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2004 Boise State

11–⁠1 (8–⁠0 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Dan Hawkins, finished No. 12 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Boise State in 2004, game by game: won vs. Idaho 65–7; won vs. Oregon State 53–34; won at UTEP 47–31; won vs. BYU 28–27; won vs. SMU 38–20; won at Tulsa 45–42; won vs. Fresno State 33–16; won vs. Hawai’i 69–3; won at San José State 56–49; won vs. Louisiana Tech 55–14; won at Nevada 58–21; lost vs. No. 7 Louisville 40–44+66−4Won 65–7 vs. Idaho+58IdahoWon 53–34 vs. Oregon State+19Oregon StateWon 47–31 at UTEP+16UTEPWon 28–27 vs. BYU+1BYUWon 38–20 vs. SMU+18SMUWon 45–42 at Tulsa+3TulsaWon 33–16 vs. Fresno State+17Fresno StateWon 69–3 vs. Hawai’i+66Hawai’iWon 56–49 at San José State+7San José StateWon 55–14 vs. Louisiana Tech+41Louisiana TechWon 58–21 at Nevada+37NevadaLost 40–44 vs. No. 7 Louisville-4No. 7 Louisville
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsIdahoW 65–⁠789%
Sep 10vsOregon StateW 53–⁠3472%
Sep 18atUTEPW 47–⁠3187%
Sep 24vsBYUW 28–⁠2787%
Oct 2vsSMUW 38–⁠2093%
Oct 16atTulsaW 45–⁠4282%
Oct 23vsFresno StateW 33–⁠1675%
Oct 29vsHawai’iW 69–⁠385%
Nov 13atSan José StateW 56–⁠4989%
Nov 20vsLouisiana TechW 55–⁠1489%
Nov 27atNevadaW 58–⁠2185%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs7LouisvilleLiberty BowlL 40–⁠4456%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Louisville 44–⁠40 in the Liberty Bowl; No. 12 in the final AP poll; Western Athletic Conference champions.

In program history: The 8th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 56 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 23
  2. Wk 5: 21
  3. Wk 6: 23
  4. Wk 7: 21
  5. Wk 8: 21
  6. Wk 9: 19
  7. Wk 10: 18
  8. Wk 11: 16
  9. Wk 12: 14
  10. Wk 13: 13
  11. Wk 14: 10
  12. Wk 15: 11
  13. Final: 12

Western Athletic Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference

Led the nationTyler Jones: points (141 pts), points per game (11.8)

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
No. 12 peak No. 10
Points
587–⁠308
Coach
Dan Hawkins
Elo
1740 +66 this season
SP+ rating
19.3 No. 17 of 120; offense No. 1, defense No. 89
SRS
13.8 No. 13 of 119 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 74
Offensive coordinator
Chris Petersen
Defensive coordinator
Ron Collins

How good, play by play

  • Offense12th of 118
  • Defense9th of 118
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0541%1.0612th of 118
Defense-0.1433%1.039th 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
Offense-0.2own 362% allowed
Defense-0.1own 293% 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

Kyle Gingg OLB★★No. 979
Ryan Clady OT★★No. 979
Rashaad Richards ATH★★No. 979
Chris O’Neill TE★★No. 979
Cameron Filkins DT★★No. 979

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

The 2004 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.744
Running backs12.00.700
Receivers32.00.759
Offensive line22.00.756
Defensive line62.00.748
Linebackers32.00.744
Defensive backs22.00.756
Athletes and specialists12.00.767
Whole class192.00.749

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.

2004 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Boise State8–⁠011–⁠112
UTEP6–⁠28–⁠4
Fresno State5–⁠39–⁠322
Louisiana Tech5–⁠36–⁠6
Hawai’i4–⁠48–⁠5
Nevada3–⁠55–⁠7
Tulsa3–⁠54–⁠8
SMU3–⁠53–⁠8
Rice2–⁠63–⁠8
San José State1–⁠72–⁠9

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