2003 Navy Midshipmen football team

2003 Navy Midshipmen football
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

Team	W		L	W		L
Connecticut		–		9	–	3
		–		8	–	5
Troy State		–		6	–	6
Notre Dame		–		5	–	7

Rankings from AP Poll

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.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 30		VMI	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		W 37–10	30,129	^[1]
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	^[2]
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

References

^ "Navy ends skid, rolls over VMI". The News and Advance. August 31, 2003. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Hard Road To 8-0". The News Journal. October 26, 2003. pp. D1, D6 – via Newspapers.com.

[1] "Navy ends skid, rolls over VMI". The News and Advance. August 31, 2003. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[2] "Hard Road To 8-0". The News Journal. October 26, 2003. pp. D1, D6 – via Newspapers.com.

[1]

[2]

Navy Midshipmen football
Venues	Worden Field (1890–1923) Thompson Stadium (1924–1958) Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (1959–present) Memorial Stadium (alternate)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Army: Army–Navy Game (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) Air Force: Commander-in-Chief's Trophy Johns Hopkins Maryland: Crab Bowl Classic Notre Dame SMU: Gansz Trophy
Culture & lore	Bill the Goat "Anchors Aweigh" "I believe that we will win!" Marching band "Navy ends the drought" 2007 North Texas game Salute That Navy Spirit Navy Blue and Gold
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold