1983 Navy Midshipmen football team

The 1983 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by second-year head coach Gary Tranquill.^[1][2]

1983 Navy Midshipmen football
Conference	Independent
Record	2nd
Head coach	Gary Tranquill (1st season)
Captain	Jeff Johnson, Andy Ponseigo
Home stadium	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1982 1984 →

1983 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Miami (FL)		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				9	–	2	–	0
No. 19 Boston College		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
No. 16 West Virginia		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
No. 20 East Carolina		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
No. 18 Pittsburgh		–		–				8	–	3	–	1
Penn State		–		–				8	–	4	–	1
Southern Miss		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				6	–	4	–	1
Florida State		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Notre Dame		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Cincinnati			–					4	–	6	–	1
Southwestern Louisiana		–		–				4	–	6	–	0
Temple		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Tulane		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Louisville		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Navy		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Army		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10		at Virginia	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	L 16–27	33,847
September 17		vs. Mississippi State	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS	L 10–38
September 24		Lehigh	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 30–0	23,000	^[3]
October 1		at Washington	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 10–27	59,912
October 8		Air Force	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	L 17–44	34,257	^[4]
October 15		at Princeton	Palmer Stadium Princeton, NJ	W 37–29	21,730	^[5]
October 22	1:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	L 14–21	33,349
October 29	12:00 p.m.	at Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	L 12–28	59,075
November 5		Syracuse	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	L 7–14	22,009
November 12		at South Carolina	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	L 7–31	64,800
November 25		vs. Army	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Army–Navy Game)	W 42–13
Homecoming All times are in Eastern time

Personnel

1983 Navy Midshipmen football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB Marc Alexander WR Greg Blanchard WR Greg Brand QB Sean Cannon RB Bryan Caraveo WR Bill Cebak RB Rich Clouse OL Rich Coombs OL Bob Dill OL Bob Goodman WR Ken Heine OL Mark Long RB 30 Napoleon McCallum Jr RB Ron McDonald QB Adam Meinrod OL Pete Oswald OL Doug Rhodes RB Jim Scannell TE Gregory Schildmeyer TE Mark Stevens OL Bill Weidenhammer WR Chris Weiler QB Rick Williamson	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB Steve Brady DB Kurt Dixon LB Tom Doman LB Todd Hastings DL George Herlong DL Dirk McFarlane DL Hemp Oberle DL Rick Pagel DB Joe Papetti DL Steve Peters LB Andy Ponseigo DB Eric Rutherford DB 86 Eric Wallace DL Ron Zaleski	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P Mark Colby K Todd Solomon K Steve Young	Head coach Gary Tranquill Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

Season summary

Pittsburgh

• Napoleon McCallum 172 Rush Yds^[6]

vs Army

Army Cadets (2–8) vs. Navy Midshipmen (2–8)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Navy	21	0	7	14	42
Army	0	6	7	0	13

at Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California

• Date: November 25, 1983
• Game attendance: 81,347
• TV announcers (ABC): Al Michaels and Lee Grosscup
• ^[7]

Game information

First quarter NAVY – Eric Wallace 95-yard kickoff return (Steve Young kick), 14:43. Navy 7–0. NAVY – Napoleon McCallum 14-yard run (Steve Young kick), 12:30. Navy 14–0. NAVY – Steve Brady 35-yard interception return (Steve Young kick), 11:03. Navy 21–0. Second quarter ARMY – Craig Stopa 42-yard field goal. Navy 21–3. ARMY – Craig Stopa 40-yard field goal. Navy 21–6. Third quarter ARMY – Bill Turner 1-yard run (Craig Stopa kick). Navy 21–13. NAVY – Rick Williamson 1-yard run (Steve Young kick). Navy 28–13. Drive: 77 yards. Fourth quarter NAVY – Rick Williamson 2-yard run (Steve Young kick). Navy 35–13. Drive: 54 yards. NAVY – Ron McDonald 30-yard run (Steve Young kick). Navy 42–13. Top passers NAVY – Rick Williamson – 3/9, 29 yards, INT ARMY – Bill Turner – 16/35, 171 yards, INT Top rushers NAVY – Napoleon McCallum – 30 rushes, 182 yards, TD ARMY – Elton Akins – 23 rushes, 40 yards Top receivers NAVY – Mark Stevens – 2 receptions, 29 yards ARMY – Rob Dickerson – 6 receptions, 60 yards

^[8][9]

External video
Full game

References

1. (PDF). United States Naval Academy. p. 195. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
2. . College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
3. Jackson, James H. (September 25, 1983). "Navy's 2d-Half Surge Laces Lehigh, 30-0". The Baltimore Sun. Baltimore, Md. p. B1 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Jackson, James H. (October 9, 1983). "Mistake-prone Middies fall, 44-17, to Air Force". The Baltimore Sun. p. C13. Retrieved May 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. O'Brien, Ken (October 16, 1983). "Princeton Rally Too Late in 37-29 Loss to Middies". The Home News. New Brunswick, N.J. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Navy, Led By McCallum, Defeats Army." New York Times. 1983 Nov 26. Retrieved 2019-Jan-22.
7. New York Times. 1983 Nov 26. Retrieved 2019-Jan-22.
8. "Navy, Led By McCallum, Defeats Army." New York Times. 1983 Nov 26. Retrieved 2019-Jan-22.
9. "Navy's quick-strike attack caues quick Army surrender." Gainesville Sun. pg. 3D. 1983 Nov 26. Retrieved 2022-Dec-14.