The 2004 William & Mary Tribe football team represented the College of William & Mary in the 2004 NCAA Division I-AA football season. William & Mary competed as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) under head football coach Jimmye Laycock and played their home games at Zable Stadium.
The 2004 Tribe football team is considered, within the William & Mary community, to be one of the two greatest teams ever assembled at the college (the other being the 2009 team). For the first time William & Mary reached the NCAA Division I-AA Semifinals. They set a single season school record for wins (11) and were A-10 Conference co-champions after going 7–1 in conference play. Many Tribe players garnered postseason awards and accolades, highlighted by quarterback Lang Campbell's selection as the 2004 Walter Payton Award winner, which is given annually to the most outstanding offensive player in the Division I FCS of college football as chosen by a nationwide panel of media and college sports information directors.
William & Mary finished the 2004 season ranked No. 3 nationally in the final Division I-AA polls.Sports Network's Final 2004 FCS College Football Poll No team in school history had ever finished with a ranking that high, nor had any Tribe squad even reached #3 at any point during any season.
Preseason The Tribe were not nationally ranked heading into the 2004 season. Coming off of a 5–5 record in 2003 in which they had failed to qualify for the playoffs, national media did not predict much more success for them in 2004. They had lost Rich Musinski to graduation—a wide receiver who graduated as one of three players in NCAA history to collect more than 4,000 receiving yards. Though quarterback Campbell was returning for his redshirt senior season, he was not expected to lead the Tribe to the success they would later achieve.
Schedule
Regular season
@ North Carolina
The Tribe began their 2004 campaign by traveling to Chapel Hill, North Carolina to take on the UNC Tar Heels of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Over 43,500 people went to Kenan Memorial Stadium to see the match-up. Despite holding a 24–14 halftime lead, the Tribe could not hold on for the victory, losing 38–49.
@ #10 New Hampshire
After a bye-week, William & Mary resumed their season on September 18 against #10-ranked New Hampshire in Durham. This contest began conference play. The unranked Tribe only mustered three field goals for the match, but it proved to be enough as they came away with a 9–7 win. And, despite the lack of offense, William & Mary held the Wildcats scoreless for the last 50:48 of the game in the come-from-behind victory.
Virginia Military Institute
Game 3 pitted William & Mary against a lesser VMI Keydets team. They led 28–6 at halftime, and the lead bulged to 35–6 by the end of the third quarter. The Tribe won the non-conference game 42–6. William & Mary plays the Virginia Military Institute nearly every season, and consequently a friendly rivalry has spawned from it.
#16 Northeastern
On October 2, the #16-ranked Northeastern Huskies traveled to Williamsburg to face the unranked Tribe. The contest was evenly matched as both teams headed into halftime tied at 14. William & Mary trailed by four points going into the fourth quarter, but a field goal by All-American kicker Greg Kuehn and a receiving touchdown by future National Football League player Dominique Thompson, followed by a successful two-point conversion, provided the Tribe with 11 points in the final period. Northeastern had also scored one touchdown, and the game went to overtime knotted at 35 points apiece. William & Mary's ability to convert a field goal attempt, coupled with their defense holding the Huskies from scoring any points in the extra period, gave the Tribe a 38–35 win at home. It was the second victory over a ranked opponent by unranked William & Mary.
@ Liberty
William & Mary faced the Liberty Flames in Lynchburg on October 9. The Tribe scored 10 points in each of the first three quarters en route to their second non-conference win of 2004. They scored seven more insurance points in the fourth quarter to finish the game with 37 while Liberty managed only 17 of their own.
The contest marked the first time of the 2004 season that William & Mary entered a game ranked in the Top 25 nationally. Heading into the game, the 3–1 Tribe were ranked #18.
Rhode Island
The Tribe fell behind 7–0 within the first three minutes of the game after the Rams connected on a 52-yard touchdown pass. By the end of the first quarter, however, the Tribe had scored two unanswered touchdowns of their own to take a 14–7 lead. After exchanging field goals in the second quarter, the two teams went into halftime by a score of 17–10. The Rams scored first during the third quarter when they finished their drive with a five-yard touchdown run to tie the game. After William & Mary responded with another touchdown of their own, Rhode Island kept chipping away at the defense and would eventually tie the score at 24. Once again, the Tribe responded. With 8:09 left to play, running back Elijah Brooks powered in for a score from two yards out. Neither team would score again, and William & Mary won 31–24.
