2004 NCAA Division I - A football season The 2004 NCAA Division I - A football season ended with several undefeated teams vying for a spot in the national title game , triggering controversy . In the 2003 season , no team finished the regular season unbeaten , and five teams finished the season with one loss . In 2004 , the situation became even more complicated , as five teams went without losing , a record in the BCS era ( this record was tied in 2009 , when five teams also went undefeated and a sixth , Florida , lost to undefeated Alabama in the SEC title game ) . USC of the Pac - 10 , Oklahoma of the Big 12 , Auburn of the SEC , Utah of the MWC , and Boise State of the WAC all finished the regular season undefeated . USC and Oklahoma started the season ranked # 1 and # 2 , respectively , but the other three teams were handicapped by starting out of the top 15 . Thus USC and OU played for the BCS National Championship , while Auburn , Utah , and Boise State had to content themselves with other bowl games . The Orange Bowl proved a rout with USC defeating Oklahoma 55 - 19 , which earned the Trojans their second consecutive AP title and first BCS title . This game , USC ' s victory over rival UCLA , and the BCS title were later vacated as part of the sanctions levied against USC as a result of an NCAA investigation . USC appealed the decision but was denied by the NCAA on May 26 , 2011 , and the BCS title for 2004 was officially vacated on June 6 , 2011 . The AP title was not vacated , as the AP does not punish teams for violations . These sanctions have been criticized by some NCAA football writers , including ESPN ’ s Ted Miller , who wrote , “ It ' s become an accepted fact among informed college football observers that the NCAA sanctions against USC were a travesty of justice , and the NCAA ’ s refusal to revisit that travesty are a massive act of cowardice on the part of the organization . ” Auburn played in the and beat Virginia Tech , the # 8 ranked ACC champion . Utah became the first BCS Buster and beat Pitt , the # 21 ranked champion of the Big East , in the . Boise State lost a close , high scoring game in the to Louisville , the # 10 ranked Conference USA champion . As with previous seasons , fans of successful teams left out of the BCS were disappointed . Auburn , Utah , and BSU all went unbeaten but were not offered a chance to compete for the championship . Auburn was especially the focus of national media attention on this topic ; many thought that since Auburn managed to go undefeated in the traditionally tough SEC , they deserved a shot at the title . Adding to the BCS frustration was the fact that Auburn and Utah , though both in BCS bowl games , would not be able to play each other as a match - up of highly ranked unbeatens . There was also a controversy in selecting the BCS bowls ' second at - large team ( Utah being the first ) . The University of California expected to get the invite , being ranked fourth in the BCS entering the last week of the regular season ; the Texas Longhorns , who had been left out of the BCS the year before , was fifth before the final BCS rankings were released . Both teams finished at 10 - 1 , but the Longhorns ultimately received enough support from poll voters to move into the fourth slot , which ensured they would also receive the final at - large bid . Texas coach Mack Brown was criticized for publicly politicking voters to put Texas ahead of California ; Cal coach Jeff Tedford called for coaches ' votes to be made public . Texas went on to defeat Michigan in the Rose Bowl , while California lost to Texas Tech in the Holiday Bowl . The Associated Press , as a result of two consecutive seasons of BCS controversy , prohibited the BCS from using their poll as part of its ranking formula . The AP poll was replaced by the Harris Interactive poll , and the AP continues to award its own national championship trophy . In another first , the LSU Tigers lost to the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Capital One Bowl , becoming the first school to lose a non - BCS bowl a year after winning the BCS National Championship Game . In conference moves , Miami ( FL ) and Virginia Tech left the Big East to join the ACC , giving the ACC 11 members . Connecticut left the Independent ranks to join the Big East . Troy State also left their Independent status behind and joined the Sun Belt Conference . Florida Atlantic University made the move up from Division I - AA and became a I - A Independent . The total membership of Division I - A schools playing football now stood at 118 . Bowl games . BCS bowls . " Rankings given are AP rankings going into bowl games " Heisman Trophy voting . " The Heisman Trophy is given annually to college football ' s most outstanding player "