The Cougars entered the 2004 season coming off two straight losing seasons for the first time since the Nixon administration.
During the 2003 campaign, BYU struggled offensively. They averaged just 314.6 total yards per game, including a paltry 215 yards passing, while scoring only 16.3 points per game.
The coaching staff looked to beef up the offense during the off-season. They landed 14 offensive players, including seven receivers. Among those were Junior College All-American Todd Watkins and highly-recruited prep standout Austin Collie.
Watkins and Collie made an impact on the Cougars almost immediately. In the first game against Notre Dame, Watkins caught a 50-yard pass from John Beck to set up BYU's first touchdown of the season. Collie on the other hand, caught a game-winning, 42-yard touchdown pass from back-up quarterback Matt Berry
Watkins and Collie combined for eight catches for 169 yards and one touchdown as the Cougars exacted revenge on the Irish for a loss in 2003 in South Bend.
The Cougars struggled over their next three games, however, dropping their next three non-conference games against Stanford and Boise State on the road and eventual national champion USC at home.
Following injuries to Beck and Berry, BYU was forced to use third-string quarterback Jason Beck in the loss to the Cardinal. Jason Beck played well in his college debut, throwing for 232 yards, but he couldn't match Stanford quarterback Trent Edwards who threw for 297 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Cardinal to a 37-10 victory.
The following week against the Trojans, BYU kept the game close for the first half before top-ranked USC pulled away for an easy 42-10 victory. One bright spot for the Cougars was Watkins' first touchdown of the season, a 69-yard bomb from John Beck, on BYU's first play of the second half.
The competition didn't get any easier in the Cougars' next game when they faced off against nationally ranked Boise State which came into the game riding a nation's-best 14-game winning streak in a game that came down to the wire.
Trailing by just one point with 19 seconds left in the game, the usually sure-footed Matt Payne entered the game to attempt the game-winning 38-yard field goal, but he pushed the ball to the right as BYU lost 28-27.
Despite the loss, John Beck put together his best game as a collegian, throwing for 390 yards and two touchdowns, including a 79-yarder to Todd Watkins, who finished the game with nine receptions for 211 yards.
The Cougars entered MWC play with a 1-3 record, needing to win five of their final seven games to become bowl eligible. They began their quest for the MWC title with a game against Colorado State in Fort Collins--a place BYU had not won since 1995.
Behind the running of Fahu Tahi and Curtis Brown, who combined for 191 yards and three touchdowns, BYU picked up a much-needed 31-21 victory to open conference play.
Brown followed up his excellent game against the Rams with his first 100-yard performance since Utah State in 2002. Brown finished the game with 102 yards on just eight carries, but it wasn't enough as BYU fell to UNLV, 24-20.
The Cougars rebounded the following week against Wyoming, defeating the Cowboys 24-13. Brown continued his dominance during MWC play as the sophomore rushed for 159 yards and another score.
BYU hit the road again to take on the Air Force Academy. The Falcons took an early 10-3 lead going into halftime before the Cougars exploded for a season-high 38 points in the second half.
John Beck and Brown led the Cougars back with Beck throwing for 319 yards and four touchdowns, including an 80-yard strike to Watkins. Brown finished the game with 128 yards to record his third-straight 100-yard game.
The Cougars offense continued to roll when they faced off against San Diego State. BYU racked up a season-high 49 points en route to a 49-16 victory. Senior place kicker Matt Payne connected on three field goals in the game, including two from beyond 40 yards, which extended his NCAA record of consecutive made field goals from 40-49 yards to 14.
Payne's streak was snapped the following week when he missed a 43-yarder in the second quarter against New Mexico. Prior to the miss, Payne gave the Cougars an early 7-0 lead over the Lobos, when he hit Riley Weber for a 12-yard touchdown pass on a fake field goal. But New Mexico proved to much for the Cougars as the Lobos earned a 21-14 victory.
Entering the final game of the season against Utah, BYU needed a victory to earn its first winning season since 2001 and remain bowl eligible.
The Cougars kept the game close early, trailing by only seven points going into the second half. But the Utes outscored BYU 31-7 in the second half to hand the Cougars their sixth loss of the season.
Despite recording its third-straight losing season, there were plenty of bright spots for BYU in 2004.
The tandem of Watkins and Collie combined for 1,813 yards and 14 touchdowns. For his effort, Collie was named MWC Freshman of the Year and earned Freshman All-America honors from TSN. Both were named to the All-MWC team with Watkins garnering first-team honors and Collie being named to the second team. Also named to the All-MWC first team were Brady Poppinga, Aaron Francisco and Payne.
