# 2004 Utah Utes football team

The 2004 Utah Utes football team represented the University of Utah in the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. This team was the original 'BCS Buster', meaning, this was the first time that a team from a BCS non-AQ conference was invited to play in one of the BCS bowl games. The team, coached by second-year head football coach Urban Meyer, played its home games in Rice-Eccles Stadium.
Utah finished the season 12–0, the fourth undefeated and untied season in school history. The Utes were one of three teams in the top-level Division I FBS to finish the season undefeated (the others being the USC Trojans and the Auburn Tigers.)
Utah was the highest-ranked BCS non-AQ team in each poll every week of the season.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 5:30 pm | Texas A&M* | No. 20 | Rice-Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City | ESPN | W 41–21 | 45,419 |
| September 11 | 8:00 pm | at Arizona* | No. 17 | Arizona StadiumTucson, Arizona | KJZZ | W 23–6 | 52,790 |
| September 18 | 5:00 pm | at Utah State* | No. 15 | Romney StadiumLogan, Utah (Battle of the Brothers) | KJZZ | W 48–6 | 24,750 |
| September 25 | 1:00 pm | Air Force | No. 14 | Rice-Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City | ESPN+ | W 49–35 | 44,043 |
| October 1 | 6:00 pm | at New Mexico | No. 14 | University StadiumAlbuquerque, New Mexico | ESPN2 | W 28–7 | 40,182 |
| October 16 | 8:00 pm | North Carolina* | No. 11 | Rice-Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City | KJZZ | W 46–16 | 45,319 |
| October 23 | 5:00 pm | UNLV | No. 9 | Rice-Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City | KJZZ | W 63–28 | 40,341 |
| October 30 | 7:00 pm | at San Diego State | No. 9 | Qualcomm StadiumSan Diego | KJZZ | W 51–28 | 32,683 |
| November 6 | 7:45 pm | Colorado State | No. 7 | Rice-Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City | ESPN2 | W 63–31 | 44,222 |
| November 13 | 5:00 pm | at Wyoming | No. 7 | War Memorial StadiumLaramie, Wyoming | ABC | W 45–28 | 17,074 |
| November 20 | 5:00 pm | BYU | No. 5 | Rice-Eccles StadiumSalt Lake City (Holy War) (College GameDay) | ESPN2 | W 52–21 | 45,326 |
| January 1 | 6:30 pm | vs. No. 19 Pittsburgh* | No. 5 | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, Arizona (Fiesta Bowl) | ABC | W 35–7 | 73,519 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Mountain time ||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | 20 | 20 | 17 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Coaches | 21 | 19 | 16 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | Not released |

## Game summaries
### Texas A&M

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Aggies | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| #20 Utes | 7 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 41 |

### Arizona

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #17 Utes | 17 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 23 |
| Wildcats | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |

### Utah State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #15 Utes | 20 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 48 |
| Aggies | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |

### Air Force

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Falcons | 7 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
| #14 Utes | 0 | 21 | 14 | 14 | 49 |

### New Mexico

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #14 Utes | 7 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 28 |
| Lobos | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |

### North Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tar Heels | 7 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 16 |
| #11 Utes | 10 | 20 | 7 | 9 | 46 |

### UNLV

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rebels | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
| #9 Utes | 28 | 14 | 21 | 0 | 63 |

### San Diego State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #9 Utes | 10 | 24 | 7 | 10 | 51 |
| Aztecs | 0 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 28 |

### Colorado State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rams | 3 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 31 |
| #7 Utes | 21 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 63 |

### Wyoming

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #7 Utes | 17 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 45 |
| Cowboys | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 28 |

### BYU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| BYU | 0 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
| • Utah | 7 | 14 | 17 | 14 | 52 |

### Fiesta Bowl: Utah vs. Pittsburgh

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| #19 Panthers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| #5 Utes | 7 | 7 | 21 | 0 | 35 |

