2004 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

The 2004 Ohio State Buckeyes football team was an American football team that represented the Ohio State University as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth year under head coach Jim Tressel, the Buckeyes compiled an 8–4 record (4–4 in conference games), finished in a three-way tie for fifth place in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 290 to 219. Against ranked opponents, the Buckeyes lost to No. 15 Wisconsin and defeated No. 7 Michigan. The Buckeyes also lost to unranked Northwestern, Iowa, and Purdue. They concluded the season with a 33–7 victory over unranked Oklahoma State in the 2004 Alamo Bowl. The Buckeyes were ranked No. 19 and 20 in the final Coaches and AP polls, respectiely.^[1]

2004 Ohio State Buckeyes football
Alamo Bowl champion
Alamo Bowl, W 33–7 vs. Oklahoma State
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 19
AP	No. 20
Record	8–4 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Jim Tressel (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Jim Bollman (4th season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Mark Snyder (1st; 4th overall season)
Co-defensive coordinator	Mel Tucker (1st; 4th overall season)
Base defense	4–3
MVP	Mike Nugent
Captains	Dustin Fox Simon Fraser Mike Nugent Andrew Schulte
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium
Seasons ← 2003 2005 →

2004 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 14 Michigan $+		7	–	1					9	–	3
No. 8 Iowa +		7	–	1					10	–	2
No. 17 Wisconsin		6	–	2					9	–	3
Northwestern		5	–	3					6	–	6
No. 20 Ohio State		4	–	4					8	–	4
Purdue		4	–	4					7	–	5
Michigan State		4	–	4					5	–	7
Minnesota		3	–	5					7	–	5
Penn State		2	–	6					4	–	7
Illinois		1	–	7					3	–	8
Indiana		1	–	7					3	–	8
$ – BCS representative as conference champion + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The Buckeyes gained an average of 145.4 rushing yards and 175.4 passing yards per game. On defense, they gave up 130.4 rushing yards and 201.6 passing yards per game.^[2] Quarterback duties were split between Justin Zwick (1,209 passing yards, 52.4%) and Troy Smith (896 passing yards, 55.7% completion percentage). The team's other statistical leaders included running back Lydell Ross (476 rushing yards, 4.1 yards per carry), wide receiver Santonio Holmes (55 receptions for 769 yards), and kicker Mike Nugent (102 points scored, 30 of 30 extra points, 24 of 27 field goals).^[2] Nugent and linebacker A. J. Hawk were consensus first-team All-Americans.^[3] Nugent and Hawk also received first-team honors on the 2004 All-Big Ten Conference football team.^[4]

The team played its home games at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 4	12:00 p.m.	Cincinnati*	No. 9	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ESPN Plus	W 27–6	104,604
September 11	3:30 p.m.	Marshall*	No. 9	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	W 24–21	104,622
September 18	3:30 p.m.	at NC State*	No. 9	Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC	ABC	W 22–14	56,800
October 2	9:00 p.m.	at Northwestern	No. 7	Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN2	L 27–33 OT	47,130
October 9	3:30 p.m.	No. 15 Wisconsin	No. 18	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ABC	L 13–24	105,090
October 16	3:30 p.m.	at Iowa	No. 25	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	ABC	L 7–33	70,397
October 23	12:00 p.m.	Indiana		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	ESPN Plus	W 30–7	104,538
October 30	12:00 p.m.	Penn State		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)	ABC	W 21–10	104,947
November 6	12:00 p.m.	at Michigan State		Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	ESPN	W 32–19	72,222
November 13	3:30 p.m.	at Purdue		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	ESPN	L 17–24	64,639
November 20	1:00 p.m.	No. 7 Michigan		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (rivalry)	ABC	W 37–21	105,456
December 29	8:00 p.m.	vs. Oklahoma State*	No. 24	Alamodome San Antonio, TX (Alamo Bowl)	ESPN	W 33–7	65,265
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[5]

Roster

2004 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OT 74 Kirk Barton  Fr QB 17 Todd Boeckman Fr WR 3 Bam Childress  Sr G 50 Doug Datish  So WR 11 Anthony Gonzalez  Fr WR 8 Roy Hall  So WR 4 Santonio Holmes  Jr FB 49 Dionte Johnson Fr C 55 Nick Mangold Jr RB 25 Antonio Pittman Fr OT 77 Rob Sims Jr QB 10 Troy Smith  So RB 30 Lydell Ross Sr QB 12 Justin Zwick  So	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 42 Bobby Carpenter Jr SS 6 Tyler Everett Jr CB 37 Dustin Fox Sr DE 75 Simon Fraser Sr LB 17 Marcus Freeman Fr DE 50 Vernon Gholston Fr CB/WR 7 Ted Ginn Jr. Fr DT 94 Marcus Green  Jr SS 34 Rob Harley Sr LB 47 A. J. Hawk Jr FS 32 Brandon Mitchell  So DT 97 David Patterson So DT 90 Quinn Pitcock  So DE 99 Jay Richardson  So FS 21 Nate Salley Jr LB 51 Anthony Schlegel  Jr FS 14 Antonio Smith  So CB 19 Brandon Underwood Fr CB 2 E.J. Underwood Jr SS 9 Donte Whitner So CB 26 Ashton Youboty So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 23 Josh Huston  Sr K 85 Mike Nugent Sr K 32 Ryan Pretorius Fr P 15 A.J. Trapasso Fr	Head coach Jim Tressel Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Coaching staff

• Jim Tressel – head oach (4th year)
• Jim Bollman – offensive line/offensive coordinator (4th year)
• Joe Daniels – quarterbacks / passing game coordinator (4th year)
• Ryan Smith- co-quarterbacks (1st year)
• Luke Fickell – defensive linebackers (4th year)
• Darrell Hazell – wide receivers (1st year)
• Jim Heacock – defensive line (9th year)
• Mark Snyder – defensive coordinator (4th year)
• Dick Tressel – running backs (4th year)
• Mel Tucker – co-defensive coordinator / defensive facks (4th year)
• Bob Tucker – director of football operations (10th year)
• Todd Goebbel - defensive quality control coach (1st year) ^{[citation needed]}

Depth chart

Defense FS 21 Nate Salley 32 Brandon Mitchell WLB MLB SLB 47 A. J. Hawk 51 Anthony Schlegel 42 Bobby Carpenter 1 Thomas Matthews 5 Mike D'Andrea 17 Marcus Freeman SS 6 Tyler Everett 9 Donte Whitner CB 37 Dustin Fox 13 Harlen Jacobs DE DT DT DE 57 Mike Kudla 90 Quinn Pitcock 94 Marcus Green 75 Simon Fraser 84 Marcel Frost 98 Joel Penton 97 David Patterson 99 Jay Richardson CB 26 Ashton Youboty 2 E.J. Underwood Offense SE 7 Ted Ginn Jr. 8 Roy Hall LT LG C RG RT 77 Rob Sims 50 Doug Datish 55 Nick Mangold 64 Mike Knee 74 Kirk Barton ⋅ 72 T.J. Downing 73 Steve Winner 66 R.J. Coleman ⋅ TE 80 Ryan Hamby 88 Rory Nicol FL 4 Santonio Holmes 11 Anthony Gonzalez QB 10 Troy Smith 12 Justin Zwick Key reserves 25 Antonio Pittman (TB) 3 Bam Childress (WR) 30 Sirjo Welch (FS) FB 38 Branden Joe 36 Brandon Schnittker Special teams PK 87 Mike Nugent P 86 Kyle Turano RB 30 Lydell Ross 28 Maurice Hall

^[6]

2005 NFL draftees

Player	Round	Pick	Position	NFL club
Mike Nugent	2	47	Kicker	New York Jets
Dustin Fox	3	80	Defensive Back	Minnesota Vikings
Maurice Clarett	3	101	Running Back	Denver Broncos

^[7]

Game summaries

Cincinnati

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Cincinnati	0	3	3	0	6
• Ohio State	0	10	7	10	27

• Date: September 4
• Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH
• Game start: 12:00 p.m. EST
• TV announcers (ESPN+): Mike Gleason (Play-by-play) & John Cooper (Color)

Scoring summary

2	14:54	CIN	Kevin Lovell 27-yard field goal	Cincinnati 3–0
2	10:15	OHST	Mike Nugent 27-yard field goal	Tie 3–3
2	1:11	OHST	Ryan Hamby 17-yard pass from Justin Zwick (Mike Nugent kick)	Ohio State 10–3
3	6:16	CIN	Kevin Lovell 25-yard field goal	Ohio State 10–6
3	2:27	OHST	Lydell Ross 1-yard run (Mike Nugent kick)	Ohio State 17–6
4	5:54	OHST	Santonio Holmes 23-yard pass from Troy Smith (Mike Nugent kick)	Ohio State 24–6
4	1:51	OHST	Mike Nugent 23-yard field goal	Ohio State 27–6