Besides All-MWC honors, Payne was a semi-finalist for the Lou Groza and Ray Guy awards and was named to several All-America teams.
Although the Cougars didn't get all of the results they were looking for in 2004, they were able to build a solid foundation for the future.
2004 Player Awards/Honors
John Beck, QB
- All-Mountain West Conference (second-team)
- Mountain West Conference Player of the Week (Oct. 25)
- Mountain West Record Holder (67 pass attempts vs. UNLV; Oct. 9, 2004)
- Mountain West Sophomore Record Holder (67 pass attempts vs. UNLV; Oct. 8, 2004)
- Mountain West Sophomore Record Holder (34 completions vs. UNLV; Oct. 8, 2004)
- BYU Record Holder (67 pass attempts vs. UNLV; Oct. 9, 2004)
- MWC Statistical Leader (261.0 yards per game vs. Conference opponents)
Curtis Brown, RB
- All-Mountain West Conference (second-team)
Manaia Brown, DL
- All-Mountain West Conference (honorable mention)
Jon Burbidge, DB
- All-Mountain West Conference (honorable mention)
Austin Collie, WR
- The Sporting News Freshman All-American (Second-Team)
- Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year
- All-Mountain West Conference (honorable mention)
- BYU Freshman Record Holder (8 touchdown receptions)
- BYU Freshman Record Holder (771 receiving yards)
- Mountain West Freshman Record Holder (Longest TD reception; 82 yards)
- Mountain West Freshman Record Holder (10 receptions vs. UNLV; Oct. 8, 2004)
- National Freshman Statistical Leader (4.8 receptions per game average)
John Denney, DL
- Hula Bowl (All-Star Game)
Aaron Francisco, DB
- All-Mountain West Conference (first-team)
- East-West Shrine Game (All-Star Game)
- Hula Bowl (All-Star Game)
Brandon Heaney, DB
- All-American Classic -- Las Vegas (All-Star Game)
Cameron Jensen, LB
- All-Mountain West Conference (honorable mention)
Jake Kuresa, OL
- All-Mountain West Conference (honorable mention)
Bryce Mahuika, KR/PR
- All-Mountain West Conference (honorable mention)
Shaun Nua, DL
- All-Mountain West Conference (second-team)
- All-American Classic -- Las Vegas (All-Star Game)
Matt Payne, K/P
- NCAA Record Holder (14 consecutive field goals from 40-49 yards)
- BYU Record Holder (67 consecutive PAT's)
- Mountain West Career Record Holder (54 field goals made)
- Mountain West Career Record Holder (156 PAT's made)
- Mountain West Career Record Holder (45.4 yards-per-punt average)
- Mountain West Senior Record Holder (79-yard punt vs. No. 1 USC)
- AFCA All-American (first-team)
- The Sporting News All-American (first-team)
- Associated Press All-American (second-team)
- All-Mountain West Conference (first-team punter)
- All-Mountain West Conference (second-team kicker)
- Lou Groza Award Semifinalist
- Ray Guy Award Semifinalist
- East-West Shrine Game (All-Star Game)
- Hula Bowl (All-Star Game
- Russell Athletic ESPN Player of the Game (vs. Notre Dame)
- Mountain West Conference Player of the Week (Sept. 6 vs. Notre Dame)
- Mountain West Conference Player of the Week (Sept. 20 vs. No. 1 USC)
- Mountain West Conference Player of the Week (Oct. 4 vs. Colorado State)
- Mountain West Conference Player of the Week (Oct. 25 vs. Air Force)
- Mountain West Conference Player of the Week (Nov. 8 vs. San Diego State)
- MWC Overall Statistical Leader (45.3 yards per punt)
- MWC Statistical Leader (44.5 yards per punt vs. Conference opponents)
- MWC Statistical Leader (7.1 points per game vs. Conference opponents)
Brady Poppinga, LB
- All-Mountain West Conference (first-team)
- East-West Shrine Game (All-Star Game)
- Hula Bowl (All-Star Game
- Mountain West Career Record Holder (20 sacks)
Lance Reynolds, OL
- All-Mountain West Conference (honorable mention)
Todd Watkins, WR
- Pro Football Weekly All-American (honorable mention)
- All-Mountain West Conference (first-team)
- Mountain West Conference Junior Record Holder (211 yards vs. Boise State; Sept. 24, 2004)
- MWC Overall Statistical Leader (1,042 receiving yards)
- MWC Overall Statistical Leader (94.7 receiving yards per game)
Scott Young, OL
- All-Mountain West Conference (second-team)
- All-American Classic -- Las Vegas (All-Star Game)