In retrospect, I probably worded this poll wrong. I should have made it “most important win” instead of “biggest win.” Oops. Navy’s had some big wins over the last few years. Some didn’t quite make the list: the 2002 Meadowlands Massacre, Vanderbilt in 2003 & 2004, Colorado State in the 2005 Poinsettia Bowl, East Carolina & Stanford in 2006, and Pittsburgh from last year, to name a few. In fact, I probably should have included at least one game against Army on the list, if only out of respect for the rivalry. But oh well. That’s what “other” is for, should you be inclined to vote that way.
Here’s the list of candidates for Navy’s biggest win of the last 5 years:
- Wake Forest, 2008: The highest-ranked team that Navy’s defeated in this period.
- Notre Dame, 2007: I assume this one doesn’t require explanation.
- Air Force, 2003: The first ranked team that Navy beat in this period. Also, the game that broke Fisher DeBerry.
- Rutgers, 2004: Kyle Eckel might still be running.
- New Mexico, 2004: Not only a bowl win, but the tenth win of the season, which propelled Navy into the top 25.
Thoughts?
The Birddog 
Yesterday’s win was huge. It said that Navy could play with anybody if it is hitting on all cylinders. Congratulations to KN, the coaches, and the team.
However, I voted for ND because we finally got the monkey off our backs.
1) ND
2) WF
3) NM
4) AF
5) Rut – I thought this year’s win over Rutgers might have been bigger, but that is probably because it is fresh in the mind.
In the interest of full disclosure, I voted for 2003 Air Force.
1. ND
2. AF
3. WF
4. Rut
5. NM
1) ND – streak was a tremendous burden, released PJ (unfortunately) by finishing his accomplishments at Navy
2) AF – established PJ and rebirth to Navy FB
3) WF – consensus ranked team first time in 23 years
4)NM – first PJ bowl win
5)Rut – first quality KN win
1. AF in 03. Those guys needed to be taken down several pegs. Wasn’t AF coming off a big win the week before the Navy game? (Maybe BYU?) Sorta like where Navy is now.
2. Wake Forest 08. Huge win against a good team on the road and despite the ACC refs.
3. ND 07. This is mitigated by two reasons: One, ND was pathetic last year. Two, Navy all but won the ND games in 84, 97, 99, 03, etc. Granted, not on the scoreboard…Anyway, I’d rather beat AF than ND any day.
4. New Mexico. The Drive. Plus it was funny seeing UNM using any number of different defensive schemes, and Navy had an answer for each one. Wasn’t this the game where Frank Divis threw two passes to Polanco?? Class.
5. Rutgers. The win that really established Navy’s home field advantage.
“The Drive” was amazing — it ate up a whole freakin’ quarter and left NM’s defense completely gassed.
I hate to go OLD SCHOOL on you; but “when I was a Plebe”
Napolean McCallum 232 yds rushing versus 187 total for Army.
Sweet, sweet carry-on!
Anyhoo:
1 AF, ya gotta love beatin the bus drivers
2 ND, because Navy has more Catholics on the team than they do!
3 THE DRIVE!!!!!!
4 Poinsettia I, that running Navy team throws a TD to start the game?
5 Wake
I would go with the following as my order:
1. AF – began the run against the service academies
2. NM – because that drive is what this offense is all about and really showed how PJ can adjust
3. ND – It’s not above the other two because it was in a year that Navy should have beaten ND and really shouldn’t have needed overtime to do it
4. Rutgers – it gave NMCMS a home field advantage again (and proved the following year wasn’t a fluke
5. WF – in time this may move up but only if two things happen, Wake is a perennial top 15 program and two, we win 9+ games this year.
I think that the Wake game’s significance hinges on the outcome of the upcoming AF game. If we beat AF, I see the Wake game as a turning point, much like the 03 AF game was. Otherwise, the Wake game is more of a spot win.
ND. Happiest I’ve ever been after a sporting event.
Notre Dame was the biggest, because of the streak. Keeping the Air Force streak alive with the last second field goal in the rain was huge, and was also one of the most completely joyous moments in our history. I’ll never forget BH holding, and waving his hand to try to speed things up on the snap. The UCONN and Rutgers beat downs were good for a little chest thumping. I think beating New Mexico was big, because it was the first bowl win since Cal. Wake was important because of their ranking and because it is Coach Niumat’s first big win, but Navy usually plays Wake really tough for some reason. The streak against Army is sweet. The SMU win got it started for us with PJ, and I distinctly remember the sense of relief I felt after that game. There are a lot of great ones.
The most important was AF. It established Navy as dominate SA team and broke the back of AF. AF was never the same under FDB.
The Biggest win was ND. After the heartbreak, embarrassments , close calls and one outright robbery it was an amazing win. The first time I saw Navy live was in 1984 vs ND at the Meadowlands and we lost a close game. I was 21. It took 23 years till I was finally able to see my adopted favorite team beat ND. The Ru/WF exacta were great wins but nothing ever will match how great it was to finally beat ND.
ND was the biggest in light of the streak. Look we bitched about the steak when I was there in the late 70s, fast forward 30 years!!! and we were still bitching.
Beating AFA is always great, and the 03 should go down as the beginning of an era, let’s hope it keeps up.
The two bowl wins were about the same to me in their respective greatness; though I felt at some point ACC refs were calling the NM game.
Anyway, I’d have to rank the WF game ahead of those two and then the Rutgers win after the bowl games because the rutgers fans really needed a comeuppance from last year.
The Pitt game really doesn’t register with me — who hasn’t seen poor old Wannstadt look lost and bewildered on the sidelines.
Add it all up, and so far Niumat has given us two great wins. Of course a lot of band-wagoneers will crucify him if we lose to AFA, even in a close game.
I am kind of splitting hairs here, but I think the Air Force wins in 04 and 05 were bigger wins than 03. The 04 game was a weeknight game on the road in a hostile environment, and the oft criticized Blumenfield nailed the game winner as time expired. 05 was probably the biggest, with the Mids down a touchdown facing 4th and 1 from their own 29 with less than 3 minutes left. Owens converts, Reggie has a memorable 40 yard touchdown run (with defenders only able to rip the tape off his jersey), and Bullen nails a 46 yarder as time expires in the rain.
03 was big, but most people thought it was a fluke.
Oh, my rankings:
1) ND 07
2) New Mexico 04
3) Wake 08
4) Air Force 05 (Navy was 1-2 before that game with the Maryland and Stanford losses)
5) Colorado State 05 (Paul Johnson and Reggie Campbell’s video resume on national TV and back to back bowl wins
Just missed: BC in 06…if we only hadn’t pitched.