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2004 Fresno State

9–⁠3 (5–⁠3 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Pat Hill, finished No. 22 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Fresno State in 2004, game by game: won at Washington 35–16; won at No. 13 Kansas State 45–21; won vs. Portland State 27–17; lost at Louisiana Tech 21–28; lost vs. UTEP 21–24; lost at No. 19 Boise State 16–33; won vs. SMU 42–0; won at Rice 52–21; won vs. Hawai’i 70–14; won vs. Nevada 54–17; won at San José State 62–28; won vs. No. 18 Virginia 37–34+56−17Won 35–16 at Washington+19WashingtonWon 45–21 at No. 13 Kansas State+24No. 13 Kansas StateWon 27–17 vs. Portland State+10Portland StateLost 21–28 at Louisiana Tech-7Louisiana TechLost 21–24 vs. UTEP-3UTEPLost 16–33 at No. 19 Boise State-17No. 19 Boise StateWon 42–0 vs. SMU+42SMUWon 52–21 at Rice+31RiceWon 70–14 vs. Hawai’i+56Hawai’iWon 54–17 vs. Nevada+37NevadaWon 62–28 at San José State+34San José StateWon 37–34 vs. No. 18 Virginia+3No. 18 Virginia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5atWashingtonW 35–⁠1644%
Sep 11at13Kansas StateW 45–⁠2130%
Sep 18vsPortland StateW 27–⁠1787%
Oct 2atLouisiana TechL 21–⁠2869%
Oct 9vsUTEPL 21–⁠2486%
Oct 23at19Boise StateL 16–⁠3325%
Oct 30vsSMUW 42–⁠088%
Nov 6atRiceW 52–⁠2165%
Nov 12vsHawai’iW 70–⁠1471%
Nov 20vsNevadaW 54–⁠1782%
Nov 27atSan José StateW 62–⁠2883%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvs18VirginiaMPC Computers BowlW 37–⁠3448%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Virginia 37–⁠34 in the MPC Computers Bowl; No. 22 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Western Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 5th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 97 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 19
  2. Wk 5: 17
  3. Wk 6: 17
  4. Final: 22
Record
9–⁠3
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
No. 22 peak No. 17
Points
482–⁠253
Coach
Pat Hill
Elo
1651 +107 this season
SP+ rating
14.9 No. 26 of 120; offense No. 8, defense No. 67
SRS
11.3 No. 21 of 119 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 106
Offensive coordinator
Frank Cignetti Jr.
Defensive coordinator
Dan Brown
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense44th of 118
  • Defense37th of 118
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0437%0.9844th of 118
Defense-0.0732%1.0437th 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-0.3own 323% allowed
Defense-0.1own 334% 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

Jake Jorde S★★No. 831
Ryan Wendell OG★★No. 979
Pierce Masse OG★★No. 979
Jon Monga DT★★No. 979
Adam McDowell OG★★No. 979

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

The 2004 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.722
Receivers22.00.756
Offensive line42.00.767
Defensive line42.00.767
Linebackers12.00.767
Defensive backs12.00.789
Whole class132.00.763

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 1Logan Mankins OGNew England Patriots
Rd 4James Sanders DBNew England Patriots

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.