CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2004 Northern Illinois

9–⁠3 (7–⁠1 Mid-American Conference), coached by Joe Novak.

Schedule and results

Northern Illinois in 2004, game by game: lost at Maryland 20–23; won vs. Southern Illinois 23–22; lost at Iowa State 41–48; won vs. Bowling Green 34–17; won vs. Akron 49–19; won at UCF 30–28; won vs. Central Michigan 42–10; won at Western Michigan 59–38; won at Ball State 38–31; lost vs. Toledo 17–31; won at Eastern Michigan 34–16; won vs. Troy 34–21+32−14Lost 20–23 at Maryland-3MarylandWon 23–22 vs. Southern Illinois+1Southern Illino…Lost 41–48 at Iowa State-7Iowa StateWon 34–17 vs. Bowling Green+17Bowling GreenWon 49–19 vs. Akron+30AkronWon 30–28 at UCF+2UCFWon 42–10 vs. Central Michigan+32Central MichiganWon 59–38 at Western Michigan+21Western MichiganWon 38–31 at Ball State+7Ball StateLost 17–31 vs. Toledo-14ToledoWon 34–16 at Eastern Michigan+18Eastern MichiganWon 34–21 vs. Troy+13Troy
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4atMarylandL 20–⁠2332%
Sep 11vsSouthern IllinoisW 23–⁠2273%
Sep 18atIowa StateL 41–⁠4863%
Sep 24vsBowling GreenW 34–⁠1752%
Oct 2vsAkronW 49–⁠1974%
Oct 9atUCFW 30–⁠2877%
Oct 16vsCentral MichiganW 42–⁠1085%
Oct 23atWestern MichiganW 59–⁠3876%
Oct 30atBall StateW 38–⁠3178%
Nov 9vsToledoL 17–⁠3165%
Nov 20atEastern MichiganW 34–⁠1676%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvsTroySilicon Valley Football ClassicW 34–⁠2158%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Troy 34–⁠21 in the Silicon Valley Football Classic; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Mid-American Conference.

In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 61 on file).

MAC West champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Toledo

Led the nationDan Sheldon: yards per catch (23.4)

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
421–⁠304
Coach
Joe Novak
Elo
1611 +44 this season
SP+ rating
4.0 No. 55 of 120; offense No. 23, defense No. 82
SRS
0.0 No. 65 of 119 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 87
Offensive coordinator
John Bond
Defensive coordinator
Denny Doornbos
Captains
Brian Atkinson, Josh Haldi, Lionel Hickenbottom and Jake VerStraete
Most valuable player
Garrett Wolfe and Brian Atkinson

How good, play by play

  • Offense98th of 118
  • Defense46th of 118
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.1532%0.9998th of 118
Defense-0.0635%1.0146th 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-0.2own 314% allowed
Defense0.0own 352% 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

Brandon Beal TE★★No. 979
Larry English OLB★★No. 979
Chris Carr DUAL★★No. 979
Ryan Tuggle TE★★No. 979
Bryan Holicek DT★★No. 979

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

The 2004 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.767
Running backs12.00.744
Receivers52.00.762
Offensive line22.00.761
Defensive line32.00.759
Linebackers22.00.767
Athletes and specialists32.00.752
Whole class172.00.760

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.

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.