2004 Rice
3–8 (2–6 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Ken Hatfield. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat SMU 44–10Oct 9
By 34 points, its widest win.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | vs Houston | W 10–7 | 58% |
| Sep 18 | vs Hawai’i | W 41–29 | 54% |
| Sep 25 | at 5Texas | L 13–35 | 19% |
| Oct 2 | at San José State | L 63–70 | 60% |
| Oct 9 | vs SMU | W 44–10 | 76% |
| Oct 16 | at Nevada | L 10–35 | 55% |
| Oct 23 | at Navy | L 13–14 | 32% |
| Oct 30 | at Tulsa | L 22–39 | 51% |
| Nov 6 | vs Fresno State | L 21–52 | 35% |
| Nov 13 | at 23UTEP | L 28–35 | 29% |
| Nov 29 | vs Louisiana Tech | L 14–51 | 49% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Louisiana Tech 51–14; unranked in the final AP poll; 9th in the Western Athletic Conference.
In program history: The 96th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 115 on file).
- Record
- 3–8
- Conference
- 2–6 9th in Western Athletic Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 279–377
- Coach
- Ken Hatfield
- Elo
- 1334 −126 this season
- SP+ rating
- -13.0 No. 98 of 120; offense No. 65, defense No. 103
- SRS
- −9.7 No. 95 of 119 in Division I-A
- Recruiting class
- No. 110
- Offensive coordinator
- Scott Wachenheim
- Defensive coordinator
- Roger Hinshaw
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.17 | 34% | 0.93 | 106th of 118 |
| Defense | 0.03 | 42% | 0.98 | 90th 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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.0 | own 38 | 1% allowed |
| Defense | 0.0 | own 29 | 2% 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
| Nathan Miller OG | ★★ | No. 831 |
| Bencil Smith CB | ★★ | No. 979 |
| Jonathan Carroll APB | ★★ | No. 979 |
| Will Moss TE | ★★ | No. 979 |
| Ja’Corey Shepherd CB | ★★ | No. 979 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2004 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Running backs | 1 | 2.0 | 0.767 |
| Receivers | 2 | 2.0 | 0.767 |
| Offensive line | 3 | 2.0 | 0.767 |
| Defensive line | 3 | 2.0 | 0.767 |
| Defensive backs | 2 | 2.0 | 0.767 |
| Whole class | 11 | 2.0 | 0.767 |
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 Western Athletic Conference standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 Boise State | 8–0 | 11–1 | 12 |
| UTEP | 6–2 | 8–4 | |
| Fresno State | 5–3 | 9–3 | 22 |
| Louisiana Tech | 5–3 | 6–6 | |
| Hawai’i | 4–4 | 8–5 | |
| Nevada | 3–5 | 5–7 | |
| Tulsa | 3–5 | 4–8 | |
| SMU | 3–5 | 3–8 | |
 Rice | 2–6 | 3–8 | |
| San José State | 1–7 | 2–9 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.