2004 Texas Longhorn football team
Encyclopedia
The 2004 Texas Longhorns football team represented the University of Texas at Austin
in the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season
. The team was coached by head football coach Mack Brown
and led on the field by quarterback
Vince Young
. The third-winningest program in Division I-A college football history, the University of Texas has traditionally been considered a college football powerhouse, but Brown had not managed to lead the Longhorns into a Bowl Championship Series
(BCS) game. The 2004 season included some controversy related to the selection of Texas as an at-large team to attend the 2005 Rose Bowl. Brown coached the team to win that game with a thrilling last-second victory. The victory brought the Longhorns to 11 wins and 1 loss for the season (11-1) and it earned the Longhorns a top 5 finish in the polls.
This left them ranked fifth coming into the annual matchup with then #2 Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout. Oklahoma shut-out the Longhorns 12-0. Texas dropped to #9, before rebounding with wins over #24 Missouri
28-20, at #24 Texas Tech 51-21, and at Colorado
31-7.
Then Texas set a record for the largest come from-behind-win in school history, beating #19 56-35 after falling behind 7-35. After this performance, Texas again fell behind against Kansas but squeaked out a win 27-23. The Kansas coach stirred up controversy by claiming that the officials were biased in favor of Texas.
This brought UT back up to #5 in the rankings as they welcomed arch-rival Texas A&M
to Austin and won 26-13. However, Oklahoma stood undefeated, which meant the Sooners would represent the Big 12 South in the Championship game against a much lower ranked team from the North Division. Once again, the loss to Oklahoma had kept Texas out of playing for a National or Conference Title, and had seemingly destined them to a non-Bowl Championship Series bowl as well.
However, Brown began lobbying the voters in the two polls based on human voters (one on college football coaches, the other on Associated Press
writers) to place the Longhorns high enough in the rankings to ensure they received a Bowl Championship Series
(BCS) bowl-bid. The rules of the BCS were such that Texas might get left out of the eight chosen teams even though they ranked fifth nationally. A close win by over (though, less close than Texas' victory over a worse Kansas team) gave the Longhorns the sufficient swing votes they needed to make it into the Rose Bowl
, one of the four BCS bowls. This lobbying effort and ensuing result led to criticism of Brown for playing politics to get his team into a top bowl. Thus, he was no longer criticized for failing to get into a top bowl, he was criticized for doing so (and the way he had done it).
The appearance in the "Grand-daddy" of all bowl games was the first visit by the Longhorns, due mainly to the fact that the Rose Bowl traditionally pitted the winner of the Pac 10 against the winner of the Big Ten
. Texas' opponent was Michigan
, whom Texas was playing for the very first time. Texas and Michigan each had over 100 years of football history. The meeting of the two teams set a college football record for the most games played collectively by two opponents before facing each other for the first time.
Texas won the game 38-37 on a last second field goal kick by Longhorn Dusty Mangum
in what had been called one of the greatest Rose Bowl games of all time. It was the only time in the history of the Rose Bowl that the game has been decided as time expired off the clock. Vince Young set several Rose Bowl records and also won the Rose Bowl MVP award. It could be said, all the BCS controversy was put to rest when Texas Tech, a team that lost to Texas by 30 points at home, beat #4 Cal in the Holiday Bowl 45-31.
that followed, three Longhorns were drafted - RB Cedric Benson
went 4th overall to Chicago Bears
and Derrick Johnson
went 15th overall to the Kansas City Chiefs
. TE Bo Scaife
was picked in the 6th round by the Tennessee Titans
and would be later reunited with quarterback Vince Young
With the exception of these players, most of the team returned to play for the 2005 Texas Longhorn football team
, including redshirt sophomore quarterback Vince Young
. Therefore, expectations were high coming into the 2005 season. At the trophy presentation in Pasadena, Vince Young had proclaimed, "We'll be back!", referencing the fact that the Rose Bowl
was the host for the next year's BCS National Championship.
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
in the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season
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...
. The team was coached by head football coach Mack Brown
Mack Brown
William Mack Brown is head coach of The University of Texas at Austin Longhorn football team.Prior to his head coach position at Texas, Brown was head coach at Appalachian State, Tulane, and North Carolina. Brown is credited with revitalizing the Texas and North Carolina football programs...
and led on the field by quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Vince Young
Vince Young
Vincent Paul Young, Jr. , nicknamed "VY", is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Tennessee Titans. Young was the third overall draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college...
. The third-winningest program in Division I-A college football history, the University of Texas has traditionally been considered a college football powerhouse, but Brown had not managed to lead the Longhorns into a Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
(BCS) game. The 2004 season included some controversy related to the selection of Texas as an at-large team to attend the 2005 Rose Bowl. Brown coached the team to win that game with a thrilling last-second victory. The victory brought the Longhorns to 11 wins and 1 loss for the season (11-1) and it earned the Longhorns a top 5 finish in the polls.
Schedule and results
Season highlights
In 2004, the Longhorns began the season with a #7 ranking nationally and started out with a 65-0 blowout of , setting several UT school records in the process. This was followed by a narrow 22-20 win against unranked . They defeated and 35-13 and 44-14 respectively.This left them ranked fifth coming into the annual matchup with then #2 Oklahoma in the Red River Shootout. Oklahoma shut-out the Longhorns 12-0. Texas dropped to #9, before rebounding with wins over #24 Missouri
2004 Missouri Tigers football team
The 2004 Missouri Tigers football team represented the University of Missouri during the 2004 NCAA Division I FBS football season.-Schedule:...
