2004 Saint Francis Cougars football team

American college football season

2004 Saint Francis Cougars football

NAIA national runner-up
MSFA (MEL) champion

Conference| Mid-States Football Association
Division| Mideast League
Record| 13–1 (7–0 MSFA (MEL))
Head coach|

* Kevin Donley (7th season)

Offensive coordinator| Patrick Donley (1st season)
Home stadium| Bishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium

Seasons

<- 2003

2005 ->

2004 Mid-States Football Association standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

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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[edit]

(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]

Date| Opponent| Rank| Site| Result

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September 11| Ohio Dominican| No. 4|

* Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
* Fort Wayne, IN

| W 55–3
September 18| at No. 10 McKendree*| No. 4| Lebanon, IL| W 33–10
September 25| Iowa Wesleyan*| No. 3|

* Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
* Fort Wayne, IN

| W 62–8
October 2| at Geneva| No. 3| Beaver Falls, PA| W 30–24
October 9| Butler*| No. 3|

* Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
* Fort Wayne, IN

| W 35–7
October 16| Urbana| No. 2|

* Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
* Fort Wayne, IN

| W 37–20
October 23| at Taylor| No. 2| Upland, IN| W 46–0
October 30| Malone| No. 2|

* Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
* Fort Wayne, IN

| W 40–6
November 6| at Quincy| No. 2| Quincy, IL| W 49–13
November 13| No. 15 Walsh| No. 2|

* Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
* Fort Wayne, IN

| W 42–14
November 20| No. 12 Morningside*| No. 2|

* Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
* Fort Wayne, IN (NAIA First Round)

| W 53–3
November 27| No. 16 Hastings*| No. 2|

* Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
* Fort Wayne, IN (NAIA Quarterfinal)

| W 48–17
December 4| No. 3 Georgetown*| No. 2|

* Bishop D'Arcy Stadium
* Fort Wayne, IN (NAIA Semifinal)

| W 12–7
December 18| vs. No. 1 Carroll*| No. 2| Savannah, TN (NAIA Championship)| L 13–15

* *Non-conference game
* Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

## National awards and honors[edit]

* 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[edit]

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking| Week

|

Poll| Pre| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9| 10| Final
NAIA Coaches' Poll| 4| 4| 3| 3| 3| 2| 2| 2| 2| 2| 2| 2

## References[edit]

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

* v
* t
* e

Saint Francis Cougars football

Venues|

* Bishop John M. D'Arcy Stadium (1998–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Franciscan Bowl

Seasons|

* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
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* 2019
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* 2022
* 2023

National championship seasons in bold
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[No.]: Number