2004 Florida Gators football team

2004 Florida Gators football
Peach Bowl, L 10–27 vs. Miami (FL)
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 25
Record	7–5 (4–4 SEC)
Head coach	Ron Zook (3rd season; regular season) Charlie Strong (interim, bowl game)
Offensive coordinator	Larry Fedora (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Charlie Strong (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Channing Crowder Mike Degory Ciatrick Fason Travis Harris
Home stadium	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
Seasons ←  2003 2005  →

2004 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
No. 13 Tennessee x		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 7 Georgia		6	–	2					10	–	2
Florida		4	–	4					7	–	5
South Carolina		4	–	4					6	–	5
Kentucky		1	–	7					2	–	9
Vanderbilt		1	–	7					2	–	9
Western Division
No. 2 Auburn x$		8	–	0					13	–	0
No. 16 LSU		6	–	2					9	–	3
Alabama		3	–	5					6	–	6
Arkansas		3	–	5					5	–	6
Ole Miss		3	–	5					4	–	7
Mississippi State		2	–	6					3	–	8
Championship: Auburn 38, Tennessee 28
$ – BCS representative as conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 2004 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida as a member of the Eastern Division in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Ron Zook in his third and final season as head coach, the Gators compiled an overall record of 7–5 with mark of 4–4 in conference play, tying for third place in the SEC's Eastern Division. Florida was invited to the Peach Bowl, where the Gators lost to the Miami Hurricanes. The team played home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus.

Zook was fired after Florida's loss to Mississippi State on October 2004, but coaching the team through the remainder of the regular season before leaving to home the head football coach at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Florida's defensive coordinator, Charlie Strong, was appointed interim head coach for the team's bowl game.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 11	Eastern Michigan *	No. 11	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	PPV	W 49–10	90,009
September 18	at No. 13 Tennessee	No. 11	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	CBS	L 28–30	109,061
September 25	Kentucky	No. 16	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	ESPN2	W 20–3	89,741
October 2	Arkansas	No. 16	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	CBS	W 45–30	90,014
October 9	No. 24 LSU	No. 12	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	ESPN	L 21–24	90,377
October 16	Middle Tennessee *	No. 22	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	PPV	W 52–16	90,018
October 23	at Mississippi State	No. 19	Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS	JPS	L 31–38	43,170
October 30	vs. No. 7 Georgia		Alltel Stadium Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)	CBS	L 24–31	84,753
November 6	at Vanderbilt		Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	PPV	W 34–17	32,716
November 13	South Carolina		Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	ESPN2	W 48–14	90,294
November 20	at No. 10 Florida State *		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)	ESPN	W 20–13	84,223
December 31	vs. No. 14 Miami (FL) *	No. 19	Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA (Peach Bowl, rivalry)	ESPN	L 10–27	69,322
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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Game summaries

Eastern Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total Eastern Michigan 3 7 0 10 20 •Florida 7 21 21 0 49 Date: September 11 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida

Tennessee

1 2 3 4 Total Florida 7 14 0 7 28 •Tennessee 7 7 0 16 30 Date: September 18 Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee

Kentucky

1 2 3 4 Total Kentucky 3 0 0 0 3 •Florida 3 7 3 7 20 Date: September 25 Location: 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 2 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida

LSU

See also: 2004 LSU Tigers football team

1 2 3 4 Total •LSU 0 14 3 7 24 Florida 14 7 0 0 21 Date: October 9 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida

Middle Tennessee

1 2 3 4 Total Middle Tennessee 3 10 3 0 16 •Florida 17 14 21 0 52 Date: October 16 Location: 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 Date: October 23 Location: Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, Mississippi

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 Date: October 30 Location: Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida

See also: 2004 Georgia Bulldogs football team

Vanderbilt

1 2 3 4 Total •Florida 7 7 0 10 24 Vanderbilt 10 7 0 0 17 Date: November 6 Location: Vanderbilt Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee

South Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total South Carolina 7 0 0 7 14 •Florida 0 21 10 17 48 Date: November 13 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida

Florida State

See also: 2004 Florida State Seminoles football team and Florida–Florida State football rivalry

Florida Gators at #8 Florida State Seminoles

Quarter	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 20
• Game time: 7:45 EDT
• Game 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: 84,223
• Referee: Steve Shaw
• Gatorzone.com

Game information
Florida Chris Leak 19/39, 231 Yds, TD, INT Ciatrick Fason 24 Rush, 103 Yds, TD Chad Jackson 3 Rec, 65 Yds, TD Florida St Will Sexton 14/32, 164 Yds, INT Lorenzo Booker 5 Rush, 25 Yds Chauncey Stovall 11 Rec, 181 Yds, TD

Ron Zook's last game as head coach of the Florida Gators and spoiled the dedication of the field for Bobby Bowden.

Scoring summary

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

See also: 2004 Peach Bowl (December)

1 2 3 4 Total Florida 0 3 7 0 10 •Miami (FL) 7 10 7 3 27 Date: December 31 Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta

Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong was interim head coach for the bowl game.

Coaching staff

• Ron Zook – head coach
• Jerry "Red" Anderson – defensive line coach
• Dan Disch – secondary coach
• Dwayne Dixon – assistant head coach / inside receivers coach
• Larry Fedora – offensive coordinator / receivers coach
• Mike Locksley – running backs coach / recruiting coordinator
• Bill Miller – associate head coach / linebackers coach
• Charlie Strong – defensive coordinator/ interim head coach
• Joe Wickline – offensive line coach / running game coordinator
• Ed Zaunbrecher – quarterbacks coach

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2005 NFL draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
3	70	Channing Crowder	LB	Miami Dolphins
4	112	Ciatrick Fason	RB	Minnesota Vikings
7	218	Reynaldo Hill	CB	Tennessee Titans

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References

1. 2012 Florida Football Media Guide Archived 2013-05-27 at the Wayback Machine , University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 113 & 116 (2012). Retrieved September 16, 2012.
2. GatorZone.com, Football, History, Florida Football 2004 Archived 2012-05-02 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved November 25, 2011.
3. "2005 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 8, 2025.

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.