2004 Saint Francis Cougars football team

2004 Saint Francis Cougars football
NAIA national runner-up
MSFA (MEL) champion
ConferenceMid-States Football Association
DivisionMideast League
Record13–1 (7–0 MSFA (MEL))
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorPatrick Donley (1st season)
Home stadiumBishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium
2004 Mid-States Football Association standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Mideast League
No. 2 St. Francis (IN) x^   7 – 0     13 – 1  
No. 21 Walsh   6 – 1     8 – 3  
Urbana   5 – 2     5 – 6  
Geneva   4 – 3     5 – 5  
Malone   2 – 5     4 – 6  
Quincy   2 – 5     4 – 7  
Taylor   2 – 5     2 – 8  
Ohio Dominican   0 – 7     0 – 10  
Midwest League
No. 12 McKendree x^   7 – 0     9 – 2  
No. 14 Trinity International ^   5 – 2     8 – 3  
No. 22 Saint Xavier   5 – 2     7 – 4  
No. 19 St. Ambrose   4 – 3     7 – 3  
Olivet Nazarene   4 – 3     7 – 5  
William Penn   2 – 5     3 – 8  
Iowa Wesleyan   1 – 6     2 – 9  
St. Francis (IL)   0 – 7     1 – 10  
  • x – League champion/co-champions
    ^ – NAIA playoff participant
Rankings from NAIA Coaches' Poll

The 2004 Saint Francis Cougars football team represented the University of Saint Francis, located in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in the 2004 NAIA football season. They were led by head coach Kevin Donley, who served his 7th year as the first and only head coach in the history of Saint Francis football. The Cougars played their home games at Bishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium and were members of the Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Mideast League (MEL). The Cougars finished in 1st place in the MSFA MEL division, and they received an automatic bid to the 2004 postseason NAIA playoffs.

The 2004 Cougars finished the regular season undefeated. In the postseason playoffs, the Cougars advanced to the national championship game where they lost to the Fighting Saints of Carroll, 15-13 in double overtime.

Schedule

(13-1 overall, 7-0 conference)
The 2004 season was the first of three consecutive trips to the NAIA championship game in Savannah, TN. The Cougars finished as runner-up in the nation with its 2-point loss to Carroll (MT). As a tribute to this team's success, Donley was named the NAIA National Coach of the Year for the second time.[1]

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendance
September 11Ohio DominicanNo. 4
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
W 55–34,000
September 18at No. 10 McKendree*No. 4Lebanon, ILW 33–101,800
September 25Iowa Wesleyan*No. 3
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
W 62–83,500
October 2at GenevaNo. 3
W 30–246,455
October 9Butler*No. 3
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
W 35–75,000
October 16UrbanaNo. 2
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
W 37–203,500
October 23at TaylorNo. 2
  • Jim Wheeler Memorial Stadium
  • Upland, IN
W 46–0NA
October 30MaloneNo. 2
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
W 40–64,000
November 6at QuincyNo. 2
W 49–13761
November 13No. 15 WalshNo. 2
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN
W 42–145,000
November 20No. 12 Morningside*No. 2
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN (NAIA First Round)
W 53–3
November 27No. 16 Hastings*No. 2
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN (NAIA Quarterfinal)
W 48–17
December 4No. 3 Georgetown*No. 2
  • Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
  • Fort Wayne, IN (NAIA Semifinal)
W 12–72,700
December 18vs. No. 1 Carroll*No. 2
L 13–155,276
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

National awards and honors

  • Senior running back Cory Jacquay was named as the 2004 NAIA Football Player of the Year. This was the first time in Cougar football history that one of their players received the award.

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre12345678910Final
NAIA Coaches' Poll443332222222

References

  1. ^ [1] Archived July 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
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