@ #3 Delaware
In a highly anticipated match-up between two ranked teams, the #14 Tribe traveled north to Newark to play #3 Delaware. It only took 2:27 for William & Mary to score first on a 10-yard touchdown pass to Dominique Thompson. The Blue Hens only mustered a three-and-out on their first possession, and, less than one minute after their first touchdown, Lang Campbell once again found Thompson, this time for a 62-yard touchdown pass. At the 6:12 mark of the first quarter, Delaware would finally get on the scoreboard with a touchdown of their own. But as the Blue Hens soon found out, the first quarter belonged to Dominique Thompson, who hauled in his third touchdown reception, which was 87 yards, with 4:26 to play. It looked as though William & Mary would win the match in a runaway. A 17–0 shutout of the Tribe in the second quarter quickly squashed that idea, and the teams went into halftime separated by three points. The second half was a much more defensive struggle than the first, as both teams only mustered one touchdown and zero field goals apiece (both in the fourth quarter). A fast William & Mary start would not sustain, and the Blue Hens "upset" the lower-ranked Tribe 31–28. The high intensity of the game foreshadowed another great match-up to come later in the season.
@ Towson
Like the previous game against Delaware, William & Mary wide receiver Dominique Thompson burned the opposition in the first quarter. Less than two minutes into the game, Lang Campbell connected with Thompson on a 46-yard touchdown throw. Towson would kick a field goal, but that was all the scoring by either team for the first 15 minutes. The middle two quarters belonged to the Tribe as they scored four touchdowns and a field goal to take a 38–3 lead into the final frame. With their substitutes playing most of the fourth quarter, William & Mary gave up 13 points to the Tigers and only managed three of their own. It did not matter as they would roll to a 41–16 win.
#19 Villanova
On November 6, #19 Villanova traveled to Williamsburg as the #13 Tribe played their fourth ranked opponent of the season. Things did not start well for William & Mary. Wildcat Martin Gibson returned the opening kickoff 95 yards for a quick touchdown. Several minutes later, however, Tribe running back Jon Smith punched in a 1-yard touchdown run of his own. A Greg Kuehn PAT was good and the two teams were tied at seven. In the second quarter, Villanova would take a 14–7 lead at the 12:38 mark on a touchdown pass. William & Mary responded four minutes later to tie the game, but another Villanova touchdown with 3:38 left would make the score 21–14 at halftime in favor of the Wildcats. In the second half, the Tribe would go on to score three unanswered touchdowns and force a safety to take a 37–21 lead. Villanova would not score again until 32 seconds remained, but by then the game was out of reach and William & Mary had earned their seventh win of the season.
@ #4 James Madison
Unlike the University of Richmond football rivalry, which is specific to one sport, the W&M–JMU athletic rivalry spans across the board to all sports. When the #10 Tribe went to Harrisonburg to play #4 James Madison, both teams were intense from the start. The first quarter was a defensive battle as neither team conceded good field position to the other. It was not until 2:49 was left that the first points were scored—a David Rabil 28-yard field goal for JMU. William & Mary tied the game with a Kuehn field goal in the second quarter, but the Dukes took a 10–3 lead with 3:19 left in the first half on a 17-yard passing touchdown. William & Mary played well in the third quarter, outscoring rival Madison 7–0. In the decisive fourth quarter, the Dukes would score first after punching in a 4-yard touchdown run. After two straight passing touchdowns by Campbell, the Tribe had taken the lead, 24–17. Madison responded to tie the match with only 45 seconds remaining after a successful 27-yard touchdown pass. Once William & Mary received the ball on the ensuing kick-off, they drove 43 yards in five plays to set up a potential game-winning field goal. After a timeout, Tribe kicker Greg Kuehn drilled a 45-yard field goal as time expired, giving William & Mary the upset win. The Tribe team and attending fans swarmed the field as they reveled in their defeat of their archrivals in dramatic fashion.
Richmond (I-64 Bowl)
On November 20, the Richmond Spiders came to William & Mary for the 114th all-time meeting between the teams. The winner of the annual contest—dubbed the I-64 Bowl—receives the I-64 Trophy. Prior to kick-off, W&M held the series edge 58–50–5. Regardless of how either team is doing in a particular season, the I-64 Bowl is always a match of pride between schools.
The first quarter was relatively fruitless for both teams. The only points came on a 25-yard pass to Thompson from Campbell to cap a 9-play, 80-yard drive. After a Kuehn kick, the Tribe led 7–0. The second quarter was very similar; many plays, few points. Another W&M touchdown and PAT capped the first half scoring. In the third quarter, however, William & Mary blew a quasi-close game wide open. They outscored the Spiders 24–0 to take a 38–0 lead into the final frame. During the third, Adam Bratton caught two touchdown passes, Joe Nicholas caught one and Greg Kuehn finished off the scoring with a field goal. Richmond would not score their first points until 5:37 left in the game when David Freeman ran in a score from 16 yards out. The Spiders would make the final score look more respectable than it was by scoring another touchdown in garbage time on a seven-yard pass with only five seconds remaining. With the win, William & Mary not only secured their 59th all-time I-64 Trophy, but also a clinch of the Atlantic 10 Conference title.
NCAA Division I-AA Playoffs
#11 Hampton (first round)
As the 6th-ranked team nationally, William & Mary was able to host all of their playoff games (unless a higher-ranked team were to play them). In the opening round, the Tribe hosted the #11 Hampton Pirates.