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2004 Louisville

11–⁠1 (8–⁠0 Conference USA), coached by Bobby Petrino, finished No. 6 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Louisville in 2004, game by game: won vs. Kentucky 28–0; won at Army 52–21; won at North Carolina 34–0; won vs. East Carolina 59–7; lost at No. 3 Miami 38–41; won vs. South Florida 41–9; won at Memphis 56–49; won vs. TCU 55–28; won at Houston 65–27; won vs. Cincinnati 70–7; won at Tulane 55–7; won vs. No. 11 Boise State 44–40+63−3Won 28–0 vs. Kentucky+28KentuckyWon 52–21 at Army+31ArmyWon 34–0 at North Carolina+34North CarolinaWon 59–7 vs. East Carolina+52East CarolinaLost 38–41 at No. 3 Miami-3No. 3 MiamiWon 41–9 vs. South Florida+32South FloridaWon 56–49 at Memphis+7MemphisWon 55–28 vs. TCU+27TCUWon 65–27 at Houston+38HoustonWon 70–7 vs. Cincinnati+63CincinnatiWon 55–7 at Tulane+48TulaneWon 44–40 vs. No. 11 Boise State+4No. 11 Boise State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsKentuckyW 28–⁠069%
Sep 11atArmyW 52–⁠2180%
Sep 25atNorth CarolinaW 34–⁠060%
Oct 2vsEast CarolinaW 59–⁠788%
Oct 14at3MiamiL 38–⁠4126%
Oct 22vsSouth FloridaW 41–⁠976%
Nov 4atMemphisW 56–⁠4953%
Nov 10vsTCUW 55–⁠2872%
Nov 20atHoustonW 65–⁠2774%
Nov 27vsCincinnatiW 70–⁠770%
Dec 4atTulaneW 55–⁠773%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs11Boise StateLiberty BowlW 44–⁠4044%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Boise State 44–⁠40 in the Liberty Bowl; No. 6 in the final AP poll; Conference USA champions.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 82 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 24
  2. Wk 5: 24
  3. Wk 6: 22
  4. Wk 7: 20
  5. Wk 8: 18
  6. Wk 9: 15
  7. Wk 10: 14
  8. Wk 11: 14
  9. Wk 12: 12
  10. Wk 13: 8
  11. Wk 14: 7
  12. Wk 15: 7
  13. Final: 6

Conference USA champions8–⁠0 in the conference

Led the nationStefan LeFors: passer rating (181.7)

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Conference USA
AP final
No. 6 peak No. 6
Points
597–⁠236
Coach
Bobby Petrino
Elo
1736 +193 this season
SP+ rating
24.0 No. 7 of 120; offense No. 2, defense No. 67
SRS
18.9 No. 6 of 119 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 63
Offensive coordinator
Paul Petrino
Defensive coordinator
Mike Cassity
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense5th of 118
  • Defense10th of 118
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0947%1.035th of 118
Defense-0.1434%0.9310th 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 361% allowed
Defense0.0own 292% 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 Brohm PRO★★★★No. 49
Jeremy Darveau OT★★★No. 821
Scott Kuhn TE★★No. 831
Gary Barnidge TE★★No. 1839
Phillip Moody OT★★No. 1839

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

The 2004 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.978
Running backs12.00.700
Receivers22.00.767
Offensive line42.30.753
Defensive line32.00.730
Linebackers12.00.722
Whole class122.30.761

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 2Eric Shelton RBCarolina Panthers
Rd 4Stefan LeFors QBCarolina Panthers
Rd 4Kerry Rhodes DBNew York Jets
Rd 5Robert McCune LBWashington Redskins
Rd 7Lionel Gates RBBuffalo Bills
Rd 7J.R. Russell WRTampa Bay Buccaneers

2004 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Louisville8–⁠011–⁠16
Memphis5–⁠38–⁠4
UAB5–⁠37–⁠5
Southern Miss5–⁠37–⁠5
Cincinnati5–⁠37–⁠5
TCU3–⁠55–⁠6
Tulane3–⁠55–⁠6
South Florida3–⁠54–⁠7
Houston3–⁠53–⁠8
Army2–⁠62–⁠9
East Carolina2–⁠62–⁠9

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