Navy clinched its first 10-win season in 1905, as Paul Dashiell’s Midshipmen went 10-1-1, ending the year with a 6–6 tie against Army. Paul Johnson (10–2 in 2004) matched the achievement, and Ken Niumatalolo led Navy to 10 wins on three occasions, including an 11–2 campaign in 2019—the winningest season of Midshipmen football in history.
No Navy coach had ever led back-to-back teams to the 10-win mark, however, until Brian Newberry, whose Midshipmen came back in the fourth quarter to defeat Army 17–16 on Saturday, securing double-digit wins and a victory over their archrival Black Knights for a second consecutive season.
While Niumatalolo has an argument as the greatest coach in program history, Navy struggled late in his tenure. Outside of the 11-win season in 2019, he finished with three or four wins in each season from 2018 to ‘22, and had lost five of seven games to Army after the Midshipmen had won 14 straight in the historic rivalry.
Newberry, Niumatalolo’s defensive coordinator late in his tenure, struggled out of the gate with a 5–7 season in 2023, falling in his first Army-Navy Game as head coach. That offseason he hired former Mercer and Lenoir-Rhyne head coach Drew Cronic to overhaul the offense, a move that has helped modernize the program’s classic option attack into a unique offense that utilizes significantly more downfield passing—and could have him on the shortlist for FBS head coaching opportunities in the future.
Quarterback Blake Horvath has 1,472 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions on the season, along with a team-high 1,147 rushing yards and 15 scores. Receiver Eli Heidenreich has a program-record 877 receiving yards and five touchdowns—including the go-ahead score against Army—along with 437 rushing yards and three scores.
Navy isn’t done yet. Newberry’s Midshipmen can tie the program record for wins in the season in their trip to the Liberty Bowl against Cincinnati on Jan. 2.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Navy Made Program History by Defeating Army for 10th Win of the Season.
