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2004 Utah

12–⁠0 (7–⁠0 Mountain West Conference), coached by Urban Meyer, then Kyle Whittingham (co-head coach, bowl game), finished No. 4 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Utah in 2004, game by game: won vs. Texas A&M 41–21; won at Arizona 23–6; won at Utah State 48–6; won vs. Air Force 49–35; won at New Mexico 28–7; won vs. North Carolina 46–16; won vs. UNLV 63–28; won at San Diego State 51–28; won vs. Colorado State 63–31; won at Wyoming 45–28; won vs. BYU 52–21; won vs. No. 19 Pittsburgh 35–7+42Won 41–21 vs. Texas A&M+20Texas A&MWon 23–6 at Arizona+17ArizonaWon 48–6 at Utah State+42Utah StateWon 49–35 vs. Air Force+14Air ForceWon 28–7 at New Mexico+21New MexicoWon 46–16 vs. North Carolina+30North CarolinaWon 63–28 vs. UNLV+35UNLVWon 51–28 at San Diego State+23San Diego StateWon 63–31 vs. Colorado State+32Colorado StateWon 45–28 at Wyoming+17WyomingWon 52–21 vs. BYU+31BYUWon 35–7 vs. No. 19 Pittsburgh+28No. 19 Pittsburgh
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsTexas A&MW 41–⁠2174%
Sep 11atArizonaW 23–⁠668%
Sep 18atUtah StateW 48–⁠675%
Sep 25vsAir ForceW 49–⁠3575%
Oct 1atNew MexicoW 28–⁠757%
Oct 16vsNorth CarolinaW 46–⁠1685%
Oct 23vsUNLVW 63–⁠2887%
Oct 30atSan Diego StateW 51–⁠2878%
Nov 6vsColorado StateW 63–⁠3184%
Nov 13atWyomingW 45–⁠2876%
Nov 20vsBYUW 52–⁠2185%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs19PittsburghFiesta BowlW 35–⁠767%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Pittsburgh 35–⁠7 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 4 in the final AP poll; Mountain West Conference champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 20
  2. Wk 3: 17
  3. Wk 4: 15
  4. Wk 5: 14
  5. Wk 6: 14
  6. Wk 7: 11
  7. Wk 8: 11
  8. Wk 9: 9
  9. Wk 10: 9
  10. Wk 11: 7
  11. Wk 12: 7
  12. Wk 13: 5
  13. Wk 14: 5
  14. Wk 15: 5
  15. Final: 4

Mountain West Conference champions7–⁠0 in the conference

Heisman voteAlex Smith, fourth

Eddie Robinson Coach of the YearUrban Meyer, coach

Record
12–⁠0
Conference
7–⁠0 first in Mountain West Conference
AP final
No. 4 peak No. 4
Points
544–⁠234
Coach
Urban Meyer, then Kyle Whittingham (co-head coach, bowl game)
Elo
1765 +171 this season
SP+ rating
23.6 No. 8 of 120; offense No. 3, defense No. 49
SRS
24.2 No. 2 of 119 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 61
Offensive coordinator
Mike Sanford
Defensive coordinator
Kyle Whittingham
Offense
Spread option
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense2nd of 118
  • Defense24th of 118
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1246%0.992nd of 118
Defense-0.1134%0.9624th 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 332% allowed
Defense-0.1own 292% 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

Justin Weatherall-Walker WR★★No. 979
Bryce Scanlon SDE★★No. 979
Afa Garrigan S★★No. 979
Pete Moleni SDE★★No. 979
Matt Mason CB★★No. 979

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

The 2004 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers22.00.767
Offensive line12.00.767
Defensive line32.00.767
Defensive backs22.00.767
Whole class82.00.767

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.

Drafted in 2005

The 2005 draft
Rd 1Alex Smith QBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 3Sione Pouha DTNew York Jets
Rd 6Chris Kemoeatu OGPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 7Paris Warren WRTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 7Jonathan Fanene DECincinnati Bengals

2004 Mountain West Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Utah7–⁠012–⁠04
New Mexico5–⁠27–⁠5
BYU4–⁠35–⁠6
Wyoming3–⁠47–⁠5
Air Force3–⁠45–⁠6
Colorado State3–⁠44–⁠7
San Diego State2–⁠54–⁠7
UNLV1–⁠62–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.