^[8]

Marshall

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Marshall	7	7	0	7	21
• Ohio State	14	7	0	3	24

• Date: September 11
• Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
• Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST
• TV announcers (ABC): Mike Tirico (Play-by-play), Tim Brant (Color), Terry Bowden (Color) & Sam Ryan (Sideline)

Scoring summary

1	9:52	OHST	Santonio Holmes 80-yard pass from Justin Zwick (Mike Nugent kick)	Ohio State 7–0
1	5:31	MRSH	Earl Charles 2-yard run (Ian O'Connor kick)	Tie 7–7
1	:18	OHST	Santonio Holmes 47-yard pass from Justin Zwick (Mike Nugent kick)	Ohio State 14–7
2	5:36	MRSH	Jonathan Goddard 27-yard fumble return (Ian O'Connor kick)	Tie 14–14
2	3:13	OHST	Roy Hall 20-yard pass from Justin Zwick (Mike Nugent kick)	Ohio State 21–14
4	8:40	MRSH	Brad Bates 23-yard pass from Stan Hill (Ian O'Connor kick)	Tie 21–21
4	:00	OHST	Mike Nugent 55-yard field goal	Ohio State 24–21

^[9]

Michigan

See also: 2004 Michigan Wolverines football team

Michigan at Ohio State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan	14	0	0	7	21
• Ohio State	7	13	14	3	37

• Date: November 20
• Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, OH
• Game start: 1:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 105,456
• TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger (Play-by-play), Gary Danielson (Color) & Jack Arute (Sideline)

• Source:

Scoring summary

1	13:47	OSU	Anthony Gonzalez 68-yard pass from Troy Smith (Mike Nugent kick)	OSU 7–0
1	10:25	MICH	Jason Avant 4-yard pass from Chad Henne (Garrett Rivas kick)	Tied 7–7
1	6:03	MICH	Mike Hart 1-yard run (Garrett Rivas kick)	MICH 14–7
2	13:16	OSU	Troy Smith 2-yard run (Mike Nugent kick)	Tied 14–14
2	2:16	OSU	Mike Nugent 21-yard field goal	OSU 17–14
2	0:00	OSU	Mike Nugent 42-yard field goal	OSU 20–14
3	9:56	OSU	Ted Ginn Jr. 82-yard punt return (Mike Nugent kick)	OSU 27–14
3	1:53	OSU	Santonio Holmes 12-yard pass from Troy Smith (Mike Nugent kick)	OSU 34–14
4	10:56	MICH	Braylon Edwards 38-yard pass from Chad Henne (Garrett Rivas kick)	OSU 34–21
4	7:15	OSU	Mike Nugent 48-yard field goal	OSU 37–21

Alamo Bowl

Main article: 2004 Alamo Bowl

Ohio State vs. Oklahoma State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Oklahoma State	0	0	0	7	7
• Ohio State	13	10	7	3	33

• Date: December 29 ^[10]
• Location: Alamodome, San Antonio, TX
• Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST
• Game attendance: 65,265
• TV announcers (ESPN): Mike Tirico (Play-by-play), Lee Corso (Color), Kirk Herbstreit (Color) & Jill Arrington (Sideline)

• Source:

Scoring summary

1	12:02	OHST	Anthony Gonzalez 23-yard pass from Justin Zwick (Mike Nugent kick)	OHST 7–0
1	9:53	OHST	Mike Nugent 37-yard field goal	OHST 10–0
1	5:55	OHST	Mike Nugent 35-yard field goal	OHST 13–0
2	10:26	OHST	Lydell Ross 1-yard run (Mike Nugent kick)	OHST 20–0
2	4:19	OHST	Mike Nugent 41-yard field goal	OHST 23–0
3	8:13	OHST	Ted Ginn Jr. 5-yard run (Mike Nugent kick)	OHST 30–0
4	10:44	OHST	Mike Nugent 36-yard field goal	OHST 33–0
4	7:29	OKST	Shawn Willis 4-yard run (Jason Ricks kick)	OHST 33–7

Rankings

See also: 2004 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	9	9	9	7	7	18	25	—	—	—	—	—	—	25	24	20
Coaches Poll	9	9	7	6	6	15	23	—	—	—	—	—	—	22	22	19
BCS	Not released							—	—	—	—	—	—	25	25	Not released