American college football season
The 2004 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season . The Gators competed in Division I-A of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. The season was the third and last for head coach Ron Zook , who led the Gators to a regular season record of 7–4 (.636).
Pre-season [ ] For the fifth time in school history, Florida played five of its first six games at home. Four of the last five games were on the road. Florida's record for the two prior seasons under Zook on the road in conference play was an SEC league best 7–1. Eight starters returned and true sophomore Chris Leak would start the first game of the season at the helm for the first time. The Gators opened the season against Eastern Michigan from the Mid-American Conference.
Schedule [ ] Date Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 11 Eastern Michigan * No. 11 PPV W 49–1090,009 September 18 at No. 13 Tennessee No. 11 CBS L 28–30109,061 September 25 Kentucky No. 16 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL ESPN2 W 20–389,741 October 2 Arkansas No. 16 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL CBS W 45–3090,014 October 9 No. 24 LSU No. 12 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry ) ESPN L 21–2490,377 October 16 Middle Tennessee * No. 22 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL PPV W 52–1690,018 October 23 at Mississippi State No. 19 JPS L 31–3843,170 October 30 vs. No. 7 Georgia CBS L 24–3184,753 November 6 at Vanderbilt PPV W 34–1732,716 November 13 South Carolina Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL ESPN2 W 48–1490,294 November 20 at No. 10 Florida State * ESPN W 20–1384,223 December 31 vs. No. 14 Miami (FL) * No. 19 ESPN L 10–2769,322 *Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
Sources: 2012 Florida Football Media Guide ,[2] [3]
Game summaries [ ] Eastern Michigan [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Eastern Michigan
3
7 0 10
20
• Florida
7
21 21 0
49
Tennessee [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Florida
7
14 0 7
28
• Tennessee
7
7 0 16
30
Kentucky [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Kentucky
3
0 0 0
3
• Florida
3
7 3 7
20
Date: September 25Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
Arkansas [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Arkansas
0
7 7 16
30
• Florida
7
28 3 7
45
Date: October 2Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
LSU [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• LSU
0
14 3 7
24
Florida
14
7 0 0
21
Date: October 9Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
Middle Tennessee State [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Middle Tennessee St
3
10 3 0
16
• Florida
17
14 21 0
52
Date: October 16Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
The match with MTSU was intended to be the season opener for the Gators, but was canceled and rescheduled because of Hurricane Frances . This left the Gators without a regular-season bye week.
Mississippi State [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Florida
0
14 10 7
31
• Mississippi St
7
10 7 14
38
Following this loss, head coach Ron Zook was fired, but allowed to coach the remainder of the season.
Georgia [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Florida
0
0 7 10
17
• Georgia
7
7 3 7
24
Vanderbilt [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Florida
7
7 0 10
24
Vanderbilt
10
7 0 0
17
South Carolina [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
South Carolina
7
0 0 7
14
• Florida
0
21 10 17
48
Date: November 13Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
Florida State [ ]
Florida Gators at #8 Florida State Seminoles
1
2
3 4 Total
Florida
7
3
0 10 20
Florida St
0
3
0 10 13
at Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, Florida
Date : November 20Game time : 7:45 EDTGame weather : 68 °F (20 °C) • Wind S 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn) to 12 miles per hour (19 km/h; 10 kn)Game attendance : 84,223Referee : Steve ShawGatorzone.com
show
Florida Chris Leak
Ciatrick Fason
Chad Jackson
Florida St Will Sexton
Lorenzo Booker
Chauncey Stovall
Ron Zook's last game as head coach of the Florida Gators and spoiled the dedication of the field for Bobby Bowden .
show
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
FLA
FSU
1
7:56
14
97
4:46
Florida
Chad Jackson 13-yard touchdown reception from Chris Leak , Matt Leach kick good
7
0
2
9:01
10
59
3:25
Florida
38-yard field goal by Matt Leach
10
0
2
0:17
8
32
2:58
Florida St
20-yard field goal by Gary Cismesia
10
3
4
11:51
9
74
3:05
Florida
21-yard field goal by Matt Leach
13
3
4
8:30
7
80
3:21
Florida St
Chauncey Stovall 27-yard touchdown reception from Chris Rix , Xavier Beitia kick good
13
10
4
4:59
9
80
3:26
Florida
Ciatrick Fason 8-yard touchdown run, Matt Leach kick good
20
10
4
3:48
4
-10
0:57
Florida St
52-yard field goal by Xavier Beitia
20
13
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
20
13
Peach Bowl [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
Florida
0
3 7 0
10
• Miami (FL)
7
10 7 3
27
Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong was interim head coach for the bowl game.
Coaching staff [ ] References [ ]
^ University of Florida Sports Information Department. "Florida 2004 Media Guide" (PDF) . floridagators.com . University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved 15 March 2018 . ^ 2012 Florida Football Media Guide Archived 2013-05-27 at the Wayback Machine ^ GatorZone.com, Football, History, Florida Football 2004 Archived 2012-05-02 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved November 25, 2011.
Bibliography [ ] 2009 Southeastern Conference Football Media Guide , Florida Year-by-Year Records, Southeastern Conference, Birmingham, Alabama, p. 60 (2009).Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators , Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN 0-7948-2298-3 . show Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
