CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2004 Georgia Tech

7–⁠5 (4–⁠4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Chan Gailey.

Schedule and results

Georgia Tech in 2004, game by game: won vs. Samford 28–7; won at No. 20 Clemson 28–24; lost at North Carolina 13–34; lost vs. No. 4 Miami 3–27; won at No. 23 Maryland 20–7; won vs. Duke 24–7; lost vs. No. 22 Virginia Tech 20–34; won at NC State 24–14; won vs. UConn 30–10; lost vs. No. 18 Virginia 10–30; lost at No. 8 Georgia 13–19; won vs. Syracuse 51–14+37−24Won 28–7 vs. Samford+21SamfordWon 28–24 at No. 20 Clemson+4No. 20 ClemsonLost 13–34 at North Carolina-21North CarolinaLost 3–27 vs. No. 4 Miami-24No. 4 MiamiWon 20–7 at No. 23 Maryland+13No. 23 MarylandWon 24–7 vs. Duke+17DukeLost 20–34 vs. No. 22 Virginia Tech-14No. 22 Virginia TechWon 24–14 at NC State+10NC StateWon 30–10 vs. UConn+20UConnLost 10–30 vs. No. 18 Virginia-20No. 18 VirginiaLost 13–19 at No. 8 Georgia-6No. 8 GeorgiaWon 51–14 vs. Syracuse+37Syracuse
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsSamfordW 28–⁠781%
Sep 11at20ClemsonW 28–⁠2433%
Sep 18atNorth CarolinaL 13–⁠3464%
Oct 2vs4MiamiL 3–⁠2730%
Oct 9at23MarylandW 20–⁠723%
Oct 16vsDukeW 24–⁠778%
Oct 28vs22Virginia TechL 20–⁠3448%
Nov 6atNC StateW 24–⁠1438%
Nov 13vsUConnW 30–⁠1063%
Nov 20vs18VirginiaL 10–⁠3050%
Nov 27at8GeorgiaL 13–⁠1923%
Dec 21Bowls & playoffvsSyracuseChamps Sports BowlW 51–⁠1447%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Syracuse 51–⁠14 in the Champs Sports Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 49th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

Record
7–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
264–⁠227
Coach
Chan Gailey
Elo
1586 +57 this season
SP+ rating
12.4 No. 30 of 120; offense No. 69, defense No. 13
SRS
5.9 No. 36 of 119 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 48
Offensive coordinator
Patrick Nix
Defensive coordinator
Jon Tenuta
Offense
Mixed shotgun and ace
Defense
Zone blitz

How good, play by play

  • Offense84th of 118
  • Defense13th of 118
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.1335%1.0684th of 118
Defense-0.1329%1.1613th 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-0.1own 342% 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

Calvin Johnson WR★★★★★No. 23
Gary Guyton OLB★★No. 831
Eric Williams S★★No. 831
Andrew Gardner OT★★No. 979
Drew Gause APB★★No. 979

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

The 2004 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.00.733
Running backs12.00.767
Receivers33.00.811
Offensive line42.00.750
Defensive line22.00.756
Linebackers12.00.789
Defensive backs22.00.755
Athletes and specialists12.00.767
Whole class162.20.765

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.

All-ACC

2 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2004 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2004 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Virginia Tech7–⁠110–⁠310
Florida State6–⁠29–⁠315
Miami5–⁠39–⁠311
Virginia5–⁠38–⁠423
North Carolina5–⁠36–⁠6
Georgia Tech4–⁠47–⁠5
Clemson4–⁠46–⁠5
NC State3–⁠55–⁠6
Maryland3–⁠55–⁠6
Wake Forest1–⁠74–⁠7
Duke1–⁠72–⁠9

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