## Depth chart

* FS
* Morgan Scalley
* Antonio Young
| OLB | MLB | OLB |
| Spencer Toone | Tommy Hackenbruck | Corey Dodds |
| Kyle Brady | Taylor Miller | Malakai Mokofisi |
| Grady Marshall | | |
* SS
* Eric Weddle
* Casey Evans
* CB
* Ryan Smith
* Eugene Oates
| DE | NT | T | LE |
| Marques Ledbetter | Sione Pouha | Steve Fifita | Jonathan Fanene |
| Martail Burnett | Tevita Kemoeatu | Tevita Kemoeatu | Reza Williams |
| | Kite Afeaki | | Kite Afeaki |
* CB
* Bo Nagahi
* Eugene Oates
* WR
* Steve Savoy
* Derrek Richards
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Tavo Tupola | David Dirkmaat | Jesse Boone | Chris Kemoeatu | Makai Aalona |
| Jason Voss | Eric Pettit | Andrew Johnson | Kyle Gunther | David Dirkmaat |
| | Steve Dahl | | | Jason Boone |
* TE
* Blake Burdette
* Willie Sao
* WR
* Travis LaTendresse
* Thomas Huff
* WR
* Paris Warren
* Jerome Wright
* WR
* John Madsen
* Jerome Wright
* QB
* Alex Smith
* Brian Johnson
* Fano Tagovailoa
* RB
* Marty Johnson
* Quinton Ganther

## Season Statistics

2004 Official Stats

### Team

| | Utah | Opp |
| Scoring | 544 | 234 |
| Points per game | 45.3 | 19.5 |
| First Downs | 305 | 220 |
| Rushing | 145 | 90 |
| Passing | 136 | 103 |
| Penalty | 24 | 27 |
| Rushing yards | 2833 | 1682 |
| Avg per play | 5.4 | 3.8 |
| Avg per game | 236.1 | 140.2 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 36 | 19 |
| Passing yards | 3164 | 2439 |
| Att-Comp-Int | 344-232-5 | 372-196-16 |
| Avg per pass | 9.2 | 6.6 |
| Avg per catch | 13.6 | 12.4 |
| Avg per game | 263.7 | 203.2 |
| Passing touchdowns | 33 | 11 |
| Total offense | 5997 | 4121 |
| Avg per play | 6.9 | 5.1 |
| Avg per game | 499.8 | 343.2 |
| Fumbles lost | 22–9 | 19–13 |
| Penalties – yards | 88-765 | 80-693 |
| Avg per game | 63.8 | 57.8 |
| | Team | Opp |
| Punts – yards | 45-1878 | 70-2727 |
| Avg per Punt | 41.7 | 39.0 |
| Time of possession/game | 31:14 | 28:46 |
| 3rd down conversions | 80-153 | 62-177 |
| 4th down conversions | 9–17 | 15–25 |
| Touchdowns scored | 75 | 32 |
| Field goals – attempts | 7–7 | 4–11 |
| PAT – attempts | 71–75 | 30–30 |
| Attendance | 264670 | 167479 |
| Games/Avg per game | 6-44112 | 5-33496 |
| Neutral Site | 1-73519 | 1-73519 |

