CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2004 Bowling Green

9–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Mid-American Conference), coached by Gregg Brandon.

Schedule and results

Bowling Green in 2004, game by game: lost at Oklahoma 24–40; won vs. Southeast Missouri State 49–10; lost at Northern Illinois 17–34; won at Temple 70–16; won at Central Michigan 38–14; won vs. Ball State 51–13; won at Ohio 41–16; won vs. Eastern Michigan 41–20; won vs. Western Michigan 52–0; won vs. Marshall 56–35; lost at Toledo 41–49; won vs. Memphis 52–35+54−17Lost 24–40 at Oklahoma-16OklahomaWon 49–10 vs. Southeast Missouri State+39Southeast Misso…Lost 17–34 at Northern Illinois-17Northern Illino…Won 70–16 at Temple+54TempleWon 38–14 at Central Michigan+24Central MichiganWon 51–13 vs. Ball State+38Ball StateWon 41–16 at Ohio+25OhioWon 41–20 vs. Eastern Michigan+21Eastern MichiganWon 52–0 vs. Western Michigan+52Western MichiganWon 56–35 vs. Marshall+21MarshallLost 41–49 at Toledo-8ToledoWon 52–35 vs. Memphis+17Memphis
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4atOklahomaL 24–⁠4028%
Sep 11vsSoutheast Missouri StateW 49–⁠1088%
Sep 24atNorthern IllinoisL 17–⁠3448%
Oct 2atTempleW 70–⁠1669%
Oct 9atCentral MichiganW 38–⁠1473%
Oct 16vsBall StateW 51–⁠1384%
Oct 23atOhioW 41–⁠1669%
Oct 30vsEastern MichiganW 41–⁠2087%
Nov 6vsWestern MichiganW 52–⁠089%
Nov 13vsMarshallW 56–⁠3565%
Nov 23atToledoL 41–⁠4950%
Dec 22Bowls & playoffvsMemphisGMAC BowlW 52–⁠3558%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Memphis 52–⁠35 in the GMAC Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 73 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 13: 25

Led the nationOmar Jacobs: passing touchdowns (41 TD)

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 4th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 25
Points
532–⁠282
Coach
Gregg Brandon
Elo
1653 +71 this season
SP+ rating
11.9 No. 31 of 120; offense No. 4, defense No. 88
SRS
4.9 No. 42 of 119 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 89
Offensive coordinator
Greg Studrawa
Defensive coordinator
Tim Beckman
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense3rd of 118
  • Defense87th of 118
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1141%1.073rd of 118
Defense0.0239%0.9087th 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 371% allowed
Defense0.0own 302% 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

Edwin Hood RB★★No. 979
Jeff Fink DT★★No. 979
Joseph Schaefer ILB★★No. 979
Corey Partridge CB★★No. 979
Scott Goodwin S★★No. 979

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

The 2004 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs12.00.767
Offensive line32.00.767
Defensive line42.00.761
Linebackers22.00.767
Defensive backs42.00.767
Whole class142.00.765

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 7Scott Mruczkowski CSan Diego Chargers

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.