2004 Florida State Seminoles football team

The 2004 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University during the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Bobby Bowden and played their home games at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. They were members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

2004 Florida State Seminoles football
Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 30–18 vs. West Virginia
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 14
AP	No. 15
Record	9–3 (6–2 ACC)
Head coach	Bobby Bowden (29th season)
Offensive coordinator	Jeff Bowden (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Mickey Andrews (21st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Doak Campbell Stadium (Capacity: 82,300)

2004 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 10 Virginia Tech $		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 15 Florida State		6	–	2					9	–	3
No. 11 Miami (FL)		5	–	3					9	–	3
No. 23 Virginia		5	–	3					8	–	4
North Carolina		5	–	3					6	–	6
Georgia Tech		4	–	4					7	–	5
Clemson		4	–	4					6	–	5
NC State		3	–	5					5	–	6
Maryland		3	–	5					5	–	6
Wake Forest		1	–	7					4	–	7
Duke		1	–	7					2	–	9
$ – BCS representative as conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	8:00 p.m.	at No. 5 Miami (FL)	No. 4	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, Fl (rivalry)	ABC	L 10–16 OT	78,622
September 18	6:30 p.m.	UAB*	No. 8	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN2	W 34–7	81,825
September 25	3:30 p.m.	Clemson	No. 8	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)	ABC	W 41–22	83,538
October 2	12:00 p.m.	North Carolina	No. 9	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	ESPN2	W 38–16	82,708
October 9	7:00 p.m.	at Syracuse*	No. 8	Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY	ESPN2	W 17–13	40,539
October 16	7:45 p.m.	No. 6 Virginia	No. 7	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (Jefferson-Eppes Trophy)	ESPN	W 36–3	84,155
October 23	3:30 p.m.	at Wake Forest	No. 5	Groves Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	ABC	W 20–17	31,403
October 30	3:30 p.m.	at Maryland	No. 5	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD	ABC	L 17–20	52,203
November 6	12:00 p.m.	Duke	No. 13	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	PPV	W 29–7	80,598
November 11	7:30 p.m.	at NC State	No. 11	Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC	ESPN	W 17–10	56,800
November 20	7:45 p.m.	Florida*	No. 10	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)	ESPN	L 13–20	84,223
January 1	12:30 p.m.	vs. West Virginia*	No. 16	Alltel Stadium Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	NBC	W 30–18	70,112
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Miami

Originally scheduled for September 6, 2004, the game between Miami and Florida State was postponed due to Hurricane Frances. On September 10, both teams met at the Orange Bowl in Miami. The Seminoles took the upper hand in the first half with a 45-yard field goal by Xavier Beitia and a 61-yard defensive fumble return by Antonio Cromartie. In the fourth quarter the Miami Hurricanes tied the score with an 18-yard field goal Jon Peattie and a 30-yard pass from Brock Berlin to Sinorice Moss with 30 seconds remaining. In overtime, Frank Gore broke an 18-yard run for the Hurricanes to seal the victory.

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Seminoles	3	7	0	0	0	10
Hurricanes	0	0	0	10	6	16

UAB

Returning to Tallahassee after a road loss to Miami, Florida State opened the game with a 17-point lead over the Blazers with two short runs from Chris Rix and James Coleman in addition to a 30-yard kick from Xavier Beitia. In the second half, two more short runs by BJ Dean and Leon Washington in addition to a Xavier Beitia kick sealed the score at 34–7.

	1	2	3	4	Total
UAB	0	7	0	0	7
Seminoles	7	10	7	10	34

Clemson

Entering the game as the #8 team in the nation, the Seminoles allowed a 97-yard kickoff return by Clemson's Justin Miller and a 3rd quarter return by Miller that went 86 yards for six points. Florida State responded with a final 17 unanswered points that began with a 35-yard rushing touchdown from Leon Washington.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tigers	7	7	8	0	22
Seminoles	3	14	14	10	41

North Carolina

Florida State balanced offense choose to go to the air against North Carolina as Wyatt Sexton threw for 263 yards and three touchdowns. It was Sexton's first start for the Seminoles. On the ground, Leon Washington rushed for 153 yards on 10 carries, the longest being a 53-yard run.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Tar Heels	3	3	7	3	16
Seminoles	7	14	10	7	38

@ Syracuse

In their first road game in a month, Florida State scrapped out a win against the Syracuse Orange. Going into the half, Florida State trailed 3–10, but provided an explosion of offense with two rushing touchdowns from Leon Washington. The second of two Washington touchdowns came on the second play of a late drive in which Washington ran for 45 yards.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Seminoles	3	0	7	7	17
Orange	10	0	0	3	13

Virginia

The most lop-sided victory of the 2004 year, the Seminole defense dominated Virginia's running game by allowing only 20 rushing yards on 29 plays. #6 Virginia gave up a safety and seventeen points to follow before kicking a field goal as time expired in the 1st half, their only points of the game. The Seminoles than put the Cavs away with 2 unanswered touchdowns in the final quarter. Wyatt Sexton played an instrumental part in the Seminole victory achieving 20 completions on 26 attempts for 275 yards.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cavaliers	0	3	0	0	3
Seminoles	2	17	3	14	36

@ Wake Forest

In one of the closest games of the year, three turnovers by Wyatt Sexton kept the Demon Deacons ahead of the Seminoles until the final minutes of the game. A 48-yard punt return by Willie Reid put the Seminoles in place for a 20-yard pass from Sexton to Greg Reid. In the fourth quarter, a 46-yard run by Lorenzo Booker led to the game-winning field goal.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Seminoles	0	3	7	10	20
Demon Deacons	7	7	0	3	17

@ Maryland

Florida State's 14 game win streak against Maryland was snapped. Maryland aggressively defended the Seminole's running game to 50 yards. Moreover, Wyatt Sexton threw 14 completions for 30 attempts and allowed two interceptions.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Seminoles	3	0	7	7	17
Terrapins	3	10	7	3	23

Duke

The #13 Seminoles handled the Blue Devils in a lop-sided victory driven by Wyatt Sexton's 220 yard second-half. Florida State's two touchdowns came off a 45-yard pass from Wyatt Sexton to Chris Davis and a 4-yard run by Lamar Davis.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Blue Devils	0	7	0	0	7
Seminoles	9	0	10	10	29

@ N.C. State

With the exception of a 44-yard Gary Cisemsia kick, the Seminoles scored only on the ground with rushing touchdowns by Lorenzo Booker and James Coleman. N.C. State was limited to a paltry 23 rushing yards and 1 for 16 on third down attempts.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Seminoles	0	0	17	0	17
Wolfpack	0	0	10	0	10

Florida

Florida won for the first time in Tallahassee since 1986 under Coach Ron Zook. The Florida State offense was limited to 1 for 15 on third down conversions although Sexton and Rix threw for a combined 314 yards.

	1	2	3	4	Total
Gators	7	3	0	10	20
Seminoles	0	3	0	10	13

Gator Bowl vs. West Virginia

	1	2	3	4	Total
Seminoles	10	3	10	7	30
Mountaineers	12	0	3	3	18