CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2004 Minnesota

7–⁠5 (3–⁠5 Big Ten), coached by Glen Mason.

Schedule and results

Minnesota in 2004, game by game: won vs. Toledo 63–21; won vs. Illinois State 37–21; won at Colorado State 34–16; won vs. Northwestern 43–17; won vs. Penn State 16–7; lost at No. 14 Michigan 24–27; lost at Michigan State 17–51; won vs. Illinois 45–0; lost at Indiana 21–30; lost at No. 5 Wisconsin 14–38; lost vs. No. 19 Iowa 27–29; won vs. Alabama 20–16+45−34Won 63–21 vs. Toledo+42ToledoWon 37–21 vs. Illinois State+16Illinois StateWon 34–16 at Colorado State+18Colorado StateWon 43–17 vs. Northwestern+26NorthwesternWon 16–7 vs. Penn State+9Penn StateLost 24–27 at No. 14 Michigan-3No. 14 MichiganLost 17–51 at Michigan State-34Michigan StateWon 45–0 vs. Illinois+45IllinoisLost 21–30 at Indiana-9IndianaLost 14–38 at No. 5 Wisconsin-24No. 5 WisconsinLost 27–29 vs. No. 19 Iowa-2No. 19 IowaWon 20–16 vs. Alabama+4Alabama
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsToledoW 63–⁠2162%
Sep 11vsIllinois StateW 37–⁠2187%
Sep 18atColorado StateW 34–⁠1656%
Sep 25vsNorthwesternW 43–⁠1779%
Oct 2vsPenn StateW 16–⁠777%
Oct 9at14MichiganL 24–⁠2737%
Oct 16atMichigan StateL 17–⁠5161%
Oct 23vsIllinoisW 45–⁠085%
Oct 30atIndianaL 21–⁠3076%
Nov 6at5WisconsinL 14–⁠3830%
Nov 13vs19IowaL 27–⁠2942%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsAlabamaMusic City BowlW 20–⁠1649%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Alabama 20–⁠16 in the Music City Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 8th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 62nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 25
  2. Wk 3: 22
  3. Wk 4: 22
  4. Wk 5: 19
  5. Wk 6: 18
  6. Wk 7: 13
  7. Wk 8: 19
  8. Wk 10: 24
Record
7–⁠5
Conference
3–⁠5 8th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 13
Points
361–⁠273
Coach
Glen Mason
Elo
1561 −12 this season
SP+ rating
10.7 No. 32 of 120; offense No. 35, defense No. 43
SRS
5.2 No. 39 of 119 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 53
Offensive coordinators
Mitch Browning and Tony Petersen
Defensive coordinator
Greg Hudson
Captains
Greg Eslinger, Justin Fraley, Rian Melander and Darrell Reid

How good, play by play

  • Offense14th of 118
  • Defense88th of 118
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0437%1.1114th of 118
Defense0.0239%1.0588th 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
Offense0.0own 282% 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

William Brody WDE★★No. 831
Everett Pedescleaux TE★★No. 831
Tommy Leavitt TE★★No. 831
Maurice Alexander APB★★No. 979
Hussain Shakir CB★★No. 979

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

The 2004 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.744
Running backs22.00.756
Receivers32.00.774
Defensive line32.00.763
Linebackers22.00.744
Defensive backs12.00.767
Athletes and specialists22.00.767
Whole class142.00.761

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 4Marion Barber RBDallas Cowboys

All-Big Ten

5 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

  • Darrell ReidDLMedia-2

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

2004 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Iowa7–⁠110–⁠28
Michigan7–⁠19–⁠314
Wisconsin6–⁠29–⁠317
Northwestern5–⁠36–⁠6
Ohio State4–⁠48–⁠420
Purdue4–⁠47–⁠5
Michigan State4–⁠45–⁠7
Minnesota3–⁠57–⁠5
Penn State2–⁠64–⁠7
Illinois1–⁠73–⁠8
Indiana1–⁠73–⁠8

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