### Individual Leaders

Passing :
| Player | COMP | ATT | Pct. | YDS | TD | INT | QB Rating |
| Alex Smith | 214 | 317 | .675 | 2952 | 32 | 4 | 176.52 |
| Brian Johnson | 14 | 21 | .667 | 142 | 1 | 1 | 129.66 |
| Fan Tagovailoa | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 24 | - | - | 305.80 |
| Paris Warren | 1 | 2 | .500 | 21 | - | - | 138.20 |
Rushing :
| Player | ATT | YDS | YPC | TD |
| Marty Johnson | 165 | 802 | 4.9 | 14 |
| Quinton Ganther | 109 | 654 | 6.0 | 2 |
| Alex Smith | 135 | 631 | 4.7 | 10 |
| Steve Savoy | 22 | 307 | 14.0 | 6 |
| Paris Warren | 28 | 157 | 5.6 | 2 |
| Brian Johnson | 21 | 92 | 4.4 | 1 |
Receiving :
| Player | REC | YDS | YPR | TD |
| Paris Warren | 80 | 1076 | 13.4 | 12 |
| Steve Savoy | 67 | 961 | 14.3 | 11 |
| Travis Latendresse | 27 | 411 | 15.2 | 2 |
| John Madsen | 27 | 377 | 14.0 | 5 |
| Quinton Ganther | 7 | 49 | 7.0 | 1 |
| Marty Johnson | 7 | 46 | 6.6 | 1 |
| Jerome Wright | 5 | 64 | 12.8 | 1 |
Tackles :
| Player | Solo | Asst | Total | TFL | Sacks |
| Spencer Toone | 40 | 75 | 115 | 4 | 1 |
| Tommy Hackenbruck | 46 | 45 | 91 | 9.5 | 4.5 |
| Eric Weddle | 47 | 28 | 75 | 4.5 | 1 |
| Morgan Scalley | 27 | 24 | 51 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Marquess Ledbetter | 15 | 31 | 46 | 9 | 4.5 |
| Steve Fifita | 23 | 22 | 45 | 9 | 4.5 |
| Ryan Smith | 26 | 18 | 44 | 3 | 2 |
| Bo Nagahi | 31 | 11 | 42 | 2.5 | 0 |
| Corey Dodds | 10 | 27 | 37 | 4 | 2 |
| Sione Pouha | 16 | 20 | 36 | 3 | 2 |
| Jonathan Fanene | 12 | 10 | 22 | 5.5 | 3 |
Pass defense :
| Player | INT | YDS | Broken up |
| Morgan Scalley | 6 | 79 | 2 |
| Eric Weddle | 4 | 34 | 5 |
| Jonathan Fanene | 1 | 76 | 1 |
| Corey Dodds | 1 | 26 | 1 |
| Ryan Smith | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Sione Pouha | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Steve Fifita | 1 | 6 | 2 |

## After the season
### NFL Draft

Utah had five players taken in the 2005 NFL draft:
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Alex Smith | Quarterback | 1 | 1 | San Francisco 49ers |
| Sione Pouha | Defensive tackle | 3 | 88 | New York Jets |
| Chris Kemoeatu | Offensive guard | 6 | 204 | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Paris Warren | Wide receiver | 7 | 225 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Jonathan Fanene | Defensive end | 7 | 233 | Cincinnati Bengals |

### Awards
#### National

* Urban Meyer: The Home Depot Coach of the Year Award, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, Woody Hayes' National Coach of the Year, Maxwell George Munger Award
* Alex Smith: Heisman Trophy finalist (fourth place), The Sporting News National Player of the Year, Sports Illustrated National Player of the Year, Cingular Sports/ABC Sports All-American, SI.com All-American (first team), CoSIDA Football Academic All-American of the Year, Davey O'Brien Award finalist, Walter Camp Award finalist
* Chris Kemoeatu: Cingular Sports/ABC Sports All-American, SI.com All-American (first team)
* Morgan Scalley: SI.com All-American (second team), CoSIDA Academic All-American (first team), Anson Mount Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Bronko Nagurski National Player of the Week, Pat Tillman Award (East–West Shrine Game honor)
* Steve Savoy: SI.com All-American (second team), The Sporting News All-American (honorable mention)
* Ryan Smith: The Sporting News Freshman All-American (second team)
* Spencer Toone: CoSIDA Academic All-District VIII first team

#### Conference

* Coach of the Year: Urban Meyer
* Offensive Player of the Year: Alex Smith
* Co-defensive Player of the Year: Morgan Scalley
* All-MWC First team: Alex Smith, Steve Savoy, Chris Kemoeatu, Steve Fifita, Sione Pouha, Morgan Scalley
* All-MWC Second team: Paris Warren, Marty Johnson, Jesse Boone, Eric Weddle
* All-MWC Honorable mention: Makai Aalona, Quinton Ganther, Tommy Hackenbruck, Matt Kovacevich, Spencer Toone