2003 Navy Midshipmen football team

The 2003 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 2003 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by second-year head coach Paul Johnson.

2003 Navy Midshipmen football
Houston Bowl, L 14–38 vs. Texas Tech
Conference	Independent
Record	8–5
Head coach	Paul Johnson (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Triple option
Defensive coordinator	Buddy Green (2nd season)
Base defense	Multiple
MVP	Craig Candeto
Captains	Craig Candeto Eddie Carthan
Home stadium	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium

2003 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Connecticut			–						9	–	3
Navy			–						8	–	5
Troy State			–						6	–	6
Notre Dame			–						5	–	7
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30		VMI	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		W 37–10	30,129
September 6	7:00 p.m.	at No. 25 TCU	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX		L 3–17	35,688
September 20	1:30 p.m.	Eastern Michigan	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		W 39–7	27,627
September 27	7:00 p.m.	at Rutgers	Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	ESPN+	L 27–48	32,382
October 4	1:30 p.m.	Air Force	FedExField Landover, MD (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	HDNet	W 28–25	30,623
October 11	1:00 p.m.	at Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN		W 37–27	25,417
October 18	3:00 p.m.	at Rice	Rice Stadium Houston, TX		W 38–6	27,832
October 25	1:30 p.m.	No. 3 (I-AA) Delaware	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	HDNet	L 17–21	34,982
November 1	1:30 p.m.	Tulane	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	HDNet	W 35–17	27,417
November 8	2:30 p.m.	at Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	NBC	L 24–27	80,795
November 22		Central Michigan	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		W 63–24
December 6		vs. Army	Lincoln Financial Field Philadelphia, PA (Army–Navy Game)	CBS	W 34–6
December 30	4:30 p.m.	vs. Texas Tech	Reliant Stadium Houston, TX (Houston Bowl)	ESPN	L 14–38	51,068
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Roster

Seniors on the 2003 Navy team leaving the field after their final home game

2003 Navy Midshipmen football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 11 Craig Candeto Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Paul Johnson Coordinators/assistant coaches Brian Bohannon (wide receivers) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster