2004 Southern Miss
7–5 (5–3 Conference USA), coached by Jeff Bower. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat East Carolina 51–10Oct 23
By 41 points, its widest win.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 11 | at Nebraska | W 21–17 | 35% |
| Sep 25 | at Tulane | W 32–14 | 62% |
| Oct 2 | at South Florida | W 27–20 | 54% |
| Oct 7 | vs Houston | W 35–29 | 82% |
| Oct 16 | at Alabama | L 3–27 | 54% |
| Oct 23 | vs East Carolina | W 51–10 | 87% |
| Nov 6 | vs Cincinnati | L 24–52 | 70% |
| Nov 12 | at Memphis | L 26–30 | 46% |
| Nov 20 | at TCU | L 17–42 | 45% |
| Nov 27 | vs UAB | W 26–21 | 58% |
| Dec 4 | vs 4California | L 16–26 | 30% |
| Dec 14Bowls & playoff | vs North TexasNew Orleans Bowl | W 31–10 | 46% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat North Texas 31–10 in the New Orleans Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Conference USA.
In program history: The 21st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 90 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 8: 24
- Wk 10: 25
- Wk 11: 21
- Record
- 7–5
- Conference
- 5–3 tied for 2nd in Conference USA
- AP final
- Unranked peak No. 21
- Points
- 309–298
- Coach
- Jeff Bower
- Elo
- 1542 −16 this season
- SP+ rating
- -0.7 No. 68 of 120; offense No. 69, defense No. 63
- SRS
- −2.0 No. 71 of 119 in Division I-A
- Recruiting class
- No. 65
- Offensive coordinator
- Rip Scherer
- Defensive coordinator
- Tyrone Nix
- Offense
- Pro-style
- Defense
- 3–4
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.04 | 30% | 1.12 | 42nd of 118 |
| Defense | -0.07 | 38% | 0.98 | 43rd 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 | -0.3 | own 27 | 2% allowed |
| Defense | 0.0 | own 31 | 3% 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
| Cole Mason FB | ★★ | No. 831 |
| Shawn Nelson WR | ★★ | No. 979 |
| Cedrick Jones WDE | ★★ | No. 979 |
| Wesley Housley OG | ★★ | No. 979 |
| Dustin Danzle S | ★★ | No. 979 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2004 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Running backs | 3 | 2.0 | 0.767 |
| Receivers | 2 | 2.0 | 0.756 |
| Offensive line | 2 | 2.0 | 0.767 |
| Defensive line | 2 | 2.0 | 0.756 |
| Defensive backs | 1 | 2.0 | 0.767 |
| Athletes and specialists | 1 | 2.0 | 0.767 |
| Whole class | 11 | 2.0 | 0.763 |
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 5 | Michael Boley LB | Atlanta Falcons |
| Rd 7 | Jeremy Parquet OT | Kansas City Chiefs |
2004 Conference USA standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 Louisville | 8–0 | 11–1 | 6 |
| Memphis | 5–3 | 8–4 | |
| UAB | 5–3 | 7–5 | |
 Southern Miss | 5–3 | 7–5 | |
| Cincinnati | 5–3 | 7–5 | |
| TCU | 3–5 | 5–6 | |
| Tulane | 3–5 | 5–6 | |
| South Florida | 3–5 | 4–7 | |
| Houston | 3–5 | 3–8 | |
 Army | 2–6 | 2–9 | |
| East Carolina | 2–6 | 2–9 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.