2004 Navy Midshipmen football team

2004 Navy Midshipmen football
Emerald Bowl champion
Emerald Bowl, W 34–19 vs. New Mexico
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 24
APNo. 24
Record10–2
Head coach
Offensive schemeTriple option
Defensive coordinatorBuddy Green (3rd season)
Base defenseMultiple
MVPAaron Polanco
Captains
  • Aaron Polanco
  • Josh Smith
Home stadiumNavy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Seasons
← 2003
2005 →
2004 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 24 Navy       10 2  
Notre Dame       6 6  
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2004 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by third-year head coach Paul Johnson. The Midshipmen finished the regular season with a 9–2 record, the first time since the 1963 season that Navy had won nine or more games in a season. Wins over Army and the Air Force Falcons secured Navy's second consecutive Commander-in-Chief's Trophy.[1] Navy secured a berth in the 2004 Emerald Bowl when the Pacific-10 Conference did not have enough teams to fill its bowl obligations. The other tie-in was with the Mountain West Conference (MWC), and the Midshipmen ended up playing the New Mexico Lobos. They won the game with a score of 34–19, finishing with a 14-minute, 26-play drive that set the record for the longest drive in a college football game.[2] The win gave the Midshipmen a final record of 10–2, the first time since the 1905 season that the Midshipmen finished with ten or more wins.[3]

  1. ^ "Navy 27, Air Force 24". Military.com. Associated Press. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  2. ^ Flynn, Tom (December 30, 2009). "College Football's Longest Drive". The Wall Street Journal. New York. Archived from the original on February 10, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  3. ^ "Navy, 99 Years Later, Matches 10-Victory Season". The New York Times. December 30, 2004. Retrieved October 20, 2012.