The 2008 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 (USNA) in National Collegiate Athletic Association

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 during the 2008 season

2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season

The 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season, or the college football season, began on August 28, 2008, progressing through the regular season and bowl season, and concluded with the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game in Miami Gardens, Florida on January 8, 2009, where the #2...

. Navy competed as an independent with no conference affiliation.

The team was led by first-year head coach Ken Niumatalolo

Ken Niumatalolo

Ken Niumatalolo is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the head football coach at the United States Naval Academy, a position he has held since the 2007 season. Niumatalolo played college football at the University of Hawaii. As a quarterback he led the then-Rainbows...

. He was promoted from the offensive line coach

Offensive line coach

The offensive line coach is a coaching position in gridiron football that is in charge of the offensive line. This role is very common in the CFL, NFL, and college football programs. The offensive line coach serves the offense, which is led by the offensive coordinator....

 before the season, after his predecessor, Paul Johnson

Paul Johnson (American football coach)

Paul Johnson is an American football coach. He is currently the head coach at the Georgia Institute of Technology, a position he has held since the 2008 season. Previously, Johnson served as the head coach at Georgia Southern University from 1997 to 2001 and at the United States Naval Academy...

, accepted the head coaching position at Georgia Tech.

The Midshipmen finished the regular season with an 8–4 record to attain bowl eligibility. Navy secured a berth in the inaugural EagleBank Bowl

2008 EagleBank Bowl

The 2008 EagleBank Bowl was the inaugural edition of the new college football bowl game, and was played at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, DC. The game, formerly known as the Congressional Bowl before naming rights were purchased by EagleBank, started at 11 AM US EST on...

, which had a tie-in with the two independent military academies, the other being Army

Army Black Knights football

The Army Black Knights football program represents the United States Military Academy. Army was recognized as the national champions in 1944, 1945 and 1946....

. The other tie-in was with the Atlantic Coast Conference

Atlantic Coast Conference

The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...

 (ACC). Due to a chaotic and closely contested season in the ACC, in the EagleBank Bowl, Navy ended up playing Wake Forest

2008 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team

The 2008 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team represented Wake Forest University during the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football season. It was Wake Forest's 56th season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference .The Demon Deacons...

 in a re-match of a regular season game, despite a statement in their contracting disallowing it. Unlike the earlier game, Navy lost the rematch against Wake Forest, 29–19.

Schedule