2004 Auburn Tigers football team

2004 Auburn Tigers football
SEC champion
SEC Western Division champion
Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl, W 16–13 vs. Virginia Tech
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionWestern Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 2
Record13–0 (8–0 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorAl Borges (1st season)
Offensive schemeI formation
Defensive coordinatorGene Chizik (3rd season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumJordan–Hare Stadium
Seasons
← 2003
2005 →
2004 Southeastern Conference football standings
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 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. Auburn compiled a record of 13–0, winning the Southeastern Conference championship and finishing the season ranked #2 in both the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll.[1] Beginning the season ranked #17 in the AP poll and #18 in the Coaches' Poll, the Tigers were denied a berth in the BCS National Championship Game because they finished the regular season ranked #3 in the BCS rankings. Head coach Tommy Tuberville, who was nearly fired after the 2003 season, was named national Coach of the Year by the Associated Press. This was Auburn's third undefeated season in which they played over ten games.

The team defeated LSU, Georgia, and Tennessee (twice, facing them a second time in the SEC Championship game), all of whom were ranked opponents. They were left out of the BCS National Championship Game,[2] and instead went to the 2005 Sugar Bowl, beating #9 Virginia Tech, 16–13, to finish 13–0. USC and Oklahoma played for the national title in the Orange Bowl. USC's national title was later vacated by the NCAA. Both Darryl W. Perry and GBE College Football Ratings awarded their national titles to Auburn.[3]

The team's roster featured four first-round NFL draft picks in running back Carnell Williams, running back Ronnie Brown, defensive back Carlos Rogers, and quarterback Jason Campbell, as well as five future Pro Bowl participants in offensive linemen Marcus McNeill and Ben Grubbs, running back Ronnie Brown, Carlos Rogers, and defensive tackle Jay Ratliff. Permanent team captains were Campbell, Williams, Brown, Rogers, and Bret Eddins.[citation needed]

  1. ^ "2004 Auburn Tiers Stats". sports-reference.com. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  2. ^ Wise, Mike (January 4, 2005). Written at New Orleans. "Auburn Knows, and Shows, Who's No. 1". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. Retrieved October 30, 2023. Auburn staked its claim to a mythical crown that we will never fully know if it deserves because, well, the Bowl Championship Series is a crock.
  3. ^ "Auburn All National Championships". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved January 27, 2018. [dead link]