28-20, at #24 Texas Tech 51-21, and at Colorado
2004 Colorado Buffaloes football team
The 2004 Colorado Buffaloes football team represented the University of Colorado at Boulder in the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team played their home games in Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado.-Schedule:-Coaching staff:...
31-7.
Then Texas set a record for the largest come from-behind-win in school history, beating #19 56-35 after falling behind 7-35. After this performance, Texas again fell behind against Kansas but squeaked out a win 27-23. The Kansas coach stirred up controversy by claiming that the officials were biased in favor of Texas.
This brought UT back up to #5 in the rankings as they welcomed arch-rival Texas A&M
2004 Texas A&M Aggies football team
The 2004 Texas A&M Aggies football team completed the season with a 7-5 record. The Aggies had a regular season Big 12 record of 5-3.-Schedule:-Utah:-Wyoming:-Clemson:-Kansas State:-Iowa State:-Oklahoma State:...
to Austin and won 26-13. However, Oklahoma stood undefeated, which meant the Sooners would represent the Big 12 South in the Championship game against a much lower ranked team from the North Division. Once again, the loss to Oklahoma had kept Texas out of playing for a National or Conference Title, and had seemingly destined them to a non-Bowl Championship Series bowl as well.
However, Brown began lobbying the voters in the two polls based on human voters (one on college football coaches, the other on Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
writers) to place the Longhorns high enough in the rankings to ensure they received a Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
(BCS) bowl-bid. The rules of the BCS were such that Texas might get left out of the eight chosen teams even though they ranked fifth nationally. A close win by over (though, less close than Texas' victory over a worse Kansas team) gave the Longhorns the sufficient swing votes they needed to make it into the Rose Bowl
2005 Rose Bowl
The 2005 Rose Bowl Game was the 91st edition of the college football bowl game, held on January 1, 2005 at the self-named stadium in Pasadena, California. The Texas Longhorns, second place finishers of the Big 12 Conference's South Division, defeated the Michigan Wolverines, co-champions of the...
, one of the four BCS bowls. This lobbying effort and ensuing result led to criticism of Brown for playing politics to get his team into a top bowl. Thus, he was no longer criticized for failing to get into a top bowl, he was criticized for doing so (and the way he had done it).
The appearance in the "Grand-daddy" of all bowl games was the first visit by the Longhorns, due mainly to the fact that the Rose Bowl traditionally pitted the winner of the Pac 10 against the winner of the Big Ten
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
. Texas' opponent was Michigan
2004 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 2004 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 2004 college football season. The team's head football coach was Lloyd Carr. The Wolverines played their home games at Michigan Stadium...
, whom Texas was playing for the very first time. Texas and Michigan each had over 100 years of football history. The meeting of the two teams set a college football record for the most games played collectively by two opponents before facing each other for the first time.
Texas won the game 38-37 on a last second field goal kick by Longhorn Dusty Mangum
Dusty Mangum
Dustin Ross Mangum is a former placekicker for the University of Texas at Austin's college football team from 2001 to 2004. Mangum, who began his college football career as a walk-on, is best known for capping UT's 2004-2005 season with a 37-yard game-winning field goal as time expired in the...
in what had been called one of the greatest Rose Bowl games of all time. It was the only time in the history of the Rose Bowl that the game has been decided as time expired off the clock. Vince Young set several Rose Bowl records and also won the Rose Bowl MVP award. It could be said, all the BCS controversy was put to rest when Texas Tech, a team that lost to Texas by 30 points at home, beat #4 Cal in the Holiday Bowl 45-31.
After the season
In the NFL DraftNFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
that followed, three Longhorns were drafted - RB Cedric Benson
Cedric Benson
Cedric Myron Benson is an American football running back for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears fourth overall in the 2005 NFL Draft...
went 4th overall to Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Derrick Johnson
Derrick Johnson
-Kansas City Chiefs:Johnson started every game for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2005, becoming the first Chiefs linebacker in 20 years to start all 16 games of his rookie campaign. He was subsequently awarded the Mack Lee Hill Award by the Chiefs...
went 15th overall to the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
. TE Bo Scaife
Bo Scaife
Oliver Edward "Bo" Scaife, III is an American football tight end for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League. He was originally drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round of the 2005 NFL Draft...
was picked in the 6th round by the Tennessee Titans
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
and would be later reunited with quarterback Vince Young
Vince Young
Vincent Paul Young, Jr. , nicknamed "VY", is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Tennessee Titans. Young was the third overall draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college...
With the exception of these players, most of the team returned to play for the 2005 Texas Longhorn football team
2005 Texas Longhorn football team
The 2005 Texas Longhorn football team represented the University of Texas at Austin during the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season, winning the Big 12 Conference championship and the national championship. The team was coached by Mack Brown, led on offense by quarterback Vince Young, and played...
, including redshirt sophomore quarterback Vince Young
Vince Young
Vincent Paul Young, Jr. , nicknamed "VY", is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . He spent the first five seasons of his career with the Tennessee Titans. Young was the third overall draft pick in the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college...
. Therefore, expectations were high coming into the 2005 season. At the trophy presentation in Pasadena, Vince Young had proclaimed, "We'll be back!", referencing the fact that the Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl (stadium)
The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...
was the host for the next year's BCS National Championship.