2004 Emerald Bowl Contained Drive That Lasted Nearly 15 Minutes
Published on November 1st, 2020 12:04 pm ESTWritten By: Dave Manuel

This relatively unimportant game, however, contains the single longest drive (by time) in the history of football, collegiate or otherwise.
The game, which was won by Navy 34-19, contained a 26-play drive by Navy that lasted for nearly 15 minutes. This clocked in longer than the longest ever NFL drive, which lasted for over 13 minutes.
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The conditions for the game were wet.
As the field conditions worsened, the early high-scoring affair quickly turned into a slogfest, with only 10 points being scored in the second half.
The infamous drive, which lasted for 14:42, started near the end of the third quarter and lasted until 2:15 of the fourth quarter.
There was nothing particularly unique about the drive. Navy was intent on running the ball, and they managed to convert on a pile of third downs.
There were no particularly big plays either - just 3, 4 and 5 yard gains that stayed inbounds and helped to chew up the clock.
New Mexico, which desperately wanted the ball back, were helpless to stop Navy. Aided by a few timely penalty calls, Navy were able to chew a massive amount of time off the clock.
New Mexico was able to stop Navy right near their goal line, which resulted in a 22-yard field goal. These stops also helped to burn more time off the clock.
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In the end. bad field conditions, a potent running attack and a less-than-potent running defence enabled Navy to burn almost 15 minutes off the clock.
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It should be noted that this is the longest OFFICIAL drive in the history of collegiate or professional football. There may be a longer drive that may have occurred in the past, though it is not official.