# 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).

## Schedule

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