2004 Boston College
9–3 (4–2 Big East), coached by Tom O’Brien, finished No. 21 in the AP poll. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest upsetBeat No. 13 West Virginia 36–17Nov 13
West Virginia was ranked No. 13, above it.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2 | at Ball State | W 19–11 | 66% |
| Sep 11 | vs Penn State | W 21–7 | 70% |
| Sep 17 | vs UConn | W 27–7 | 66% |
| Sep 25 | at Wake Forest | L 14–17 | 61% |
| Oct 2 | vs Massachusetts | W 29–7 | 85% |
| Oct 16 | at Pittsburgh | L 17–20 | 53% |
| Oct 23 | at 24Notre Dame | W 24–23 | 45% |
| Nov 6 | vs Rutgers | W 21–10 | 81% |
| Nov 13 | at 13West Virginia | W 36–17 | 36% |
| Nov 20 | at Temple | W 34–17 | 83% |
| Nov 27 | vs Syracuse | L 17–43 | 78% |
| Dec 30Bowls & playoff | vs North CarolinaContinental Tire Bowl | W 37–24 | 66% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat North Carolina 37–24 in the Continental Tire Bowl; No. 21 in the final AP poll; Big East champions.
In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 116 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 11: 24
- Wk 12: 21
- Wk 13: 19
- Wk 14: 17
- Wk 15: 23
- Final: 21
Big East champions4–2 in the conference, shared with Pittsburgh, Syracuse and West Virginia
- Record
- 9–3
- Conference
- 4–2 shared first in Big East
- AP final
- No. 21 peak No. 17
- Points
- 296–203
- Coach
- Tom O’Brien
- Elo
- 1636 +50 this season
- SP+ rating
- 8.5 No. 38 of 120; offense No. 81, defense No. 21
- SRS
- 6.3 No. 35 of 119 in Division I-A
- Recruiting class
- No. 32
- Offensive coordinator
- Dana Bible
- Defensive coordinator
- Frank Spaziani
- Captains
- Tim Bulman, Dave Kashetta and Mathias Kiwanuka
- Offense
- Pro-style
- Defense
- 4–3
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.03 | 34% | 1.08 | 39th of 118 |
| Defense | -0.07 | 37% | 0.96 | 38th 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.0 | own 30 | 2% allowed |
| Defense | -0.1 | own 31 | 3% 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
| Brian Toal ILB | ★★★★★ | No. 19 |
| Brandon Robinson CB | ★★★★ | No. 123 |
| Johnny Ayers K | ★★ | No. 831 |
| Frantz Joseph OLB | ★★ | No. 1839 |
| Robert Francois OLB | ★★ | No. 1993 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2004 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Linebackers | 3 | 3.0 | 0.820 |
| Defensive backs | 1 | 4.0 | 0.922 |
| Athletes and specialists | 1 | 2.0 | 0.789 |
| Whole class | 5 | 3.0 | 0.834 |
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 Big East standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 Boston College | 4–2 | 9–3 | 21 |
| West Virginia | 4–2 | 8–4 | |
| Pittsburgh | 4–2 | 8–4 | 25 |
| Syracuse | 4–2 | 6–6 | |
| UConn | 3–3 | 8–4 | |
| Rutgers | 1–5 | 4–7 | |
| Temple | 1–5 | 2–9 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.