2008 Navy Midshipmen football team

The 2008 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by first-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo. He was promoted from the offensive line coach before the season, after his predecessor, Paul Johnson, accepted the head coaching position at Georgia Tech.

2008 Navy Midshipmen football
EagleBank Bowl, L 19–29 vs. Wake Forest
Conference	Independent
Record	8–5
Head coach	Ken Niumatalolo (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Ivin Jasper (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Triple option
Defensive coordinator	Buddy Green (7th season)
Base defense	Multiple
MVP	Shun White
Captains	Clint Sovie Jarod Bryant
Home stadium	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 2007 2009 →

2008 NCAA Division I FBS independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Navy			–						8	–	5
Notre Dame			–						7	–	6
Army			–						3	–	9
WKU			–						2	–	10
Rankings from AP Poll

The Midshipmen finished the regular season with an 8–4 record to attain bowl eligibility. Navy secured a berth in the inaugural EagleBank Bowl, which had a tie-in with the two independent military academies, the other being Army. The other tie-in was with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Due to a chaotic and closely contested season in the ACC, in the EagleBank Bowl, Navy ended up playing Wake Forest in a re-match of a regular season game, despite a statement in their contracting disallowing it.^[1] Unlike the earlier game, Navy lost the rematch against Wake Forest, 29–19.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	3:30 p.m.	Towson	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	CBSCS	W 41–13	31,613
September 5	7:00 p.m.	at Ball State	Scheumann Stadium Muncie, IN	ESPN	L 23–35	22,517
September 13	12:00 p.m.	at Duke	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	ESPNU	L 31–41	25,082
September 20	3:30 p.m.	Rutgers	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	CBSCS	W 23–21	37,821
September 27	3:30 p.m.	at No. 16 Wake Forest	BB&T Field Winston-Salem, NC	ESPNU	W 24–17	33,173
October 4	4:00 p.m.	at Air Force	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	Versus	W 33–27	46,339
October 18	3:30 p.m.	No. 23 Pittsburgh	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	CBSCS	L 21–42	37,970
October 25	3:30 p.m.	SMU	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD (rivalry)	CBSCS	W 34–7	31,698
November 1	3:30 p.m.	Temple	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	CBSCS	W 33–27 ^OT	34,775
November 15	12:00 p.m.	vs. Notre Dame	M&T Bank Stadium Baltimore, MD (rivalry)	CBS	L 21–27	70,932
November 25	7:00 p.m.	at Northern Illinois	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	ESPNC	W 16–0	17,932
December 6	12:00 p.m.	vs. Army	Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, PA (Army-Navy Game)	CBS	W 34–0	69,144
December 20	11:00 a.m.	vs. Wake Forest	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Washington, DC (EagleBank Bowl)	ESPN	L 19–29	28,777
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[2]

References

1. Navy Did Not Waive EagleBank Bowl Clause, Annapolis Capital, December 4, 2008. Accessed 2009-03-12. 2009-05-28.
2. "Navy Midshipmen Schedule 2008". ESPN.com. ESPN Internet Ventures. Retrieved November 19, 2009.