠6 Mid-American Conference), coached by Brady Hoke.

Schedule and results

Ball State in 2004, game by game: lost vs. Boston College 11–19; lost at No. 25 Purdue 7–59; lost at Missouri 0–48; won vs. Western Michigan 41–14; lost at Toledo 14–52; lost vs. Eastern Michigan 24–31; lost at Bowling Green 13–51; lost at Akron 23–35; lost vs. Northern Illinois 31–38; won vs. UCF 21–17; lost at Central Michigan 40–41+27−52Lost 11–19 vs. Boston College-8Boston CollegeLost 7–59 at No. 25 Purdue-52No. 25 PurdueLost 0–48 at Missouri-48MissouriWon 41–14 vs. Western Michigan+27Western MichiganLost 14–52 at Toledo-38ToledoLost 24–31 vs. Eastern Michigan-7Eastern MichiganLost 13–51 at Bowling Green-38Bowling GreenLost 23–35 at Akron-12AkronLost 31–38 vs. Northern Illinois-7Northern Illino…Won 21–17 vs. UCF+4UCFLost 40–41 at Central Michigan-1Central Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsBoston CollegeL 11–⁠1934%
Sep 11at25PurdueL 7–⁠5917%
Sep 18atMissouriL 0–⁠4825%
Sep 25vsWestern MichiganW 41–⁠1451%
Oct 2atToledoL 14–⁠5228%
Oct 9vsEastern MichiganL 24–⁠3170%
Oct 16atBowling GreenL 13–⁠5116%
Oct 23atAkronL 23–⁠3529%
Oct 30vsNorthern IllinoisL 31–⁠3822%
Nov 13vsUCFW 21–⁠1764%
Nov 20atCentral MichiganL 40–⁠4150%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Central Michigan 41–⁠40; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 10th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 47th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

Led the nationDante Ridgeway: receptions (105 catches)

Record
2–⁠9
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 10th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
225–⁠405
Coach
Brady Hoke
Elo
1324 −89 this season
SP+ rating
-18.7 No. 108 of 120; offense No. 90, defense No. 109
SRS
−18.6 No. 112 of 119 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 98

How good, play by play

  • Offense105th of 118
  • Defense107th of 118
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.1724%1.10105th of 118
Defense0.0842%0.93107th of 118
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 28— allowed
Defense0.0own 29— caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2004 class

Bryant Halnes CB★★No. 979
Dan Gerberry OG★★No. 979
Cole Stinson PRO★★No. 979
Lavell Mosley CB★★No. 979
Jovens Degage RB★★No. 979

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2004 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.00.767
Running backs32.00.759
Receivers32.00.767
Offensive line52.00.767
Defensive line32.00.767
Linebackers32.00.752
Defensive backs42.00.756
Whole class232.00.762

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2005

The 2005 draft
Rd 6Dante Ridgeway WRSt. Louis Rams
Rd 6Justin Beriault DBDallas Cowboys
Rd 6Reggie Hodges PSt. Louis Rams

2004 Mid-American Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Northern Illinois7–⁠19–⁠3
Toledo7–⁠19–⁠4
Miami (OH)7–⁠18–⁠5
Bowling Green6–⁠29–⁠3
Akron6–⁠26–⁠5
Marshall6–⁠26–⁠6
Kent State4–⁠45–⁠6
Eastern Michigan4–⁠44–⁠7
Central Michigan3–⁠54–⁠7
Ohio2–⁠64–⁠7
Ball State2–⁠62–⁠9
Buffalo2–⁠62–⁠9
Western Michigan0–⁠81–⁠10
UCF0–⁠80–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.