CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2004 Northwestern

6–⁠6 (5–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Randy Walker.

Schedule and results

Northwestern in 2004, game by game: lost at TCU 45–48; lost vs. Arizona State 21–30; won vs. Kansas 20–17; lost at No. 19 Minnesota 17–43; won vs. No. 7 Ohio State 33–27; won vs. Indiana 31–24; lost at No. 6 Wisconsin 12–24; won vs. No. 17 Purdue 13–10; won at Penn State 14–7; lost at No. 9 Michigan 20–42; won vs. Illinois 28–21; lost at Hawai’i 41–49+7−26Lost 45–48 at TCU-3TCULost 21–30 vs. Arizona State-9Arizona StateWon 20–17 vs. Kansas+3KansasLost 17–43 at No. 19 Minnesota-26No. 19 MinnesotaWon 33–27 vs. No. 7 Ohio State+6No. 7 Ohio StateWon 31–24 vs. Indiana+7IndianaLost 12–24 at No. 6 Wisconsin-12No. 6 WisconsinWon 13–10 vs. No. 17 Purdue+3No. 17 PurdueWon 14–7 at Penn State+7Penn StateLost 20–42 at No. 9 Michigan-22No. 9 MichiganWon 28–21 vs. Illinois+7IllinoisLost 41–49 at Hawai’i-8Hawai’i
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2atTCUL 45–⁠4826%
Sep 11vsArizona StateL 21–⁠3054%
Sep 18vsKansasW 20–⁠1749%
Sep 25at19MinnesotaL 17–⁠4321%
Oct 2vs7Ohio StateW 33–⁠2723%
Oct 9vsIndianaW 31–⁠2472%
Oct 23at6WisconsinL 12–⁠2422%
Oct 30vs17PurdueW 13–⁠1033%
Nov 6atPenn StateW 14–⁠749%
Nov 13at9MichiganL 20–⁠4218%
Nov 20vsIllinoisW 28–⁠2177%
Nov 27atHawai’iL 41–⁠4947%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Hawai’i 49–⁠41; unranked in the final AP poll; 4th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 52nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

Record
6–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠3 4th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
295–⁠342
Coach
Randy Walker
Elo
1498 +22 this season
SP+ rating
3.9 No. 56 of 120; offense No. 45, defense No. 59
SRS
0.6 No. 61 of 119 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 90
Offensive coordinator
Mike Dunbar
Defensive coordinator
Greg Colby
Captains
John Pickens, Luis Castillo, Noah Herron and Matt Ulrich
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense36th of 118
  • Defense50th of 118
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0238%1.0536th of 118
Defense-0.0536%1.0350th 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 301% allowed
Defense0.0own 322% 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

Rejaie Johnson OLB★★No. 831
Brandon Roberson APB★★No. 831
Matt Clark DT★★No. 979
David Oredugba CB★★No. 979
Gerrard Hamlett RB★★No. 979

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

The 2004 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs32.00.752
Receivers32.00.744
Defensive line22.00.756
Linebackers12.00.789
Defensive backs12.00.767
Whole class102.00.756

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 1Luis Castillo DTSan Diego Chargers
Rd 3Trai Essex OTPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 7Noah Herron RBPittsburgh Steelers

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

  • Noah HerronRBCoaches-2; Media-2
  • Zach StriefOTCoaches-2; Media-2
  • Luis CastilloDLCoaches-2; Media-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.