2004 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

Schedule

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Game summaries

Utah State

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Alabama opened the 2004 season by defeating the Utah State Aggies 48–17. Brian Bostick scored the first Alabama points of the game with his 28-yard field goal. On the ensuing Aggies possession, Roman Harper intercepted a Travis Cox and returned it to the Utah State 21-yard line. Two plays later, Brodie Croyle threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Clint Johnston to give the Crimson Tide a 10–0 lead. The Aggies responded later in the first with a 35-yard Cox touchdown pass to Kevin Robinson to cut the score to 10–7. In the second quarter, Kenneth Darby scored for Alabama on a 29-yard run and Ben Chaet connected on a 44-yard field goal for Utah State to make the halftime score 17–10.

On the third play of the second half, Simeon Castille intercepted a Cox pass and returned it 31-yards for his first career touchdown. After the Alabama defense forced a punt on the ensuing Aggies drive, Croyle threw a 57-yard touchdown strike to Keith Brown on the Crimson Tide's first offensive play of the second half to give them a 31–10 lead. After a 32-yard Bostick field goal extended the Alabama lead to 34–10, the Aggies responded with their final points of the game on a 21-yard Cox touchdown pass to Chris Forbes. The Crimson Tide then closed the game with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns. The first came on a one-yard Tim Castille run and the second on a seven-yard Ray Hudson run in the 48–17 Alabama victory.

Ole Miss

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Alabama opened conference play by defeating their long-time rival, the Ole Miss Rebels 28–7. After a scoreless first, the Crimson Tide took a 14–0 halftime lead after scoring a pair of second-quarter touchdowns. Tim Castille scored first on a one-yard run and Tyrone Prothro scored second on a 15-yard Brodie Croyle touchdown pass. Alabama extended their lead to 21–0 in the third quarter when Ray Hudson scored his first of two touchdowns on a 13-yard Croyle pass. After the Rebels scored their only points of the game on a six-yard Eric Rice touchdown reception from Ethan Flatt, Alabama responded on the following drive with a 46-yard Hudson touchdown run to make the final score 28–7. In the game, Hudson ran for 116 yards, and D. J. Hall and Keith Brown became the first freshman receivers to start for Alabama since Ozzie Newsome in 1974.

Western Carolina

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Alabama won their third straight game to open the season against the Division I-AA Western Carolina Catamounts 52–0.

Arkansas

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South Carolina

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Kentucky

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Southern Miss

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Tennessee

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Mississippi State

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LSU

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Auburn

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In the 2004 edition of the Iron Bowl, the Crimson Tide took a 6–0 lead at halftime over favored Auburn, but ultimately fell 21–13 to the Tigers. Alabama took a 6–0 halftime lead on field goals of 42 and 22-yard by Brian Bostick. Auburn responded in the second half with 21 consecutive points to take a 21–6 lead. Touchdowns were scored by Cadillac Williams on a five-yard run, on a 32-yard Jason Campbell pass to Courtney Taylor and on a two-yard Ronnie Brown run. Alabama scored their only touchdown late in the fourth on an 18-yard Spencer Pennington touchdown pass to D. J. Hall to make the final score 21–13 after a failed onside kick.

Minnesota

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After finishing the regular season with an overall record of 6–5, the Crimson Tide accepted an invitation to play in the Music City Bowl on December 4. Their appearance was the second for Alabama in the game, marked the first all-time meeting against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on the gridiron and a return to postseason play for the Crimson Tide following a two-year bowl ban imposed by the NCAA. Led by running backs Marion Barber III and Laurence Maroney who each rushed for over 100 yards, Minnesota defeated Alabama 20–16.

The Crimson Tide scored first when Spencer Pennington threw a two-yard touchdown pass to Le'Ron McClain for a 7–0 Alabama lead. Minnesota tied the game later in the first on a defensive touchdown. The score happened after Anthony Montgomery forced a Pennington fumble that was recovered in the endzone by Keith Lipka. The Gophers took a 17–7 lead in the second quarter after a five-yard Barber touchdown run and a 27-yard Rhys Lloyd field goal. The Crimson Tide responded with a one-yard McClain touchdown run to cut the Minnesota lead to 17–14 at halftime. The second half was dominated by both defenses with Minnesota only managing to score on a 24-yard Lloyd field goal in the third and Alabama only scoring on a safety in the fourth to make the final score 20–16.

Coaching staff

References

References

1. (October 17, 2004). "Darby, Alabama pound So. Miss". The Montgomery Advertiser.
2. . ["Alabama Crimson Tide Schedule 2004"](https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/schedule/_/id/333/season/2004). *[[ESPN]]*.
3. . ["2004 Alabama Crimson Tide Schedule and Results"](https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/alabama/2004-schedule.html). *[[Sports Reference]]*.
4. . ["2004 Football Schedule"](https://rolltide.com/sports/football/schedule/2004). *[[University of Alabama]]*.
5. (September 4, 2004). "Utah State vs Alabama: Scoring Summary". University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
6. Walsh, Christopher. (September 5, 2004). "Youth movement: New look Crimson Tide rolls past Aggies". The Tuscaloosa News.
7. (September 4, 2004). "Utah State vs Alabama: Play-by-Play Summary". University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
8. Hurt, Cecil. (September 5, 2004). "Simeon Castille scores first career touchdown". The Tuscaloosa News.
9. (September 11, 2004). "Ole Miss vs Alabama: Scoring Summary". University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
10. (September 11, 2004). "Alabama 28, Mississippi 7". ESPN.com.
11. Walsh, Christopher. (September 12, 2004). "Tide dominates Rebels with blitz, running game". The Tuscaloosa News.
12. (September 18, 2004). "Western Carolina vs Alabama: Scoring Summary". University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
13. (September 25, 2004). "Alabama vs Arkansas: Scoring Summary". University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
14. (October 2, 2004). "South Carolina vs Alabama: Scoring Summary". University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
15. (October 9, 2004). "Alabama vs Kentucky: Scoring Summary". University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
16. (October 16, 2004). "Southern Miss vs Alabama: Scoring Summary". University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
17. (October 23, 2004). "Alabama vs Tennessee: Scoring Summary". University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
18. (November 6, 2004). "Mississippi State vs Alabama: Scoring Summary". University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
19. (November 13, 2004). "Alabama vs LSU: Scoring Summary". University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
20. (November 20, 2004). "Auburn vs Alabama: Scoring Summary". University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
21. (November 20, 2004). "Auburn scores three TDs in second half". ESPN.com.
22. (December 31, 2004). "Alabama vs Minnesota: Scoring Summary". University of Alabama Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.
23. Deas, Tommy. (December 5, 2004). "Crimson Tide headed to Music City Bowl". The Tuscaloosa News.
24. Walsh, Christopher. (December 5, 2004). "Crimson Tide's 52nd bowl game will also be a first". The Tuscaloosa News.
25. (December 31, 2004). "Minnesota overcomes second-ranked 'Bama defense". ESPN.com.