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2004 Notre Dame

6–⁠6, coached by Tyrone Willingham, then Kent Baer (interim, bowl game).

Schedule and results

Notre Dame in 2004, game by game: lost at BYU 17–20; won vs. No. 8 Michigan 28–20; won at Michigan State 31–24; won vs. Washington 38–3; lost vs. No. 15 Purdue 16–41; won vs. Stanford 23–15; won vs. Navy 27–9; lost vs. Boston College 23–24; won at No. 9 Tennessee 17–13; lost vs. Pittsburgh 38–41; lost at No. 1 USC 10–41; lost vs. Oregon State 21–38+35−31Lost 17–20 at BYU-3BYUWon 28–20 vs. No. 8 Michigan+8No. 8 MichiganWon 31–24 at Michigan State+7Michigan StateWon 38–3 vs. Washington+35WashingtonLost 16–41 vs. No. 15 Purdue-25No. 15 PurdueWon 23–15 vs. Stanford+8StanfordWon 27–9 vs. Navy+18NavyLost 23–24 vs. Boston College-1Boston CollegeWon 17–13 at No. 9 Tennessee+4No. 9 TennesseeLost 38–41 vs. Pittsburgh-3PittsburghLost 10–41 at No. 1 USC-31No. 1 USCLost 21–38 vs. Oregon State-17Oregon State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4atBYUL 17–⁠2053%
Sep 11vs8MichiganW 28–⁠2032%
Sep 18atMichigan StateW 31–⁠2444%
Sep 25vsWashingtonW 38–⁠369%
Oct 2vs15PurdueL 16–⁠4150%
Oct 9vsStanfordW 23–⁠1563%
Oct 16vsNavyW 27–⁠954%
Oct 23vsBoston CollegeL 23–⁠2455%
Nov 6at9TennesseeW 17–⁠1330%
Nov 13vsPittsburghL 38–⁠4164%
Nov 27at1USCL 10–⁠4115%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsOregon StateInsight BowlL 21–⁠3845%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oregon State 38–⁠21 in the Insight Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 107th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 131 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 9: 24
  2. Wk 12: 24
Record
6–⁠6
Conference
—
AP final
Unranked peak No. 24
Points
289–⁠289
Coach
Tyrone Willingham, then Kent Baer (interim, bowl game)
Elo
1556 +34 this season
SP+ rating
12.6 No. 29 of 120; offense No. 42, defense No. 29
SRS
7.2 No. 30 of 119 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 35
Offensive coordinator
Bill Diedrick
Defensive coordinator
Kent Baer
Most valuable player
Justin Tuck
Offense
West Coast
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense49th of 118
  • Defense66th of 118
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0536%1.0349th of 118
Defense-0.0336%1.0866th 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 313% 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

Anthony Vernaglia ATH★★★★No. 123
Abdel Banda OLB★★No. 831
Darrin Bragg DUAL★★No. 979
Leo Ferrine S★★No. 979
Tregg Duerson CB★★No. 2113

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

The 2004 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks12.00.767
Linebackers12.00.789
Defensive backs22.00.733
Athletes and specialists14.00.922
Whole class52.40.789

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 3Justin Tuck DENew York Giants
Rd 5Jerome Collins TESt. Louis Rams