2004 Navy Midshipmen football | |
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Emerald Bowl champion
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Emerald Bowl, W 34–19 vs. New Mexico
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Conference | Independent |
2004 record | 10–2 |
Head coach | Paul Johnson (3rd year) |
Offensive scheme | Triple option |
Defensive coordinator | Buddy Green |
Home stadium | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium |
The 2004 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) during the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. Navy competed as an independent with no conference affiliation.
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 college football 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. 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. 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.