2004 Syracuse
6–6 (4–2 Big East), coached by Paul Pasqualoni. Officially 0–6: the NCAA vacated six regular-season wins. Share
From the season’s Wikipedia article: “In 2015, Syracuse vacated the six wins from this season among others from the 2005 and 2006 seasons following an eight-year investigation, as the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) found that some players who committed academic fraud participated in the wins.”
Schedule and results
- Biggest upsetBeat No. 17 Boston College 43–17Nov 27
Boston College was ranked No. 17, above it.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | at Purdue | L 0–51 | 32% |
| Sep 11 | at Buffalo | W 37–17vacated | 70% |
| Sep 18 | vs Cincinnati | W 19–7vacated | 59% |
| Sep 25 | at 12Virginia | L 10–31 | 29% |
| Oct 2 | vs Rutgers | W 41–31vacated | 69% |
| Oct 9 | vs 8Florida State | L 13–17 | 38% |
| Oct 21 | at 15West Virginia | L 6–27 | 26% |
| Oct 30 | vs UConn | W 42–30vacated | 51% |
| Nov 6 | vs Pittsburgh | W 38–31vacated | 50% |
| Nov 13 | at Temple | L 24–34 | 76% |
| Nov 27 | at 17Boston College | W 43–17vacated | 22% |
| Dec 21Bowls & playoff | vs Georgia TechChamps Sports Bowl | L 14–51 | 53% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Georgia Tech 51–14 in the Champs Sports Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Big East champions.
In program history: The 63rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).
Big East champions4–2 in the conference, shared with Boston College, Pittsburgh and West Virginia
- Record
- 6–6
- Conference
- 4–2 shared first in Big East
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 287–344
- Coach
- Paul Pasqualoni
- Elo
- 1528 +8 this season
- SP+ rating
- 4.4 No. 54 of 120; offense No. 47, defense No. 58
- SRS
- 0.0 No. 65 of 119 in Division I-A
- Recruiting class
- No. 59
- Offensive coordinator
- George DeLeone
- Defensive coordinator
- Steve Dunlap
- Captains
- Julian Pollard, Walter Reyes and Matt Tarullo
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | -0.13 | 33% | 1.01 | 81st of 118 |
| Defense | -0.03 | 40% | 0.89 | 65th 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 | -0.1 | own 34 | 2% allowed |
| Defense | 0.0 | own 30 | 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
| Jonathan Pierre-Etienne SDE | ★★★ | No. 821 |
| Jamar Atkinson OLB | ★★★ | No. 821 |
| Tommy Moss WR | ★★ | No. 831 |
| Quinton Brown ATH | ★★ | No. 831 |
| Jhamal Fluellen RB | ★★ | No. 979 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2004 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 2.0 | 0.722 |
| Running backs | 6 | 2.0 | 0.743 |
| Receivers | 2 | 2.0 | 0.778 |
| Offensive line | 3 | 2.0 | 0.752 |
| Defensive line | 2 | 2.5 | 0.783 |
| Linebackers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.800 |
| Defensive backs | 3 | 2.0 | 0.752 |
| Athletes and specialists | 1 | 2.0 | 0.789 |
| Whole class | 19 | 2.1 | 0.758 |
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 2 | Adam Terry OT | Baltimore Ravens |
2004 Big East standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boston College | 4–2 | 9–3 | 21 |
| West Virginia | 4–2 | 8–4 | |
| Pittsburgh | 4–2 | 8–4 | 25 |
 Syracuse | 4–2 | 6–6 | |
| UConn | 3–3 | 8–4 | |
| Rutgers | 1–5 | 4–7 | |
| Temple | 1–5 | 2–9 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.