CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2004 Marshall

6–⁠6 (6–⁠2 Mid-American Conference), coached by Bob Pruett.

Schedule and results

Marshall in 2004, game by game: lost vs. Troy 15–17; lost at No. 9 Ohio State 21–24; lost at No. 3 Georgia 3–13; won vs. Miami (OH) 33–25; won at Ohio 16–13; won at Kent State 27–17; won vs. Buffalo 48–14; won vs. UCF 20–3; lost at Akron 28–31; lost at Bowling Green 35–56; won vs. Western Michigan 31–21; lost vs. Cincinnati 14–32+34−21Lost 15–17 vs. Troy-2TroyLost 21–24 at No. 9 Ohio State-3No. 9 Ohio StateLost 3–13 at No. 3 Georgia-10No. 3 GeorgiaWon 33–25 vs. Miami (OH)+8Miami (OH)Won 16–13 at Ohio+3OhioWon 27–17 at Kent State+10Kent StateWon 48–14 vs. Buffalo+34BuffaloWon 20–3 vs. UCF+17UCFLost 28–31 at Akron-3AkronLost 35–56 at Bowling Green-21Bowling GreenWon 31–21 vs. Western Michigan+10Western MichiganLost 14–32 vs. Cincinnati-18Cincinnati
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsTroyL 15–⁠1772%
Sep 11at9Ohio StateL 21–⁠2426%
Sep 18at3GeorgiaL 3–⁠1325%
Sep 29vsMiami (OH)W 33–⁠2548%
Oct 9atOhioW 16–⁠1362%
Oct 16atKent StateW 27–⁠1772%
Oct 23vsBuffaloW 48–⁠1490%
Oct 30vsUCFW 20–⁠389%
Nov 5atAkronL 28–⁠3162%
Nov 13atBowling GreenL 35–⁠5635%
Nov 20vsWestern MichiganW 31–⁠2186%
Dec 23Bowls & playoffvsCincinnatiFort Worth BowlL 14–⁠3251%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Cincinnati 32–⁠14 in the Fort Worth Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 16th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 on file).

Record
6–⁠6
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 4th in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
291–⁠266
Coach
Bob Pruett
Elo
1534 −41 this season
SP+ rating
1.2 No. 63 of 120; offense No. 83, defense No. 44
SRS
−4.7 No. 78 of 119 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 78
Offensive coordinators
Mark McHale and Larry Kueck
Defensive coordinator
Bill Wilt

How good, play by play

  • Offense114th of 118
  • Defense55th of 118
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.2125%1.51114th of 118
Defense-0.0438%0.9555th 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-0.5own 312% allowed
Defense0.0own 272% 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

Marcus Fitzgerald RB★★No. 979
Doug Legursky OG★★No. 979
Jason Kaminski OLB★★No. 979
Phillip Gamble ATH★★No. 979
Jeff Bush WDE★★No. 979

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

The 2004 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.767
Running backs32.00.759
Receivers22.00.756
Offensive line12.00.767
Defensive line32.00.752
Linebackers22.00.767
Defensive backs32.00.767
Athletes and specialists12.00.767
Whole class162.00.761

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 6Johnathan Goddard LBDetroit Lions

2004 Mid-American Conference standings

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.